Print ItemThe American Interest, Episode 45: The Torture Report in the Age of Fear (Podcast)
The American Interest
Episode 45: The Torture Report in the Age of Fear (Podcast)
Host: Richard Aldous
Good evening, podcast listeners! We have a truly excellent episode for you today, as we welcome to the show two expert guests ready to discuss the Senate Intelligence Committee’s recent report on the CIA’s use of torture.
First, we speak with Mark M. Lowenthal, president and CEO of the Intelligence & Security Academy and former Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Analysis & Production from 2002 to 2005, about the recent Senate Intelligence Committee report. He points out that political machinations were very much at play in the writing and release of the Committee’s report, and notes that many members of Congress had been briefed on the CIA’s activities. He notes that by not talking to many of the people involved, and by relying so extensively on documents as evidence, the report’s objectivity has been called into question.
He plays down the possibility of prosecution of those involved, pointing out the Administration’s careful avoidance of using the word torture, but notes that many of the people named in the report will be very careful about traveling outside of the United States for fear of extraterritorial indictment. He also reminds us that it’s difficult to recapture the atmosphere of fear that gripped the U.S. intelligence community in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
