The publicizing of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's "enhanced interrogation techniques" was long overdue.
For too long, the CIA has gotten away with murder, figuratively and literally. According to the Association for Responsible Dissent, 6 million people died as a result of the CIA's covert operations.
The CIA was created in 1947 (the same time as the National Security Council [NSC]). Within it was the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), a covert entity led by Wall Street lawyer Frank Wisner. In a chronology entitled, "A Timeline of CIA Atrocities," written by Steve Kangas, the OPC had a secret charter which included various methods and techniques used to wreak havoc: "...propaganda, economic warfare, preventative direct action, sabotage, anti-sabotage, demolition and evacuation procedures."
And the CIA hasn't changed, with the blatant examples of torture against al-Qaida suspects (some of whom turned out to be not affiliated with al-Qaida). Methods of torture include sleep deprivation for up to 180 hours, being kept in a coffin-size box for hours and of course water-boarding. (BBC News, "CIA interrogations report sparks prosecution calls," 12/10/2014).
The history of the CIA can be boiled down to the following summary: supporting tyrants, corrupt elections in foreign countries, creating media fronts to spread propaganda worldwide, recruiting U.S. news media outlets and journalists to spread propaganda, and overthrowing democratically-elected leaders. All for the bottom-line of protecting U.S. imperial interests.
The senate report prompted UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson, to say that CIA officials and those responsible for torture in the Bush Jr. regime must be prosecuted.
People worldwide would no doubt agree.
David Starr writes on various issues, both national and international