New evidence available from the Senate Armed Services Committee’s June 17 hearing, accompanied with the release of the minutes of an October 2, 2002, meeting on detainees in Cuba has unveiled the CIA’s development of the very controversial interrogation program advocated by the Bush administration.

From the start, as the newly released documents show, Pentagon officials were much in favor of the aggressive torture techniques used at detention centers, particularly Guantanamo Bay and the infamous Abu Ghraib. It was military lawyers who argued that the proposed tactics were illegal and could possibly harm U.S. troops.

Jonathan Fredman, a counterterrorism lawyer for the CIA told a group of military and intelligence officials at Gauntanamo Bay that, torture "is basically subject to perception. If the detainee dies, you’re doing it wrong."

One wonders if the death of the person is also a "perception," or would that be quite real enough for Mr. Fredman?

Senator Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) had the quote of the day to be sure with, "How on Earth did we get to the point where a United States government lawyer would say that … torture is subject to perception?"

Fredman, in discussing how to extract intelligence from detainees even considered the pros and cons of videotaping and points on how to avoid interference by the Red Cross organization, all the while keeping up a strong defense of waterboarding.

In a related story, on June 18 the results of an extensive medical study of former U.S. detainees by the group Physicians for Human Rights became available. Both medical doctors and mental health professionals examined 11 former prisoners. They had no trouble finding evidence of U.S. torture and what they consider war crimes.  

The detainees alleged that they were tortured and sexually abused and sodomized, and report that they were electrically shocked, beaten, shackled, stripped, deprived of food and sleep, and urinated on. Specifically they were placed in stress positions for hours, or prolonged isolation, a form of sensory deprivation, along with being subjected to extreme heat and cold. Dr. Allen Keller, one of those who conducted the exams, said: "The level of the time, thoroughness and rigor of the exams left me personally without question about the credibility of the individuals. The findings on the physical and psychological exams were consistent with what they reported. We found clear physical and psychological evidence of torture and abuse, often causing lasting suffering."

Just who is responsible for this horrible and quite dishonorable series of events? Sadly, it is the Bush administration that has presided over this abomination. In 2004 President Bush said that the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraid and Guantanamo Bay was the work of "a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values."  Fine words, but the CIA and Defense Department were discussing aspects of torture already in 2002. It was deliberate and it was evil.

Pentagon officials approved of the formal program for the harsh interrogation methods at Guantanamo Bay, even after asking for and receiving technical information on what types of torture had the greatest psychological effects. Former Defense Department general counsel William J. Haynes II acknowledged pushing for more aggressive techniques and said the decisions were driven by the administration. Still, the White House denies the role it played in all of this. "Abuse of detainees has never been, is not, and will never be the policy of this government," said spokesman Tony Fratto. 

No wonder disgruntled former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan had problems with his conscience while serving in the Bush administration.