CIA Report Contradicts Cheney

McClatchy notes that a report from the CIA inspector general contradicts Dick Cheney's claim that torture kept us safe.

The CIA inspector general in 2004 found that there was no conclusive proof that waterboarding or other harsh interrogation techniques helped the Bush administration thwart any "specific imminent attacks," according to recently declassified Justice Department memos.

That undercuts assertions by former vice president Dick Cheney and other former Bush administration officials that the use of harsh interrogation tactics including waterboarding, which is widely considered torture, was justified because it headed off terrorist attacks.

The full Helgerson report has yet to be released. The American Civil Liberties Union has a suit before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the declassification of the report. This was probably not one the documents that Cheney recently requested be released to buttress his claims.

--Ballard Burgher