The Bush Administration explicitly endorsed torture techniques used by the CIA on al-Qaeda suspects, according to secret memos obtained by The Washington Post.
The Post has identified two documents sent by the White House to then CIA Director George Tenet in 2003 and 2004, endorsing controversial interrogation techniques such as ‘waterboarding’.
The newspaper suggests the CIA had been worried it would be blamed solely in any public backlash over the use of the techniques, and sought explicit consent from the Bush Administration to continue with the practices.
Tenet’s requests came amid public outcry over the treatment of detainees at Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison.
“The CIA understood that it was controversial and would be widely criticized if it became public,” an intelligence official told the Post.
“In the agency’s view, it was like this: ‘We don’t want to continue unless you tell us in writing that it’s not only legal but is the policy of the administration.’”