Case Study – The CIA’s Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation Program
The most recent, publicly acknowledged example of a covert action program with dubious moral footing is the Rendition, Detention and Interrogation program (RDI), authorized by President George W. Bush in the days following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. In 2009 by Executive Order, President Obama ended the CIA program and prohibited the use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs), including water-boarding. The President also prohibited the CIA from operating detention facilities and directed that only interrogation techniques detailed in the Army Field Manual would be authorized. According to the CIA’s official account of the RDI program, three detainees were water-boarded. The technique was last used in March 2003.9
According to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), CIA over-sold the efficacy of the RDI program and resisted oversight.10 In response, CIA Director John Brennan defended the work of the Agency. The official CIA response pushed back on certain SSCI findings, but also identified failures and highlighted areas …show more content…
Wash it down with a water-board?" Rizzo notes that he “resisted the temptation” to report this exchange to Harriet Miers, the newly appointed White House counsel.26 One must ask how the Acting General Counsel of the CIA could not have reacted more forcefully to this inane comment from another senior leader, responsible for the well-being of
The most recent, publicly acknowledged example of a covert action program with dubious moral footing is the Rendition, Detention and Interrogation program (RDI), authorized by President George W. Bush in the days following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. In 2009 by Executive Order, President Obama ended the CIA program and prohibited the use of Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EITs), including water-boarding. The President also prohibited the CIA from operating detention facilities and directed that only interrogation techniques detailed in the Army Field Manual would be authorized. According to the CIA’s official account of the RDI program, three detainees were water-boarded. The technique was last used in March 2003.9
According to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), CIA over-sold the efficacy of the RDI program and resisted oversight.10 In response, CIA Director John Brennan defended the work of the Agency. The official CIA response pushed back on certain SSCI findings, but also identified failures and highlighted areas …show more content…
Wash it down with a water-board?" Rizzo notes that he “resisted the temptation” to report this exchange to Harriet Miers, the newly appointed White House counsel.26 One must ask how the Acting General Counsel of the CIA could not have reacted more forcefully to this inane comment from another senior leader, responsible for the well-being of