US President Barack Obama released classified government information on the use of torture as an interrogation technique on al-Qaeda suspects and Tuesday former Vice-President Dick Cheney replied saying that the CIA should release memos showing waterboarding works. BBC Obama told CIA employees that he released legal memos because the contents had already been publicly acknowledged. “Now, I have put an end to the interrogation techniques described in those OLC memos, and I want to be very clear and very blunt. I’ve done so for a simple reason: because I believe that our nation is stronger and more secure when we deploy the full measure of both our power and the power of our values.” The documents include memos from the Justice Department in 2002 and 2005 approving the use of waterboarding which simulates the sensation of drowning. Obama has banned the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques that were legal under George W Bush. Related: Al Jazeera, Obama speech to CIA employees
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News story, GenevaLunch, 21 April 2009.
Filed under: World news
Tags: Al Jazeera, Al Qaeda, Barck Obama, CIA, classified information, George W Bush, interrogation techniques, memos, president, torture