Ashcroft "saw no problem with waterboarding one detainee 119 times"
Via The Star's Yael T. Abouhalkah, the Time magazine summary of the 2004 report by the CIA Inspector General is a disturbing, but important read. In it, John Ashcroft's actions are featured prominently:
The CIA IG repeatedly brought what it viewed as abuses or violations of law to the attention of Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Justice Department, without any positive result.
After a review of the program determined that one detainee had been waterboarded “in a manner inconsistent with” the description of the technique in military training and in the Justice Department legal guidance, the matter was brought directly to Ashcroft by the CIA general counsel.
According to the report, Ashcroft disagreed with the CIA IG assessment.
Ashcroft responded by telling the CIA that he saw no problem with waterboarding one detainee 119 times, deciding that the “CIA is well within the scope of the DoJ opinion and the authority given to CIA by that opinion.”
This is not the only difference of opinion between the Justice Department and the CIA IG.
At another point, the IG reports to prosecutors that one CIA employee had threatened a detainee with a powerdrill and a handgun, both unauthorized techniques for which he did not seek approval.
The Justice Department announced its decision not to prosecute this CIA employee on September 11, 2003, exactly two years after the attacks on New York and Washington D.C.
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