Obama to Release Secret Interrogation Memos (updated)

[ProSense]

BREAKING: Obama to Release Secret Interrogation Memos

by ye ye ye

It turns out that President Obama has decided to release the memos, which will include the CIA torture memos of 2005 and 2006.

After a tense internal debate, the Obama administration this afternoon will make public a number of detailed memos describing the harsh interrogation techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency against al Qaeda suspects in secret overseas prisons.

Perhaps HOW MUCH information is released without redactions is the next step to judge, but the news that memos will be released is certainly a positive sign.

It's no secret that there was lots of internal debates and arguments.

Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, has pressed the White House for weeks to redact sensitive details about specific interrogation techniques. He argued that revealing such information would pave the way for future disclosures of intelligence sources and methods, and would jeopardize the C.I.A.’s relationship with foreign intelligence services.

It's possible that having these memos released is a way to satisfy the left without going into full-blown investigations of former Bush administration officials.

Other Obama administration officials, including Gregory B. Craig, the White House counsel, and Attorney General Eric H. Holder, argued that releasing the documents not only would satisfy the government’s obligation in the lawsuit, but would also put distance between President Obama and some of his predecessor’s most controversial policies.

The fact that they are being released sends a signal that Obama wants a clean break from the last 8 years. Perhaps one of the more interesting memos to be released is the following one regarding the entire legal justification for torture:

Another document expected to be released this afternoon is a Justice Department memo written August 1, 2002. The memo, written by John C. Yoo and signed by Jay S. Bybee, two Justice Department officials at the time, is a legal authorization for a laundry list of proposed C.I.A. interrogation techniques.

Let's see what comes out, but I think it's safe to say that this is a win for civil liberties. Personally, I would be dishonest if I said I wasn't concerned about how this affects the WH's relationship with the intelligence community. Whether you agree with torture or not, we can all agree that intelligence gathering is one of the most important national security processes we have in the US.

There needs to be TRUST between the President, the CIA, and foreign intelligence services. Let's hope that this doesn't put a wedge between the President and those working for him who provide him with the sensitive details that allow him to make informed decisions on how to protect our country.

NYT Link here

Updated to add this:

Today is the court-imposed deadline for the memos to be released, and there has been an intense battle between the CIA--populated by far too many holdovers from the Bush administration--and Justice over what, and how much, should be released. This report doesn't say what, if anything, will be redacted from the memos, though it seems to indicate that they will be fully released. It looks like Justice won out, in more than one way.