Authors: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
1269.
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Briefing by the Director, Central Intelligence Agency, on the Central Intelligence Agency Detention, Interrogation and Rendition Program, September 6, 2006 (SSCl #2007-1336). At the time this statement was made there had been at least 118 CIA detainees.
1270.
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Hearing on the Central Intelligence Agency Detention and Interrogation Program, April 12, 2007 (DTS #2007-3158).
1271.
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Hearing on the Central Intelligence Agency Detention and Interrogation Program, April 12, 2007 (DTS #2007-3158).
1272.
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Hearing on the Central Intelligence Agency Detention and Interrogation Program, April 12, 2007 (DTS #2007-3158).
1273.
See detainee intelligence reporting data in Volume 11.
1274.
The CIA represented in 2002 that the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques were necessary and effective. The Committee analysis focuses on CIA representations between 2003 and 2009, during which time the CIA provided specific examples of counterterrorism “successes” the CIA attributed to the use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques.
1275.
See list of 20 CIA representations included in this summary. From 2003 through 2009, the CIA’s representations regarding the effectiveness of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques included a specific set of examples of terrorist plots “disrupted” and terrorists captured that the CIA attributed to information obtained from the use of its enhanced interrogation techniques. CIA representations further asserted that the intelligence obtained from the use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques was unique, otherwise unavailable, and resulted in “saved lives.” Among other CIA representations, sec. (1) CIA representations in the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel Memorandum, dated May 30, 2005, which relied on a series of highly specific CIA representations on the type of intelligence acquired from the use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques to assess their legality. The CIA representations referenced by the OLC include that the use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques was “necessary” to obtain “critical,” “vital,” and “otherwise unavailable actionable intelligence” that was “essential” for the U.S. government to “detect and disrupt” terrorist threats. The OLC memorandum further states that “[the CIA] ha[s] informed [the OLC] that the CIA believes that this program is largely responsible for preventing a subsequent attack within the United States.” (See Memorandum for John A. Rizzo, Senior Deputy General Counsel, Central Intelligence Agency, from Steven G. Bradbury, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, May 30, 2005, Re: Application of United States Obligations Under Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture to Certain Techniques That May Be Used in the Interrogation of High Value al Qaeda Detainees.) (2) CIA representations in the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel Memorandum dated July 20, 2007, which also relied on CIA representations on the type of intelligence acquired from the use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques. Citing CIA documents and the President’s September 6, 2006, speech describing the CIA’s interrogation program (which was based on CIA-provided information), the OLC memorandum states: “The CIA interrogation program—and, in particular, its use of enhanced interrogation techniques—is intended to serve this paramount interest [security of the Nation] by producing substantial quantities of otherwise unavailable intelligence . . . As the President explained [on September 6, 2006], ‘by giving us information about terrorist plans we could not get anywhere else, the program has saved innocent lives.’” (See Memorandum for John A. Rizzo, Acting General Counsel, Central Intelligence Agency, from Steven G. Bradbury, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, July 20, 2007, Re: Application of the War Crimes Act, the Detainee Treatment Act, and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions to Certain Techniques That May Be Used by the CIA in the Interrogation of High Value al Qaeda Detainees.) (3) CIA briefings for members of the National Security Council in July and September 2003 represented that “the use of Enhanced Techniques of one kind or another had produced significant intelligence information that had, in the view of CIA professionals, saved lives,” and warned policymakers that “[t]ermination of this program will result in loss of life, possibly extensive.” (See August 5, 2003, Memorandum for the Record from Scott Muller, Subject: Review of Interrogation Program on 29 July 2003; Briefing slides, CIA Interrogation Program, July 29, 2003; September 4, 2003, CIA Memorandum for the Record, Subject: Member Briefing; and September 26, 2003, Memorandum for the Record from Muller, Subject: CIA Interrogation Program.) (4) The CIA’s response to the Office of Inspector General Draft Special Review of the CIA program, which asserts: “Information [the CIA] received . . . as a result of the lawful use of enhanced interrogation techniques (‘EITs’) has almost certainly saved countless American lives inside the United States and abroad. The evidence points clearly to the fact that without the use of such techniques, we and our allies would [have] suffered major terrorist attacks involving hundreds, if not thousands, of casualties.” (See Memorandum for: Inspector General; from: James Pavitt, Deputy Director for Operations; subject: re (S) Comments to Draft IG Special Review, “Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Program” 2003-7123-IG; date: February 27, 2004; attachment: February 24, 2004, Memorandum re Successes of CIA’s Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities.) (5) CIA briefing documents for CIA Director Leon Panetta in February 2009, which state that the “CIA assesses that the RDI program worked and the [enhanced interrogation] techniques were effective in producing foreign intelligence,” and that “[m]ost, if not all, of the timely intelligence acquired from detainees in this program would not have been discovered or reported by other means.” (See CIA briefing documents for Leon Panetta, entitled, “Tab 9: DCIA Briefing on RDI Program—18FEB.2009” and graphic attachment, “Key Intelligence and Reporting Derived from Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Shaykh Muhammad (KSM),” including “DCIA Briefing on RDI Progiam” agenda, CIA document “EITs and Effectiveness,” with associated documents, “Key Intelligence Impacts Chart: Attachment (AZ and KSM),” “Background on Key Intelligence Impacts Chart: Attachment,” and “supporting references,” to include “Background on Key Captures and Plots Disrupted.”) (6) CIA document faxed to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on March 18, 2009, entitled, “[SWIGERT] and [DUNBAR],” located in Committee databases at DTS#2009-1258, which provides a list of “some of the key captures and disrupted plots” that the CIA had attributed to the use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques, and stating: “CIA assesses that most, if not all, of the timely intelligence acquired from detainees in this program would not have been discovered or reported by any other means.” See Volume II for additional CIA representations asserting that the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques enabled the CIA to obtain unique, otherwise unavailable intelligence that “saved lives.”
1276.
Italics in original document. See CIA memorandum to “National Security Advisor,” from “Director of Central Intelligence,” Subject: “Effectiveness of the CIA Counterterrorist Interrogation Techniques,” included in email from: ██████; to: ███████, ██████, and ██████; subject: “paper on value of interrogation techniques”; date: December 6, 2004, at 5:06:38 PM. The email references the attached “information paper to Dr. Rice explaining the value of the interrogation techniques.” The document includes the following: The “Karachi Plot,” “The Heathrow Plot,” The “Second Wave,” “The Guraba Cell,” “Issa al-Hindi,” “Abu Talha al-Pakistani,” “Hambali’s Capture,” “Jafaar al-Tayyar,” “Dirty Bomb Plot,” “Shoe Bomber,” and “Shkai, Pakistan.”
1277.
See CIA document entitled, “DCIA Talking Points: Waterboard 06 November 2007,” dated November 6, 2007, with the notation the document was “sent to DCIA Nov. 6 in preparation for POTUS meeting.” The document states, under the heading, “Plots Discovered as a Result of EITs,” that “reporting statistics alone will not provide a fair and accurate measure of the effectiveness of EITs,” and then provides a list of “examples of key intelligence collected from CIA detainee interrogations
after applying the waterboard
along with other interrogation techniques . . . The ‘Second Wave’ . . . Hambali’s Capture . . . The Guraba Cell . . . Shoe Bomber . . . Issa al-Hindi . . . Jafaar al-Tayyar . . . The Karachi Plot . . . The Heathrow (italics added).
1278.
CIA memorandum for the Record, “Review of Interrogation Program on 29 July 2003,” prepared by CIA General Counsel Scott Muller, dated August 5, 2003; briefing slides entitled, “CIA Interrogation Program,” dated July 29, 2003, presented to senior White House officials. Additional briefings are detailed in September 4, 2003, CIA Memorandum for the Record, Subject: Member Briefing; and September 26, 2003, Memorandum for the Record from Scott Muller, Subject: CIA Interrogation Program.
1279.
CIA memorandum to the CIA Inspector General from James Pavitt, CIA’s Deputy Director for Operations, dated February 27, 2004, with the subject line, “Comments to Draft IG Special Review, ‘Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Program’ (2003-7123-IG),” Attachment, “Successes of CIA’s Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities,” dated February 24, 2004.
1280.
CIA Directorate of Intelligence, “Khalid Shaykh Muhammad; Preeminent Source on Al-Qa’ida,” dated July 13, 2004; fax to the Department of Justice, April 22, 2005, entitled, “██, Materials on KSM and Abu Zubaydah. ██.” This report was widely disseminated in the Intelligence Community, and a copy of this report was provided to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on July 15, 2004. On March 31, 2009, former Vice President Cheney requested the declassification of this Intelligence Assessment, which was publicly released with redactions on August 24, 2009.
1281.
CIA memorandum to “National Security Advisor,” from “Director of Central Intelligence,” Subject: “Effectiveness of the CIA Counterterrorist Interrogation Techniques,” included in email from: ██████; to: ███████, █████, and █████; subject: “paper on value of interrogation techniques”; date: December 6, 2004, at 5:06:38 PM. The email references the attached “information paper to Dr. Rice explaining the value of the interrogation techniques.”
1282.
CIA Memorandum for Steve Bradbury at Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, from █████, ███ Legal Group, DCI Counterterrorist Center, subject: “Effectiveness of the CIA Counterterrorist Interrogation Techniques.”
1283.
CIA briefing for Vice President Cheney, dated March 4, 2005, entitled, “Briefing for Vice President Cheney: CIA Detention and Interrogation Program.”
1284.
CIA Talking Points entitled, “Talking Points for 10 March 2005 DCI Meeting PC: Effectiveness of the High-Value Detainee Interrogation (HVDI) Techniques.”
1285.
CIA “Briefing Notes on the Value of Detainee Reporting” faxed from the CIA to the Department of Justice on April 15, 2005, at 10:47AM.
1286.
CIA fax to DOJ Command Center, dated April 2, 2005, for ██████, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, from ██████, ███ Legal Group, DCI Counterterrorist Center, re: ██, Materials of KSM and Abu Zubaydah, included CIA Intelligence Assessment “Khalid Shaykh Muhammad: Preeminent Source on Al-Qa’ida,” and CIA document, “Materials of KSM and Abu Zubaydah.”
1287.
CIA Intelligence Assessment, “Detainee Reporting Pivotal for the War Against Al-Qa’ida,” June 2005, which CIA records indicate was provided to White House officials on June 1, 2005. The Intelligence Assessment at the SECRET//NOFORN classification level was more broadly disseminated on June 3, 2005. On March 31, 2009, former Vice President Cheney requested the declassification of this Intelligence Assessment, which was publicly released with redactions on August 24, 2009.
1288.
CIA memorandum entitled, “Future of CIA’s Counterterrorist Detention and Interrogation Program,” dated December 23, 2005, from CIA Director Porter Goss to Stephen J. Hadley, Assistant to the President/National Security Advisor, Frances F. Townsend, Assistant to the President/Homeland Security Advisor, Ambassador John D. Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence, Attachment, “Impact of the Loss of the Detainee Program to CT Operations and Analysis.”
1289.
CIA briefing document dated May 2, 2006, entitled, “BRIEFING FOR CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE PRESIDENT 2 May 2006 Briefing for Chief of Staff to the President Josh Bolten: CIA Rendition, Detention and Interrogation Programs.”
1290.
CIA briefing document entitled, “Detainee Intelligence Value Update,” dated 11 July 2006, internal document saved within CIA records as, “DNI Memo Intel Value July 11 2006 . . . TALKING POINTS FOR DCI MEETING.”
1291.
CIA document dated July 16, 2006, entitled, “DRAFT Potential Public Briefing of CIA’s High-Value Terrorist Interrogations Program,” and “CIA Validation of Remarks on Detainee Policy,” drafts supporting the September 6, 2006, speech by President George W. Bush acknowledging and describing the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, as well as an unclassified Office of the Director of National Intelligence release, entitled, “Summary of the High Value Terrorist Detainee Program.”
1292.
CIA classified Statement for the Record, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, provided by General Michael V. Hayden, Director, Central Intelligence Agency, 12 April 2007; and accompanying Senate Select Committee on Intelligence heating transcript for April 12, 2007, entitled, “Hearing on Central Intelligence Agency Detention and Interrogation Program.”