The CIA Torture Report: Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency?s Detention and Interrogation Program

The Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program, commonly known as the CIA Torture Report, is the 526-page unclassified summary of a 5,000-plus-page report compiled by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the Central Intelligence Agency Detention and Interrogation Program. The CIA used enhanced interrogation techniques (a euphemism for torture) on detainees following the 9/11 attacks. The full report has not been published, but the committee voted in April 2014 to release the recommendations, executive summary, and findings of the report. The unclassified summary was released on December 9, 2014, after a presentation on the floor of the Senate by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the chairwoman of the Select Committee on Intelligence. Over 90% of the report remains classified. The report, which took four years and $40 million to compile, focused on 2001-06. It detailed actions by CIA officials and shortcomings of the detention project. One key finding was that enhanced interrogation techniques did not help acquire actionable intelligence or gain cooperation from detainees. The report also details the CIA's misrepresentations to both Congress and the Bush Administration leadership, about the scope of the program and the details surrounding use of torture. The CIA Torture Report is a chilling and eye-opening document, and one that every citizen should read and contemplate.