The CIA lied to lawmakers about the brutality and scope of its torture program, lied about the effectiveness of harsh interrogations, and then repeatedly thwarted government oversight that could have exposed the ineffectiveness of what it was doing, according to a long-awaited Senate report released Tuesday.
Begun in 2009, but hamstrung for years by CIA meddling and concerns that its release could trigger a backlash against the U.S, the report details in unflinching detail years of gross abuses by the agency. Among the lowlights: A partially nude detainee chained in a freezing facility died of hypothermia; at least five detainees were subjected to forced rectal feeding "without documented medical necessity,"; waterboarding was far more common, and far more dangerous, than the CIA claimed; and prisoners were deprived of sleep for up to 180 hours.
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