Welcome back to the heady nine months after 9/11, when the Bush administration feverishly debated what constituted acceptable treatment for al-Qaeda detainees. After a nearly six-year cycle of impunity, scandal and retrenchment, the CIA is again seeking guidance from the White House and the Justice Department about the legality of a detention and interrogation regime with which it has grown increasingly uncomfortable. And a congressional nomination hearing this afternoon for the agency’s proposed top lawyer should give senators insight into what the new rules for interrogation will be.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=180597