Why is the CIA so concerned about torture program disclosure?

[noise]

1) "Patriotic" OLC lawyers covered their butts.

2) CIA officials/Cheney tell us the torture program was crucial to preventing terrorist attacks/saving lives.

3) Cheney tells us that legal interrogation methods were tried in vain before resorting to torture.

4) White House officials fully endorsed the torture program so it wasn't some rogue CIA effort.

5) President Obama assured the CIA that no legal action would be taken against CIA officials involved in the torture program.

6) There are no plans for a truth commission. Politicians tell us we should move on for the good of the country.

Here is one possible explanation: CIA officials are so arrogant that they can't even tolerate public perception that they engaged in sickening criminal conduct. Thus they want to continue the bullshit propaganda campaign that suggests the torture program was the height of patriotism.

[HardWorkingDem]

1. Think of this...seriously....

In all of this torture debate, the most troubling thing to me is how all the attention is focused on acts such as drowning, dogs and of some Virginia part time soldier leading a man around in a dog leash when there have been PLENTY of reports with evidence that OUR fellow Americans have MURDERED people in these interrogations.

There have been reports of over 100 people dying in our custody and something like 27 have been clearly homicides.

But what are we focused on? In a relative comparison (water torture), we are focused on the mundane.

What I think they fear is that a full disclosure will reveal many, many more murders and they would rather the debate be stuck on what it is now.

[noise]

2. You may be right

I do recall Col. Wilkerson talking about this very issue on some radio programs. Would such details be in a declassified CIA IG report? I wouldn't say that we are talking about mundane issues as there have been reports that some detainees wished for death to avoid being subjected to continued torture/indefinite detention.

Where is George Tenet? Isn't he still proud of his people at the CIA who conducted the torture program? Tenet loved to talk about how much he supported CIA employees and it was so unfair for critics to blame the CIA. This was the MO of Bush/Cheney as they exploited soldiers to shield themselves from accountability for their own criminal conduct.

[HardWorkingDem]

3. Sadly, the reaction to your thread tells a lot too...

Don't get me wrong - I don't mean that water torture is not important. I just find it so strange all this time is being focused on "enhanced interrogations" instead of the apparent murders.

And frankly, the lack of responses to your OP is troubling here at DU.

[noise]

5. I understand why people don't want to talk about it

It's really sick and disturbing.

There is a hypocrisy issue as our own government has treated human beings like garbage while denouncing the Iranian government for treating their own people like garbage.

[ThomWV]

4. Because disclosure of provable wrongdoing in the past will bring future scrutiny

Simple as that. Never open the door at all, never let anyone see anything. Never admit to a mistake, and above all make sure Congress never has any say in what goes on on the other side of the river.

[noise]

6. If the torture program

was as patriotic as some CIA officials claim then they should be more than willing to declassify as many details as possible. After all, Bush said the program was safe, legal and effective.

[G_j]

7. they destroyed the videos too.. nt

[magellan]

8. Because they've been promised they won't be prosecuted

But that could change quickly if the public was allowed an honest look at exactly what they did.