By Madeleine MacLean
The Senate Intelligence Committee recently uncovered millions of internal CIA documents, which bring to light The CIA’s program to detain and interrogate terrorism suspects in the years after 9-11. The Committee’s report revealed that the the program was more brutal than acknowledged to either the president or the public. The torture included depriving detainees of sleep for as long as a week and telling them they would be killed in American custody. The techniques were described as leading to “psychological and behavioral issues, including hallucinations, paranoia, insomnia, and attempts at self-harm and self-mutilation.” The CIA often misled the White House and Congress about the information they obtained and didn’t provide basic oversight of the secret prisons it established around the world. According to the report, they restricted access to information about the program, as well as declined to answer questions about it. They also underreported the number of people detained and subjected to the torture. At least 26 detainees were “wrongfully held”, including one man who was used as leverage to obtain information from a family member. The agency records were often incomplete and some didn’t have enough information to justify keeping the detainees in custody. The committee also found that the CIA provided exaggerated information to journalists about the effectiveness of the program in order to gain public support.
The report has created much controversy, both in the United States and throughout the world. President Obama said the CIA’s techniques, “constituted torture in my mind” and were a betrayal of American values. Former president George W. Bush disagreed, saying that the CIA’s detention and interrogation was both humane and legal. He also said that the program was important in uncovering terrorist plots and finding Osama Bin Laden. Countries such as China, North Korea, Russia, and the UK have all condemned the CIA’s methods. Nations such as Poland have expressed a lack of trust in American after hearing the reports. Overall, the reports have been very damaging for the United States and eye-opening about what goes on inside our government.
