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A damning report released today on the CIA's post-9/11 detainee program during the George W Bush administration is making headlines, and some New Mexico lawmakers are expressing outrage.
The released report, a 524-page executive summary of a US Senate Intelligence Committee investigation, marks what The Intercept describes as "by far the most comprehensive and official account of the War on Terror's official torture regime." It was conducted over the course of four years—from 2009 through 2013.
Still, the full investigation, which totals more than 6,000 pages, hasn't been released, and even the summary released today is partially redacted.
The summary of the "torture report" sheds light on the waterboarding interrogation practice being used far more than the CIA disclosed in the past. It also details disturbing methods used against CIA prisoners such as "rectal feeding" and "rectal hydration" as a way to assert complete control over prisoners, as The New York Times reports.
To add to the trouble, the report claims that CIA repeatedly lied to the White House about its detainment and interrogation practices, an assertion that the agency disputes.
New Mexico's own Sen. Martin Heinrich sits on the Intelligence Committee. A Democrat, Heinrich provided the most detailed statement out of the state's Congressional delegation about the torture report, calling it an "enormous, if painful step in the right direction."
"The information in the study released today to the public will finally pull back the curtain on the terrible judgment that went into creating and implementing this interrogation program," Heinrich said. "What this study does is show that multiple levels of government were misled about the effectiveness of these techniques. If secretive government agencies want to operate in a democracy, there must be trust and transparency with those tasked with oversight."
Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM, deflected criticisms that releasing the report to the public could put US national security at risk.
"While we can understand the intelligence community’s desire to prevent another attack, a civilized nation should never resort to torture in the name of security," Udall said in a statement. "My hope is that this report informs future generations of Americans and ensures that we never undertake programs like this again.”
Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-NM, also praised the report as "an important step toward understanding and rectifying the mistakes that were made during this period in our nation's history."
"The CIA's efforts to mislead and conceal the full nature of their actions were deplorable," Luján said in a statement. "We must ensure that it is never allowed to happen again."
Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-NM, said the torture techniques "repulsed" her.
"Perhaps just as disturbing is the lengths to which the C.I.A. is going to discredit the reports of torture," she said in a statement, "rather than committing to changing the culture that led to these egregious acts of violence."
Rep. Steve Pearce, the lone Republican in New Mexico's congressional delegation, voiced concern that the release of the report "will jeopardize the lives of our troops that are in harm's way and engaged directly in conflict overseas."
"The decision by Senate Democrats, supported by the White House, to release the report today has possibly endangered the lives of thousands of troops and federal employees abroad," Pearce said in a statement.
Read the 525-page Senate Intelligence Committee summary below:
Santa Fe Reporter