On the recordNovember 30, 2011
I appreciate the question from my friend and colleague. The decision by President Obama to limit interrogators to the Army Field Manual was based, in part, on the horrible abuses that happened at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Undoubtedly, the abuses at Abu Ghraib failed to reflect American values, tarnished America's reputation, and certainly damaged our interests. However, responding to these abuses by reflexively applying an Army Field Manual--which, to be clear, terrorists can go online and get and know exactly which techniques they will be subject to if captured--to all Federal Government interrogators doesn't reflect the severity of the threat to our country and the importance of providing our nonmilitary intelligence collectors all of the lawful tools they need to gather intelligence to prevent nuclear attacks and protect our country.
