If you were shocked that George Bush announced that he was closing the CIA secret prisons and were wondering if it was just more of Rove's pre-election atmospherics then we have a partial answer now in an interesting report in today's Financial Times. Apparently the CIA was very concerned that the special techniques they were using to torture the terror suspect were in fact illegal and refused to continue the work until their "techniques" was clarified in law. The net result was that interrogations had to stop and the prisoners were then transported to Guantanomo.
The Bush administration had to empty its secret prisons and transfer terror suspects to the military-run detention centre at Guantánamo this month in part because CIA interrogators had refused to carry out further interrogations and run the secret facilities, according to former CIA officials and people close to the programme.
The former officials said the CIA interrogators' refusal was a factor in forcing the Bush administration to act earlier than it might have wished.
[...]
But the former CIA officials said Mr Bush's hand was forced because interrogators had refused to continue their work until the legal situation was clarified because they were concerned they could be prosecuted for using illegal techniques. One intelligence source also said the CIA had refused to keep the secret prisons going.
Financial Times
This finding certain gives us the clarity we needed in understanding Bush's use of clarity when he began his great push to have the lattitude to use techniques acknowledged by the world and, I guess by the CIA, as currently considered banned as torture.
In an interview with the Financial Times, John Bellinger, legal adviser to the state department, went further, saying there had been "very little operational activity" on CIA interrogations since the passage last December of a bill proposed by Senator John McCain outlawing torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners.
Mr Bellinger said the secret prisons remained empty for the moment. But he defended the US position that use of such prisons did not contravene international conventions as some in Europe have argued. He also said that, theoretically, the Pentagon as well as the CIA had the legal right to run such facilities. The CIA declined to comment.
Financial Times
It is interesting that they stalled until just before the mid-term elections to make the big push knowing since December that interrogations were on ice. There are so many reasons for disrespecting this adminstration but the reasons just keep coming.
Financial Times