Extreme measures

American Attorney General Eric Holders decision to reopen about a dozen cases of alleged detainee abuse by the CIA,and the appointment of a special prosecutor to that effect,with the possibility of prosecutions has just begun a complex chapter in US history that is a political tinderbox. Barack Obama,despite making torture a campaign issue,has demonstrated a political pragmatism focused more on the future than the past. While his reluctance to deal with the Bush-era ghosts promised him bipartisan support on the economic battlefront,it was not going down well with his partys left,who do not quite fear Republican investigations into Democratic administrations when power changes hands again. So Obama is now confronting that past.

At the heart of the matter is a 2004 CIA inspector generals report that concluded that unauthorised,improvised,inhumane and undocumented interrogative methods were used on suspected Al-Qaeda members. The Bush administration didnt quite read the report as raising moral and legal concerns about interrogative practices,but their effectiveness. The Obama administration has clarified that its interpretation is different; and ignoring CIA protests,partially declassified that report on Monday. Furthermore,it has decided to create a multi-agency interrogation unit under the FBI,stripping the CIA of its interrogative powers for important terror suspects,although CIA officials will still be involved. Ever since CIA Director Leon Panettas recent disclosure that former Vice President Dick Cheney had instructed the agency to hide a secret operation from Congress,the opening of the can of worms had seemed inevitable to many. The report reveals CIA agents threatening to kill a suspects children or sexually assault anothers mother,to say nothing of excessive use of techniques such as waterboarding.

The report also cites the lack of adequate guidelines as a cause of the excesses,guidelines which reportedly improved over time; but while it concludes that detention and interrogation prevented further terror,its not sure at all about the efficacy of the techniques. Panetta has told CIA employees that the challenge is not the battles of yesterday,but those of today and tomorrow in light of the reports release. The investigation will be watched globally,and closely for reasons technical,legal and political.