The tortuous path of the “torture memos” is a long and winding road that shows no signs of reaching its destination. These legal analyses, initially requested by the Central Intelligence Agency, were prepared in 2002 as the Bush administration developed
detention and interrogation policies regarding suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists captured abroad or in the United States. The memos, prepared by lawyers in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), concluded that prolonged detention, isolation, and a wide range of harsh interrogation techniques (including waterboarding, most notoriously) that the CIA wanted to use on a small number of “enemy combatants” were legally permissible. The memos were also forwarded to the attorney general and White House staff, who along with the CIA relied on them in framing their policies.
