A newly-released Senate report on CIA interrogation techniques offers an in-depth look at some of the brutal tactics used by US intelligence during the so-called War on Terror. The report says that the CIA lied about the harshness of its techniques, and that the techniques furthermore failed to garner useful intelligence information.
The practices as described are abhorrent. Compiled from the 500-page executive summary that was made public (the 6,000-page report remains confidential), here is a selection of how the CIA to attempted to coerce information from detainees.
Isolation in a coffin, sleep deprivation, waterboarding
From the section of the report that addresses the detainment of Saudi terror suspect Abu Zubaydah in 2002:
Rectal feeding and rectal hydration
From the section discussing the detention and interrogation of al-Qaeda member Khalid Shaykh Muhammad:
Again, from a passage discussing the detention of Pakistani terror suspect and legal US resident Majid Khan:
Waterboarding that induced vomiting and nearly drowned detainees
From a section that discusses interrogations of both Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Shaykh Muhammed:
“Wallings” and other physical abuse
There are mentions of “wallings”—slamming detainees against a wall—throughout the report, often accompanied by other types of physical abuse such as slapping, and forced nudity. Here is one such example, from the interrogation of Yemeni prisoner Ramzi bin al-Shibh:
