The U.S. Senate’s report on American torture tactics doesn’t tell us anything new — just were afraid to admit.
Five years in the making, the report released Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee found that CIA operatives on a regular basis did horrendous things to suspects captured during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars during the George W. Bush administration.
Some are fearful the release of the report will put U.S. interests and citizens in danger. Others say it is necessary to come clean so history will not repeat itself.
Those within the Central Intelligence Agency defend their actions saying they were only following orders and that the “enhanced” torture methods were necessary to secure vital information.
Several in Congress, however, say they were misled by the CIA during this time by evidence in the report of the routine depravity the prisoners experienced.
While he was president, George Bush maintained any and all prisoners were treated in a humane fashion and did not violate human rights in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
We now know differently, though blame cannot be laid at the feet of President Bush. He, like Congress and the American public, were kept in the dark about the extent of the atrocities.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, said the report paints the CIA as “morally misguided” in its use of waterboarding, extreme sleep deprivation, and other measures so degrading they are unfit for print.
Feinstein has insisted the report be made public in order to foster transparency and accountability between the U.S. government and its people as well as the world abroad.
Also in support of the report is Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a survivor of extensive torture in Vietnam, who has long maintained torture is inhumane and furthermore does not yield its intended results.
We must be willing to face the ugly truths of a decade ago and commit ourselves to saying never again.
The report paints the United States at its worst. At best, we can use it as a teaching moment and recommit ourselves to being a country that holds honor and valor as paramount.
— Susan Lynn
Senate report on CIA abuses must be used as a lesson
