AP sources: Internal CIA probe reveals more details about US treatment of terror detainees

WASHINGTON — As the Justice Department considers whether to investigate alleged harsh interrogation practices sanctioned by the Bush administration, sources say a soon-to-be-released report by the CIA’s inspector general reveals that agency interrogators conducted mock executions of terror suspects.

Official: Obama administration considers new unit of special interrogators for terror suspects

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering creating a special unit of professional interrogators to handle key terror suspects, focusing on intelligence-gathering rather than building criminal cases for prosecution, a government official said Saturday.

Officials: Panetta canceled CIA effort to find, kill al-Qaida leaders up close

WASHINGTON — A secret intelligence program canceled by CIA Director Leon Panetta in June was meant to find and then capture or kill al-Qaida leaders at close range rather than target them with air strikes that risked civilian casualties, government officials with knowledge of the operation said Monday.

White House: Release of internal 2004 CIA report on interrogations delayed again

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is again delaying the release of an internal CIA report on the agency’s secret detention and interrogation program during the Bush administration.

Gov’t preparing to release CIA report detailing interrogation, secret detentions

WASHINGTON — The government is preparing to release a long-delayed internal report on the CIA’s secret detention and interrogation program. How much of the document will be declassified for public view isn’t yet known.

House Dems want five times as many lawmakers to hear covert activity briefings

WASHINGTON — House Democrats are pushing for a big increase in the number of lawmakers who hear briefings on the nation’s most sensitive intelligence operations, from the current “Gang of Eight” to about 40.

Torture memos’ release to impact US counter terrorism: Stratfor

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration’s release of four classified memos authorising ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ on terror suspects has had a ‘chilling effect’ on US clandestine services working on counter-terrorism issues, according to Stratfor.

Part I of the text of President Barack Obama’s news conference on Wednesday

Text of President Barack Obama’s news conference on Wednesday at the White House, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions:

Obama says waterboarding was torture, says he has no regrets on release of interrogation memos

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Wednesday night that waterboarding authorized by former President George W. Bush was torture, and the information gained from terror suspects through its use could have been obtained by other means. “In some cases it may be harder,” he conceded at a White House news conference marking a whirlwind first 100 days in office.

Obama optimistic Chrysler will survive, says he has no regrets on releasing interrogation memos

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama expressed optimism Wednesday night that Chrysler could remain a “going concern,” possibly without filing for bankruptcy, a generally upbeat assessment on one of numerous challenges he has confronted in a whirlwind first 100 days in office.

As torture memos are parsed, insider accounts of White House, Congressional approval differ

WASHINGTON — Release of Bush-era documents that shed more light on the origins of the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation tactics has ignited a backstage battle between former Bush officials over a crucial May 2002 meeting that paved the way for use of waterboarding on a suspected al-Qaida leader.

Lawsuit claims detainee was tortured by CIA in ‘01, months before memo justifying practice

NEWARK, N.J. — A Tunisian man detained after the Sept. 11 attacks was tortured at CIA-operated secret prisons in Afghanistan months before a Justice Department memo sanctioned the practices, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

Senate Democrats hold back on independent panel as probe continues into harsh interrogations

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leaders don’t appear inclined to appoint an independent panel to investigate the Bush administration’s interrogation program before the Senate Intelligence Committee completes its own probe near the end of the year.

Senate report says Bush policies led to prisoner abuses at Gitmo and in Iraq and Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The brutal treatment of prisoners by the military at Guantanamo Bay, Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and Afghanistan was systematic and a direct result of the CIA’s early use of harsh interrogation tactics, according to a Senate report. The 232-page report released Tuesday by the Senate Armed Services Committee came less than a week after President Barack Obama released the Aug. 1, 2002 memo that justified the use of severe methods by the CIA.

US senate confirms Panetta as new CIA director

WASHINGTON - The US senate Thursday unanimously confirmed Leon Panetta, former chief of staff in former president Bill Clinton’s White House, as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).