Torture, Obama Acquits the CIA

The American president grants immunity to the agents that used strong-arm tactics with detainees

The Bush era is finished, and the obscure chapter of abuses and torture during interrogations must be passed with “reflection” and not with “revenge.” U.S. President Barack Obama announced this as an American turning point on detention methods and interrogation techniques employed by the CIA. This change was revealed yesterday with a statement in which the president made it known that there was no intention of pursuing the CIA agents that were implicated by four documents that, on paper, describes the harsh techniques endorsed by the Bush administration.

Detainees were kept awake for eleven days in a row; they were beaten against walls with a special collar attached to the neck and then locked in an airtight container in the dark with insects; detainees were left completely nude and in the cold for days, without food, or they were handcuffed for prolonged periods; simulated drowning, the infamous “waterboarding.” Not only that, the memo also reveals the legal framework within which to act without problems in Guantanamo and in other U.S. prisons. The techniques used against 14 detainees identified by the U.S. had a “value,” especially after the September 11th attacks.

Among the detainees, the man considered to be the “brains” behind the September 11th attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, initially refused to respond to interrogation. The Bush administration was convinced that the “strengthened” interrogations used successfully contributed to avoiding further attacks, like the crash of a hijacked plane against a Los Angeles tower. “Those who have done their duty in good,” explained Obama, “based on legal advice from the Department of Justice will not be pursued.”

On the torture methods, Obama then reaffirmed that the U.S. has once and for all put an end to practices “that undermine our moral authority and do not make us more secure.” Hence the decision to turn the page, showing the harsh reality. “Our information is usually protected for security reasons, but I decided to publish this memorandum because I strongly believe in transparency and accountability.” A decision, however, intended to create controversy: Amnesty International were the first critics of the decision to not punish those responsible (“a free pass for impunity”) and the Center for U.S. Constitutional Rights spoke of it as the “biggest disappointment” from the Obama administration.