US Torture At Home and Abroad

The Torture Timeline. Foreign Policy has created the "ultimate guide to the Bush administration's journey to the dark side" by tracking Bush administration's memos, executive orders, and policy decisions pertaining to the use of torture on suspected terrorists.  The timeline shows the key relevant legal and military events and provides links to primary source material. 

AG Holder outlines a history of DOJ opinions on the CIA's detention and interrogation program in a letter to Senator Rockerfeller (April 17, 2009). See also the Senate Armed Services Committee Report on The Treatment Of Detainees In U.S. Custody.

Commentary & Analysis. Check out NPR's special series, Re-Examining Bush Era Interrogation Tactics and Jeff Jacoby's A Tortured Debate Over The "Torture Memos.

Public Opinion Poll: Detainee Treatment, Torture Memos, US Legal System. Rasmussen Reports reports on its poll covering the treatment of detainees and release of the torture memos. Findings include:

• Among all voters, 42% say terrorism suspects were tortured by the United States, but 37% disagree.

• Most Democrats (54%) and a plurality of unaffiliated voters (46%) believe the United States did torture terrorism suspects. Fifty-five percent (55%) of GOP voters do not believe torture was used.

• Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters now believe the U.S. legal system worries too much about protecting individual rights when national security is at stake. But 21% say the legal system is too concerned about protecting national security. Thirty-three percent (33%) say the balance between the two is about right.

• Fifty-five percent (55%) of Republicans think the legal system worries too much about protecting individual rights at the expense of national security. Democrats and unaffiliated voters are more closely divided. A plurality of Democrats (44%) say the legal system’s current balance between individual rights and national security is about right.

[JH & RJ]