Effectiveness and reliability Enhanced interrogation techniques

on december 9, 2014 united states senate select committee on intelligence (ssci) released 525-page document containing key findings , executive summary, of report cia s detention , interrogation program. remainder of 6,000 page report remains classified. report concluded interrogation techniques far more vicious , widespread cia had reported; brutality, dishonesty , seemingly arbitrary violence @ times brought [cia] employees moments of anguish. report said cia officials had deceived superiors @ white house, members of congress , peers how interrogation program being run , had achieved.

the executive summary lists 20 key findings:

the senate report examined in detail whether torture provided information helpful in locating osama bin laden, , concluded did not, , cia deliberately misled political leaders , public in saying had.

the 3 former cia directors george tenet, porter goss, , michael hayden, had supervised program during tenure, objected senate report in wall street journal op-ed piece, calling poorly done , partisan. insisted information derived cia program useful, interrogation techniques made detainees compliant , information provided totality of detainees in cia custody had led osama bin laden. according cia, enhanced interrogation conditions used security , other valid reasons, such create environment conducive transitioning captured , resistant terrorist (sic) detainees participating in debriefings.

republican senator john mccain, citing obama administration cia director leon panetta (who did not join others in wall street journal op-ed) had said brutality produced no useful information in hunt osama bin laden; leads obtained through standard, noncoercive means. in may 2011, panetta had written senator mccain, that:

. . . first learned facilitator/courier s nom de guerre detainee not in cia custody in 2002. important note detainees subjected enhanced interrogation techniques attempted provide false or misleading information facilitator/courier. these attempts falsify facilitator/courier s role alerting. in end, no detainee in cia custody revealed facilitator/courier s full true name or specific whereabouts. information discovered through other intelligence means.

in 2014, panetta wrote torture did produce useful information, product not worth price, , if asked whether america should engage in similar practices no. obama administration cia director john brennan said unknowable whether brutality helped or hindered in collection of useful intelligence. white house press secretary josh earnest said whether information derived cia torture may have helped find osama bin laden, president obama believes use of these techniques not worth because of harm done our national values , sense of believe in americans. similarly, republican mccain agreed democrat dianne feinstein in remarks on senate floor torture stained our national honor , did harm , little practical good.

cia assessment on efficacy of eits

on request national security advisor susan rice in 2015, cia compiled summary of key intelligence, according records had been collected after application of (unspecified) interrogation techniques. memorandum lists intelligence related following topics: karachi plot, heathrow plot, second wave , guraba cell, issa al-hindi, abu talha al-pakistani, hambali s capture, jafaar al-tayyar, dirty bomb plot, shoe bomber, , sh(a)kai (pakistan). cia concluded enhanced interrogation techniques had been effective in providing intelligence , has been key reason why al-qa ida has failed launch spectacular attack in west since 11 september. 2001.