Americans and CIA operatives working on counter terrorism operations around the world are bracing this morning ahead of the release of a report produced by Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques to gather intelligence after 9/11/2001. When President Obama took office in January 2009, he issued an executive order banning the techniques, which included waterboarding, from further use. The techniques used have been credited by the CIA and intelligence operatives for locating and killing Osama bin Laden.
The report, which contains information that was previously classified, is expected to be nearly 500 pages long and was put together by Democrats without any Republican input. Republicans have been critical of Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Intelligence Committee, for her plans to move forward with its release no matter what the consequences.
“We are concerned that this release could endanger the lives of Americans overseas, jeopardize U.S. relations with foreign partners, potentially incite violence, create political problems for our allies, and be used as a recruitment tool for our enemies,” Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Jim Risch said in a statement late Monday, adding that the move to release the report is "reckless and irresponsible.”
Yesterday White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the administration has been planning for the release of this report for months and understands that although the release of the report could endanger American lives overseas, President Obama fully supports its release. Secretary of State John Kerry made a phone call to Feinstein late last week asking her to seriously consider the timing of the release, especially with the current level of instability in the Middle East.
Meanwhile President George W. Bush, who has made it a point to stay out of the current public debate on a number of issues, is standing by the men and women working in the CIA to keep Americans safe from terror.
