Fact Sheet
Published on March 25, 2014
Affiliations are for identification purposes only.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): “We’re not going to stop. I intend to move to have the findings, conclusions and the executive summary of the report sent to the president for declassification and release to the American people.” (Source: Washington Post)
Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD): “I welcome the measures undertaken by President Obama immediately after his election to ensure that abusive practices were ended. But there is another step I believe the United States must now take: the release of the Senate intelligence report on detention and interrogation practices. That report has been sent to various government agencies for comment as part of a process that I hope will ultimately lead to the release of a declassified version.” (Source: U.S. Helsinki Commission)
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL): “In my view, it is critically important to declassify the SSCI Study so that we can learn from, and hopefully not repeat, the mistakes of our past.” (Source: RollCall)
Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM): “Recent efforts undertaken by the CIA, including but not limited to inaccurate public statements about the committee’s study, are meant to intimidate, deflect and thwart legitimate oversight. It only makes me firmer in my conviction that the committee should release and declassify the full 6,300-page study with minimal redactions so that the public can judge the facts for themselves.” (Source: Washington Post)
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT): “This only compounds the grave concerns I have had for years about the underlying conduct that the Senate Intelligence Committee has been investigating: the torture of detainees during the previous administration. I fully support Chairman Feinstein’s efforts to seek declassification of her committee’s report on the CIA detention and interrogation program.” (Source: Senate.gov)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ): “It is therefore my hope that this Committee will take whatever steps necessary to finalize and declassify this report, so that all Americans can see the record for themselves, which I believe will finally close this painful chapter for our country.” (Source: Senate.gov)
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV): “We do know, and there’s been a number of public reports about this — at least I believe that to be the case — that the investigation that’s been going on in the Intelligence Committee for years dealing with torture is about ready to come out. I haven’t read it, but I think we should get that out and then find out what’s going on.” (Source: McClatchyDC.com)
Senator Charles S. Robb, former Governor of Virginia; Co-Chair President’s Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004); Marine Corps, Vietnam, Bronze Star recipient*
Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV): “The President was right to use this opportunity to once again publicly condemn the use of torture. We know this approach is ineffective in gathering intelligence, and it is legally impermissible and morally repugnant. The 6,000 page report on the CIA detention and interrogation program that the Intelligence Committee completed over the course of many years makes this clear. Along with Vice President Biden and Senator McCain, I also believe that in order for our nation to move beyond the mistakes of the past, the record must be corrected and sunlight must be cast on that program.” (Source: Senate.gov)
Senator Mark Udall (D-CO): “I am renewing my push for the White House and the CIA to engage with the committee on the report, to declassify it and to come clean with the American people.” (Source: Senate.gov)
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI): “I believe that the report should be declassified as soon as possible, with portions released in redacted form if some content must remain classified…. I think that allowing the public to know the facts will strengthen our nation’s commitment to legal forms of interrogation without damaging our national security.” — Excerpt from a constituent letter
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR): “Without the significant facts and analysis provided by this report, the public debate over these interrogation techniques will continue to consist of opponents like myself saying torture doesn’t work, and some former CIA officials claiming that it does. The public needs to see an infusion of facts so they can make up their minds for themselves and finally put this debate to rest.” (Source: ForeignPolicy.com)
Current or Former Executive Branch Officials
President Barack Obama: “I am absolutely committed to declassifying the report as soon as the report is completed. In fact, I would urge them to go ahead and complete the report and send it to us and we will declassify those findings so that the American people can understand what happened in the past and that can help guide us as we move forward.” (Source: Boston.com)
Vice President Joe Biden: “I think the only way you excise the demons is you acknowledge, you acknowledge exactly what happened straightforward.” (Source: McCain Institute Sedona Forum 2013)
Rosa Brooks, former Counselor to the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2009-2011); former Senior Advisor at the U.S. State Department: “If we want to make sure the United States will never again resort to torture, we need to set out the factual record: what was done and with what effects.” “Unless the report is made public,[…]this debate will remain characterized by misinformation and unverifiable claims – increasing the danger that in the future, we’ll repeat past mistakes.” (Source: ForeignPolicy.com)
Ambassador Peter W. Galbraith, former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia; former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations*
Jeh Johnson, former Department of Defense General Counsel (2009-2012): “We ought to declassify as much of it as we can.” (Source: Aspen Security Forum)
Harold H. Koh, former Legal Advisor to U.S. State Department (2009-2013); former Assistant Secretary of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (1998-2001): “You have not heard claims that this Administration has conducted torture, waterboarding, or enhanced interrogation tactics. To underscore that commitment, this would be an opportune moment, as Vice President Joe Biden pointed out on April 26, to make public the Senate Select Intelligence Committee’s as-yet-unreleased six-thousand-page report regarding the CIA’s former notorious “enhanced interrogation” program.” (Source: Oxford Union Speech May 7, 2013)
Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, former Ambassador to Combat Trafficking in Persons; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs; Global Politics and Security Chair, Georgetown University MSFS Program*
Alberto J. Mora, former U.S. Navy General Counsel*
Eric P. Schwartz, former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration at the U.S. State Department; former Senior Director and Special Assistant to the President for Multilateral and Humanitarian Affairs*: “Subject to appropriate redactions of information the release of which would damage national security or put people at risk, it is difficult to imagine a compelling rationale not to make the report public. Moreover, the President would serve our interests by an early declaration that he strongly supports such release.” (Source: University of Minnesota)
Ambassador William H. Taft, IV, former Deputy Secretary of Defense; former Chief Legal Advisor, Department of State*: “The American people deserve to know how torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of enemy prisoners, in violation of U.S. and international laws and standards, became U.S. policy. Until the report is publicly released, proponents of torture will continue to use the secrecy that surrounds the CIA’s detention and interrogation program to distort the facts.” (Source: Washington Post)
“Not only is honesty about our past mistakes fundamental to our national character, it is also in our diplomatic interests. The United States has long been admired because we live by our principles. Here is an important time for us to demonstrate that clearly. The rest of the world is watching to see what we do. The Committee’s report and its public release is a key step in assessing our conduct and correcting errors.” – February 24, 2014 letter to members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence from former diplomats, including the following:
Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin, President of The Middle East Institute, former Ambassador to Pakistan and Laos
Ambassador Nancy Ely-Raphel, former U. S. Ambassador to Slovenia, former Counselor on International Law
Ambassador Sally Shelton-Colby, Diplomat-in-Residence, School of International Service, American University
Ambassador Nicholas Veliotes, former Ambassador to Egypt and Jordan and Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East and South Asia
Bi-Partisan Task Force on Detainee Treatment
“Apart from redactions needed to protect specific individuals and to honor specific diplomatic agreements, the executive branch should declassify evidence regarding the CIA’s and military’s abuse and torture of captives, including, but not limited to: The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the CIA’s treatment of detainees.” (Source: Recommendation from The Report of The Constitution Project’s Task Force on Detainee Treatment)
Asa Hutchinson (Co-Chair), former Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security at the Department of Homeland Security; former Republican Congressman from 3rd District of Arkansas*
Ambassador James R. Jones (Co-Chair), former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico; former Democratic Congressman from Oklahoma*
Azizah al-Hibri, Professor Emerita, The T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond; Chair, KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights*
Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte, former President of the American Bar Association*
Richard Epstein, Professor of Law, New York University; Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Chicago
The Rev. Dr. David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University*
Brigadier General David R. Irvine, USA (Ret.), former strategic intelligence officer, U.S. Army Reserve; taught prisoner-of-war interrogation for 18 years at the Sixth U.S. Army Intelligence School; former Republican state legislator (Utah)*
Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, USA (Ret.), former Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence at Headquarters, Department of the Military; former Commander of U.S. Army Recruiting Command*
Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; former Ambassador and
Representative to the United Nations; former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador, Nigeria, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan*
William S. Sessions, former FBI Director; former chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas*
Gerald Thomson, MD, Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Columbia University *
Retired Military Flag Officers[1]
General Joseph P. Hoar, USMC (Ret.), former Commander, U.S. Central Command (1991-1994); former Chief of Staff, U.S. Central Command (1988-1990)*^
General Charles C. Krulak, USMC (Ret.), former Commandant of the Marine Corps (1995-1999)*^
General David M. Maddox, USA (Ret.), former Commander in Chief, U.S. Army, Europe (1993-1994)^
General Barry McCaffrey, USA (Ret.), former Assistant Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; former Deputy U.S. Representative to NATO; former Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Infantry School*
General Merrill A. McPeak, USAF (Ret.), former Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (1990-1994)^
Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard Jr., USA (Ret.), President Emeritus, Monterey Institute for International Studies; Senior Military Fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation*^
Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, USN (Ret.), former Inspector General, Department of the Navy (1997-2000)*
Lieutenant General Arlen D. Jameson, USAF (Ret.), former Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Strategic Command^
Lieutenant General Charles Otstott, USA (Ret.), former Deputy Chairman, NATO Military Committee (1990-1992)*^
Lieutenant General Harry E. Soyster, USA (Ret.), former Director, Defense Intelligence Agency; former Assistant Chief of Staff, Army Intelligence*^
Lieutenant General Keith J. Stalder, USMC (Ret.), former Commander, United States Marine Corps Forces Pacific (2008-2010)^
Lieutenant General James M. Thompson, USA (Ret.), former Director for Estimates, Defense Intelligence Agency; former Deputy Director for Plans, Policy, and National Security Council Affairs in the Secretary of Defense’s Office*
Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA (Ret.), former Commanding General of the command charged with reestablishing Iraqi Security Forces (2003-2004)*
Major General Eugene Fox, USA (Ret.), former Deputy Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Office*^
Rear Admiral Don Guter, JAGC, USN (Ret.), former Judge Advocate General of the Navy (2000-2002)*^
Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, JAGC, USN (Ret.), former Judge Advocate General of the Navy (1997-2000)*^
Major General Michael R. Lehnert, USMC (Ret.), former Chief of Staff, U.S. Southern Command
Former CIA and Intelligence Officials
John Rizzo, former CIA General Counsel: “The argument originally was don’t declassify any of it. There was such opposition to declassifying OLC memos, at least those parts that discussed the techniques. But that decision was made. And now that this much has been opened up, yeah…and this controversy has gotten very long legs. So I’d be for declassifying as much as possible.” (Source: August 2, 2102 Interview with the Constitution Project’s Task Force on Detainee Treatment)
Vincent Cannistraro, former Director of Intelligence Programs for the United States National Security Council; former Chief of Operations and Analysis at the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center*
Glenn L. Carle, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Transnational Threats and served 23 years in the Clandestine Services of the CIA: “The committee should vote to make the report public, and the administration should work with the committee to make redactions….The Senate report should be redacted only where legitimate sources and methods need protection, not failed programs.” (Source: Sacramento Bee)
Nada Bakos and Cindy Storer (featured in Manhunt as among the first CIA officers to pinpoint intelligence that proved the existence of al-Qaeda and bin Laden as its leader) and Philip Mudd (former Deputy Director of the CIA Counter Terrorism Center), all stated that it is important to inform the American public about what the CIA did following 9/11. (Source: PR Newswire)
Burton Gerber, retired CIA operations officer*
Philip M. Giraldi, former operations officer specializing in counter-terrorism, Central Intelligence Agency, (1975-1992); United States Army Intelligence*: “If the United States is ever to recover its good name as ‘an exemplary practitioner of the rule of law,’ it must take steps to confront the past.” (Source: The American Conservative)
Reuel Marc Gerecht, former CIA officer: “Americans should assess whether Langley engaged in torture in its war against al-Qaeda. The country’s honor is at stake, not just the competence of its primary intelligence service. Neither the CIA nor national security is likely to be harmed if the behemoth were released with the necessary camouflage for operatives, tradecraft and foreign intelligence services.” (Source: Washington Post)
Mary McCarthy, former National Intelligence Officer for Warning; former Director for Intelligence Programs, National Security Council; former Senior Director, Special Assistant to the President, National Security Council*
Haviland Smith, former CIA operations officer and station chief with 27 years of experience
“Release of the [SSCI] study, with appropriate redactions, would have a salutary effect of promoting oversight and accountability, and ensuring that future policy decisions on the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects are based on a thorough, fact-based understanding of the former detention and interrogation program and its consequences.” – Statement of former CIA officers and officials on release of the SSCI study, on file with Human Rights First, which includes the following individuals:
Frank Anderson, former Near East Division Chief of the CIA
Jack Rice, former CIA officer
Patrick Skinner, former CTC operations officer with the CIA, with experience in both Afghanistan and Iraq
Barry Eisler, former CIA officer
Former Interrogators and FBI Officials
Tony Camerino, former senior military interrogator: “We don’t condone torture not because it isn’t effective, but because we place our moral principles and lawful obligations first. As we reaffirm our commitment to our values, there’s no reason to ignore the record. It’s time for Americans to know the truth about the real consequences of the CIA’s torture program. Now that the SSCI has approved its study, it should be made public.” (Source: The Hill Blog)
Jack Cloonan, former FBI security and counterterrorism expert: “If you’re interested in the truth about torture and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, you shouldn’t look to Hollywood; you should call on President Obama to work with the Senate Intelligence Committee to release the committee’s landmark 6,000-page report on the CIA’s post-9/11 detention and interrogation program.” (Source: The Hill Blog)
Joe Navarro, FBI Supervisory Special Agent, Terrorism/Counterespionage Supervisor, Federal Bureau of Investigation and FBI Academy instructor on Advanced Terrorism Interviewing Techniques and Author of Hunting Terrorists: a Look at the Psychopathology of Terrorists*
Coleen Rowley, former FBI special agent (co-written with Tom Maertens, former NSC Director for non-proliferation and homeland defense and former State Department Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism during and after 9/11 and Glenn L. Carle, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Transnational Threats and served 23 years in the Clandestine Services of the CIA): “Releasing the Senate Intelligence Committee report on interrogation would help dispel the misimpression that “enhanced interrogation techniques,” as portrayed in the popular media, are effective and legal. Such practices are illegal by U.S. and international law, have been shown by U.S. government agencies to be ineffective, damage our international reputation as a leader of the Western democracies and are possibly a rationale for retaliation against the U.S. and its interests.” (Source: Huffington Post)
Ali Soufan, former FBI special agent: “It’s the duty of the president and Congress to responsibly declassify the report — and the other documents that advocates of torture don’t want released.
That’s the only way to ensure that future generations won’t ever go down that dark and dangerous path again. As Senator John McCain has said, the Senate report ‘has the potential to set the record straight once and for all’ and end ‘a stain on our country’s conscience.’” (Source: The New York Times)
Luis Busquets, former FBI special agent specializing in violent crimes and counterintelligence
Jim Clemente, former FBI Supervisory Special Agent with 22 years of experience[2]+
Gerry Downes, former Special Agent of the FBI from 1984-2009 +
Mark Fallon, former NCIS agent with more than 30 years of experience in the federal law enforcement and counterintelligence community +
Steven Kleinman, former director, Air Force Combat Interrogation Course; career intelligence officer with more than 26 years of operational leadership experience +
Marcus Lewis, former Army interrogator and interrogation instructor with over 10 years of experience +
Robert McFadden, 30-year veteran of federal law enforcement, intelligence, and counterintelligence communities +
Mike Marks, former NCIS agent with 23 years of experience; assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force +
Charles Mink, former Army interrogator +
Torin Nelson, former FBI special agent with 25 years of experience +
Erik Phillips, former Army Special Operations and contract interrogator +
William Quinn, former Army interrogator +
Buck Revell, former FBI special agent and senior executive with 30 years of experience +
Mark Safarik, former member, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, with over 30 years of experience in law enforcement +
Legal Experts and Associations
David C. Acheson, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; former President of the U.S. Atlantic Council*
John Norton Moore, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law; Co-Founder, Center for National Security Law; former four-term Chairman of the ABA Standing Committee on National Security Law; former Counselor on International Law to the Department of State*
Frederick A.O. (“Fritz”) Schwarz, Jr., former Chief Counsel for the Church Committee; currently Chief Counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School: “This issue is apparently explored in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 6,300-page draft report, to which the CIA made a 122-page rebuttal in June 2013. The underlying documents remain classified, stalling the report’s release. But after considering the CIA’s rebuttal and any specific classification concerns, the committee should do exactly as Feinstein urges and release its report. Surely legitimate classification no longer applies to ‘enhanced interrogation.’” (Source: The Nation)
American Bar Association “Public release of the Study would provide long-overdue accountability at home and abroad. It would demonstrate that the United States is committed to fulfilling its international obligations to investigate allegations of torture and would provide access to information to enable Americans for the first time to evaluate claims about the lawfulness of, necessity for, and effectiveness of the CIA’s use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques.’” (Source: ABA)
Faith Groups and Prominent Religious Leaders[3]
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “Having the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence finalize and release the full report on CIA interrogation techniques would go a long way to ensuring that the public becomes aware of past practices, and of the illegality and ineffectiveness of torture. Subjecting these practices to public scrutiny would help ensure that our government does not engage in torture again.” (Source: USCCB.org)
Jewish Council for Public Affairs: “We urge the Committee to adopt the report and to begin the process of making the results of the investigation public (redacted as appropriate). This report has been several years in the making and represents an important effort to shed light on practices that have placed in jeopardy our nation’s reputation on defending human rights.” (Source: NRCAT.org)
Jim Winkler, President and General Secretary, National Council of Churches #
Galen Carey, Vice President, Government Relations, National Association of Evangelicals*
Rabbi Steve Gutow, President and CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs #
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism*
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America #
Kathryn Lohre, President, National Council of Churches*
The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ #
Imam Mohamed Magid, President, Islamic Society of North America #
Rev. Peter Morales, President, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations #
Rev. Joel Boot, Executive Director, Christian Reformed Church in North America #
Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church USA* #
Bishop Richard E. Pates, Chair, Committee on International Justice and Peace, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops*
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church* #
Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)*
Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, President, The Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church* #
Gerry Lee, Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns #
Sr. Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA #
Stanley J. Noffsinger, General Secretary, Church of the Brethren #
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights #
Diane Randall, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation #
Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz, President and CEO, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee #
Rev. Paula Clayton Dempsey, Minister for Partnership Relations, Alliance of Baptists # “I now call for the release of the SSCI investigation report, as does the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. As people of faith we believe that truth will set us free.” (Source: )
Pastor Brian McLaren, author and public theologian: “I encourage the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to make public the results of its three-year investigation into the torture used by our government and the implications such behaviors and policies had.” (Source: BrianMclaren.net)
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights: “T’ruah joins with hundreds of faith-based groups coming together through the National Religious Campaign Against Torture in calling for the Senate to release this report. The American people deserve to know the facts about the CIA torture program.” (Source: The Jewish Week)
Rev. Jon Barton, General Minister for the Virginia Council of Churches: “What we need now is for the Senate Intelligence Committee to release the report of its review of millions of pages of classified materials.” (Source: Richmond Times Dispatch)
Rev. William Barter, Executive Director of the Maine Council of Churches: “We join people of faith across our state who have come together through the Maine Council of Churches to urge Collins and King to vote for release of the Senate report about U.S.-sponsored torture, and we urge Mainers of good conscience to join us as we press these good senators to do what is right.” (Source: Bangor Daily News)
Rev. Russel Meyer, Executive Director of the Florida Council of Churches: “It matters: The SSCI needs to publicly identify the policies and practices that have been used and then draw clear lines between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable and corrosive of America’s strength and values. Only then can we state clearly what the limits are for handling prisoners, restore our nation’s honor, and re-establish trust with our military men and women on the front lines.” (Source: The Tampa Tribune)
Rev. Linda Lea Snyder, interim Executive Director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches: “The New Hampshire Council of Churches, an ecumenical organization representing Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christian traditions throughout the state stands with hundreds of other diverse, faith-based communities in every state calling for the release of this Senate Intelligence Report. Only then can there be widespread understanding of the facts, facts that can arouse our public conscience for change and in advocating for behavior and standards of government conduct that align with our common belief and core value in the supreme value of all human life.” (Source: Concord Monitor)
Rev. David McKee, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the immediate past president of the Virginia Council of Churches: “The Senate Intelligence Committee is concluding a multiyear investigation into CIA interrogations, including its use of torture. By releasing the results of this investigation to the public, the committee can help ensure that, in the future, our nation truly lives up to the values we espouse.” (Source: Richmond Times Dispatch)
Rev. Daniel M. Bell Jr., Professor of Theology and Ethics, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary: “As a Christian, I have joined with thousands of others from a vast array of faith traditions who support the National Religious Campaign Against Torture in calling for the release of this report. This is an important step toward establishing the transparency and accountability necessary for a national conversation about torture and ensuring that the defense of this nation is consistent with both law and the moral values we claim.” (Source: The State)
Rev. Sandra L. Strauss, Director of Public Advocacy for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches: “We join with our interfaith partners at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture to join in calling for the public release of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee report.” (Source: Pennlive.com)
Rev. Stephen Copley, Chair of the Arkansas Interfaith Alliance: “The report on the Intelligence Committee’s investigation is more than 6,000 pages long and was adopted by the committee in December 2012. It is time for the Senate Intelligence Committee to release its findings so the debate on torture will exist no longer; it is time the public has the tools to conclude that torture is wrong in all circumstances.” (Source: Arkansas Online)
Rev. Jill Saxby, retired Executive Director of the Maine Council of Churches: “If we hide from the facts, we risk making bad public policy — and bad moral choices — based on a warped mythology about torture that has taken hold in many quarters in the wake of the fear caused by terrorism. But fear and confusion are no basis for making the right choice. The people who ran toward the danger in Boston to help others knew this. There is a higher moral ground on which individuals and nations can stand and face the world even at the worst moments. I urge Collins and King to make the courageous choice, the moral choice for truth: Vote to release the Senate report.” (Bangor Daily News)
Rev. Nancy J. Kemper, minister of New Union Christian Church Woodford County and retired executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches: “Torture is immoral because it is the egregious violation of the dignity and worth of every human being — both the torturer and the tortured. It runs contrary to the teachings of all religions and dishonors all faiths, and all in whose name it is conducted. Please join me in urging the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee to release its report so that we may know the truth. Our government must be accountable to the American people.” (Source: Kentucky.com)
Rev. Scott D. Anderson, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches: “The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is completing a three-year investigation into CIA interrogation practices. This investigation is said to be comprehensive and to provide a complete accounting of the facts surrounding CIA interrogations. Making the report on this investigation public could settle the effectiveness debate once and for all.” (Source: Madison.com)
International Experts
Ben Emmerson, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism: “The Special Rapporteur calls on the United States to release the full Senate Select Committee report as soon as possible, subject only to the specific redaction of such particulars as are considered by the Select Committee itself to be strictly necessary to safeguard legitimate national security interests or the physical safety of persons identified in the report.” – Report of the Special Rapporteur to UN Human Rights Council (Source: Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights)
U.N. Human Rights Committee, fourth periodic review of the United States on its implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: “[W]e would like to hear a commitment that this report will be disclosed, will be made public and therefore be declassified so that we the committee can really analyze what follow-up you have given to these hearings.” (Source: Miami Herald)
Editorial Boards
The New York Times
The C.I.A. Torture Cover-Up
March 11, 2014
“The lingering fog about the C.I.A. detentions is a result of Mr. Obama’s decision when he took office to conduct no investigation of them. We can only hope he knows that when he has lost Dianne Feinstein, he has no choice but to act in favor of disclosure and accountability.”
The New York Times
Release the Torture Reports
December 19, 2013
“The committee must insist on the Obama administration’s cooperation in making public all three documents — the Senate Intelligence Committee report, the official C.I.A. response to it, and the internal C.I.A. study.“
“Rendition, illegal detention and torture did not arise on President Obama’s watch. He has repeatedly denounced the use of torture and ended the detention program as one of his first White House acts. But his expansive claims of secrecy have succeeded in blocking victims’ lawsuits and helping to keep details of rendition and torture secret, denying the country a reckoning necessary for the historical record, establishing accountability and avoiding similar human rights violations in the future.“
The New York Times
Indisputable Torture
April 16, 2013
“The Constitution Project’s effort is a good step in that direction. But the portrait of what happened is still incomplete. For starters, a separate 6,000-page report by the Senate Intelligence Committee, based on Central Intelligence Agency records, has yet to be declassified and made public. The next step should be its release. There is no excuse for further delay.”
The Washington Post
The CIA should cooperate with the Senate on torture report
March 16, 2014
“To maintain the essential confidence of the American people, intelligence agencies, like all in government, must at times admit mistakes and face accountability. Denial and obfuscation only erode that confidence. The Senate has a legitimate function in oversight. Let’s get on with publishing the torture report, the internal review and the CIA’s comments — and then focus on how to improve democracy, counterterrorism, intelligence collection and protecting the nation.”
The Washington Post
Declassify the Senate report on CIA interrogation methods
March 6, 2014
“The CIA must cooperate with Congress in getting this report published, however unpleasant that may be.
“The interrogation methods were part of a covert action program authorized by the president. It is time to examine the program with some historical perspective, learn the lessons and ponder how the United States can best defend itself in a dangerous world without violating dearly held values and principles.”
Los Angeles Times
Spy wars on Capitol Hill: Feinstein vs. the CIA
March 20, 2014
“It’s long past time that the report was declassified and released so the public can draw its own conclusions. Obama, who has said he is committed to declassifying the report, can and must make that happen.
Los Angeles Times
“The dark side” of America’s fight against terrorism
January 9, 2014
“We believe the committee should release the whole report, omitting only details that threaten the exposure of sources and methods, not information that would simply be embarrassing. Obama, who prides himself on prohibiting waterboarding and other forms of torture, should make it clear that this is his preference as well, whatever the CIA says.”
Los Angeles Times
Free the CIA torture report
December 20, 2012
“But the report, which is based on a study of more than 6 million pages of CIA and other records, represents the most ambitious attempt yet to explain why and how this country lost its moral bearings in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. The American people have a right to see it.”
Los Angeles Times
Closing the book on CIA torture
September 14, 2012
“Although much is known about how, in the panic after 9/11, the Bush administration resorted to tactics impossible to reconcile with the Geneva Convention and alien to American values, a complete picture has yet to emerge. That is why it is essential that the Senate Intelligence Committee make public the results of its investigation of the CIA’s interrogation program.”
USA Today
CIA has a lot of explaining to do: Our view
March 12, 2014
“In the absence of definitive accounts, Americans have had to rely on news reports and movies such as Zero Dark Thirty to try to grasp what happened after 9/11, decide whether it was justified and determine under what circumstances — if any — it might be repeated.
“These are difficult, morally complex questions. The Senate committee’s long-delayed report on CIA actions will be an important step in answering them. The sooner it’s released, the better.”
Chicago Sun-Times
Release the CIA torture report
March 14, 2014
“People in the Langley bureaucracy are always going to want protection from oversight when policy changes or a new administration comes in. But this goes beyond the usual circling of the wagons in a turf battle. The activities at the heart of the investigations — torture of prisoners, extraordinary rendition, illegal detention and abusive interrogations — must be thoroughly aired. The CIA is used to operating in the shadows, but this is a moment for transparency and accountability.”
StarTribune
Senate and the CIA should release torture reports
December 22, 2013
“It has been a year since the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence produced a 6,000-plus-page, 35,000-footnote report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s rendition, detention and interrogation program. These practices were carried out in America’s name, and Americans have a right to know what happened.”
Financial Times
US should hold the CIA to account
March 12, 2014
“The only way the agency can clear its name is by coming clean. Mr Obama’s action should also match his rhetoric: now is the time to redeem the promises he made as a candidate.”
The Baltimore Sun
A torturous debate
March 12, 2014
“…[T]he president should expedite declassifying the Senate committee’s report so the public can judge for itself whether the CIA crossed a line in its treatment of detainees. Mr. Brennan has maintained all along, as did his predecessor Leon Panetta, that the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques were limited to a few isolated cases. If everything was as on the up-and-up as he says it was, neither he nor his agency should have anything to hide.”
The Baltimore Sun
The truth about torture
April 21, 2013
“A separate report by the Senate Intelligence Committee based on agency records, rather than interviews, may paint an even clearer picture, but it remains classified. Given the abuses cited in the panel’s report, it should be released immediately. Identifying the mistakes of the past is essential if we are to avoid going down that road again, and for that to happen the American public must know the full extent of the crimes committed in its name.”
San Francisco Chronicle
Dianne Feinstein’s hard CIA lesson
March 12, 2014
“The CIA’s treatment of the Senate intelligence panel should remind the White House that it needs to address, not neglect, one of this country’s darkest moments that followed the 2001 attacks. Feinstein is right: The Senate report on CIA interrogations must be preserved, not interfered with.”
Dallas Morning News
Feinstein is right to go public on CIA probe
March 16, 2014
“The administration should move quickly to declassify and release as much as possible of all reports related to the detention program. The public has a right to know, and the Senate has an obligation to do its job without executive branch interference.”
The Denver Post
Public deserves to see CIA torture report
March 12, 2014
“The Intelligence Committee and the CIA are probably never going to agree on the merits and flaws of the agency’s interrogation record. But the public should be able to see the report nonetheless — and the CIA can publicly take issue with it if the agency likes.
“If the Senate and White House fail to release the document, on the other hand, it will only solidify growing public skepticism regarding proper oversight of America’s clandestine activities.”>
The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, VA)
Cloaks, daggers and the CIA
March 14, 2014
“Neither party will cover itself in glory by uncovering this festering ulcer on the body politic and exposing the report, and the drama surrounding it, to the light of public scrutiny. But it is essential to America’s narrative that, imperfect though the nation is, it is exceptional in its ability to bare painful truths and learn from them.
“Let’s make it so.”
Albuquerque Journal
Reports on CIA’s past tactics should be public
March 10, 2014
“[Senator] Heinrich maintains Americans have a right to see what’s in the 6,000-page Senate report. He claims dozens of people were tortured and interrogated with little or no intelligence gained.”
Newsday (Long Island, NY)
Senate and CIA – spies vs. spymasters
March 11, 2014
“If crimes were committed, perpetrators should be prosecuted. And if Feinstein’s account is verified, heads should roll at the CIA.”
The Charleston Gazette-Mail
Torture: Treaty, laws violated
April 21, 2013
“Four months ago, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence finished a 6,000-page report on CIA torture — but kept it secret, hidden from Americans. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is a top-ranking member of that committee. He should use his influence to bring sunshine and let Americans know what their government did.”
The Tampa Bay Times
Nation deserves answers on CIA conduct
March 12, 2014
“Obama needs to demand some answers and hold the CIA to account. And the administration should move quickly to release both the CIA’s internal review of its detention program and the Senate report. It’s time to open the blinds for the American people.”
The Tampa Bay Times
Report on torture reveals moral stain
April 21, 2013
“So too, the Senate Intelligence Committee has refused to declassify and make public a 6,000-page review of detainee treatment, based on CIA records. Without official Washington offering an authoritative and accurate account, the task force’s report is the most comprehensive public record that exists. Only by acknowledging the grave mistakes that were made will the nation be less likely to repeat them when the next serious threat occurs.”
The Fresno Bee
Americans must learn truth about CIA’s torture program
March 11, 2014
“[John] Brennan said his agency ‘wants to put the rendition, detention and interrogation chapter of its history behind it.’
“That isn’t going to happen until the American people can read the Intelligence Committee’s report for themselves and until the panel’s role as watchdog is reaffirmed.”
The Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune
Declassify torture report
March 17, 2014
“The degree to which the United States employed torture and whether its advocates honestly portrayed its use and the actual techniques, as well as whether the practices produced any useful results, are matters of grave importance and the report is information to which Americans are entitled.”
The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA)
The CIA’s no-win battle with Feinstein
March 13, 2014
“The best outcome is publication of the complete report and the disputed CIA internal review, which would allow the public to make up its own mind about who is more to blame in this unsettling blowup over spying and our nation’s oversight of it.”
Valley News (West Lebanon, NH)
Secrecy Abounds; U.S. Must Confront Torture Issue
December 26, 2012
“We can be thankful, we suppose, that the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a report raising questions about the torture practiced by the U.S. during the Bush years. We can be thankful that the Bush administration withdrew authorization for those practices shortly before leaving office and that Barack Obama officially prohibited them when he took office.
“But as is the case with other countries that have shameful episodes in their recent history, the United States won’t have closed this particular chapter until it fully and honestly accounts for its behavior.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer
‘Zero’ movie is just a fantasy
December 19, 2012
“The report’s unveiling cannot come soon enough, since Americans have yet to be told in any sufficient detail what antiterror tactics were employed in the name of keeping them safe after the 9/11 attacks.”
Battle Creek Enquirer
Release Senate report on CIA interrogation, torture
December 13, 2012
“The 6,000-page report that the committee approved by a 9-6 vote is no doubt far less thrilling, but it’s likely to be more disturbing, and it could be extremely useful in closing the book on a disgraceful chapter in America’s history.”
Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram/Morning Sentinel/Kennebec Journal
Maine senators must help make CIA report public/Collins, King should fight for declassification of report on torture
March 10, 2014
“The 9/11 attacks left the United States raw, and its citizens and government eager to dole out justice and prevent further attacks. The CIA was a tool in that quest. In that way, we are all complicit in what was done in our country’s name. It is important to have a full accounting of that time, to lay bare all that is known and allow an accurate history to be written. The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report is the closest we’ll come to that full accounting, and it should be made public for all to see.”
Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME)
Snowe, committee should release torture report
November 23, 2012
“The Intelligence Committee, which includes Maine’s Sen. Olympia Snowe, should release the report and let the American people know, finally, what was done in the name of their security and whether it was worth it.”
“It’s important that this report comes out and becomes part of the historical record. Otherwise, partial versions and misleading accounts will influence future policy makers.”
The Daily Astorian (Astoria, OR)
Congress must control our spies
March 13, 2014
“We should, however, still thoroughly investigate and understand what happened so we don’t repeat the same errors.
“To this end, it’s time to release the Senate 6,300-page report about the CIA’s ‘war on terror.’ Like the ‘truth and reconciliation’ process that followed the end of Apartheid in South Africa, there is much to be gained by making transgressors own up to what they did.”
The Livingston Daily (MI)
CIA has a lot of explaining to do
March 20, 2014
“These are difficult, morally complex questions. The Senate committee’s long-delayed report on CIA actions will be an important step in answering them. The sooner it’s released, the better.”
NGOs/Civil Society
Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
American Civil Liberties Union
American Library Association
Amnesty International USA
Asian Americans for Community Involvement
Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC)
The Brennan Center for Justice
Californians Aware
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Effective Government
Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights
Center for International Policy
Center for Justice and Accountability
Center for Media and Democracy
Center for National Security Studies
Center for Survivors of Torture
The Center for Victims of Torture
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
The Constitution Project
Defending Dissent Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Essential Information
Federation of American Scientists
First Amendment Coalition
Florida Center for Survivors of Torture
Freedom of the Press Foundation
Friends Committee on National Legislation
The Fund for Constitutional Government
The Government Accountability Project
HealthRight International
Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center
Historians Against the War
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
International Justice Network
Just Foreign Policy
Liberty Coalition
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Security Network
National Coalition Against Censorship
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
National Security ArchiveNo More GuantanamosNorth Carolina Stop Torture NowNorthern Virginia Family ServiceNYU Bellevue Program for Survivors of TortureOpen Society Policy CenterOpenTheGovernment.orgPeace ActionPeace Action WestPEN CenterPhysicians for Human RightsProgram for Torture VictimsProject on Government Oversight (POGO)Public CitizenRabbis for Human Rights, North AmericaReprieveSeptember 11th Families for Peaceful TomorrowsSociety of American ArchivistsSociety of Professional JournalistsSunlight FoundationSurvivors of Torture, InternationalUnited for Peace and JusticeVeterans for PeaceVietnam Veterans Against the War Legacy Trust
[1] ^ Denotes flag officers that signed a letter to President urging him to support declassification of the SSCI study, a letter to SSCI members urging support for declassification, or both. The letter to the President is located here: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/SSCI-Report-Letter-to-Obama.pdf. The letter to the SSCI is located here: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/press-release/retired-generals-and-admirals-urge-senate-committee-release-cia-torture-report.
[2] + Denotes individuals that signed a letter to SSCI members about the report that contained the following statement: “In the interest of transparency and furthering an understanding of effective interrogation policy, we urge you to support declassification and release of as much of the study as possible, with only such redactions as are necessary to protect national security.” http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files/SSCI-Letter-interrogators-2014Feb25.pdf
[3] # Denotes individuals that signed a letter to the SSCI about the report that contained the following statement: “Our faith traditions teach us that we can only be redeemed, or made morally right, by first admitting the truth. We are certain that if our country does not now confront the truth about torture, we risk confronting it again sometime in the future as an instrument of interrogation policy.”
Downloads:
