CIA releases IG torture report

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- The CIA, under court orders, Monday released a 2004 inspector general's report on alleged abuses during interrogation of terror suspects.

Earlier, after reviewing the report, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asked a special counsel to conduct a preliminary review on whether a criminal investigation should be conducted of the allegations.

The report said, "There were few instances of deviations from approved procedures," but cited waterboarding as one of those deviations. Waterboarding involves pouring water on a detainee's head to simulate drowning, sometimes with a cloth or clear plastic over the face.

The report looked at allegations of abuse from Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, to October 2003.

NBC, which reviewed the report, said a U.S. interrogator who was not trained used a gun and a power drill to frighten one terror suspect. The suspect was also told that his mother and family members could be brought in for interrogation.

One detainee, believed to be Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, was told that if any other attacks were launched on the United States, "We're going to kill your children," NBC reported.

Mohammed was subjected to waterboarding 183 times, the inspector general's report said. The Bush Justice Department was aware of the waterboarding and found it "well within the scope" of legal authority granted the CIA, NBC said.

Other techniques involved putting pressure on the carotid artery until a detainee starts to pass out, then shaking him awake to repeat the procedure, NBC said.

Before the release of the document, CIA Director Leon Panetta told agency employees the inspector general's report is "an old story" largely already public.

Panetta sent a letter to employees Monday preparing them for the release. Fox News obtained a copy of the letter.

Panetta stressed the "CIA itself commissioned the inspector general's review," and the agency also "referred allegations of abuse to the Department of Justice for potential prosecution."

The department obtained a conviction of a CIA contractor, he said, but in other cases chose not prosecute.

The agency also provided Congress with an unedited copy of the report, he said.

"As director in 2009, my primary interest when it comes to a program that no longer exists is to stand up for those officers who did what their country asked and who followed the legal guidance they were given," he said. "That is the president's position, too. The CIA ... sought and received multiple written assurances that its methods were lawful."