Today, the ACLU released a series of memos exchanged between the Justice Department and the CIA from 2002 through 2004. According to Raw Story, the memos effectively say that “as long as CIA agents could convince themselves they were not deliberately inflicting severe pain or suffering on detainees, they were free to do virtually anything in their questioning of suspected terrorists, including waterboarding.” Here’s an example from an August 2002 memo:
To violate the statute [against torture], an individual must have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering. Because specific intent is an element of the offense, the absence of specific intent negates the charge of torture. As we have previously opined, to have the required specific intent, an individual must expressly intend to cause such severe pain and suffering.
The ACLU obtained the memos through a Freedom of Information Act request, but they were still heavily redacted. The government blacked out 10 pages of the 18 page August 2002 memo.
Update
The AP notes that the August 2002 DoJ memo told the CIA “that its interrogators would be safe from prosecution for violations of anti-torture laws if they believed `in good faith’ that harsh techniques used to break the will of prisoners, including waterboarding, would not cause ‘prolonged mental harm.’
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