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Pentagon Sought Abusive Techniques

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The Associated Press

Published: June 18, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks pursued abusive interrogation techniques once favored by such U.S. enemies as North Korea and Vietnam, despite stern warnings by several military lawyers that the methods were cruel and even illegal, according to a Senate investigation.

"The guidance administration lawyers provided will go down in history as some of the most irresponsible and shortsighted legal analysis ever provided to our nation's military and intelligence communities," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an Air Force Reserve colonel who teaches military law for the service.

The Armed Services Committee is expected to hold more hearings and issue a final report by the end of the year.

Among its initial findings is that Pentagon lawyers, including general counsel William "Jim" Haynes, sought information as early as July 2002 regarding a program that trained U.S. troops how to survive enemy interrogations and deny foes valuable intelligence.
Pentagon officials wanted to know whether the program could be used to develop more effective interrogation methods at Guantanamo Bay.

Several techniques, including stress positions, were later approved by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a December 2002 memo for use at Guantanamo Bay.

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