![]() This concern is not without merit and should not be viewed as the intelligence community behaving badly. The president’s top intelligence advisers strongly resisted disclosure on grounds that release would constitute a breach of faith and that the intelligence community would find it difficult to trust the new administration. If Al Qaeda knows we are not going to torture them, they should be more concerned, not less.īut releasing the memos was not a straightforward decision relating only to transparency. Real interrogators have long known that the best method of interrogation is rapport building and detailed repetition. Former CIA Director Michael Hayden’s argument that now Al Qaeda knows what we won’t do during interrogations is pathetic. President Obama has ruled out using any of the interrogation techniques of the Bush torture program, so none of the information in the memos would compromise ongoing national security operations. Americans deserve to know how poorly their government performed. The cold analysis of technique after technique is chilling, but what is most disturbing is the obvious attempt to provide retroactive legal approval for an already settled torture regime. This official disclosure, which came as a result of a court order with only the names of CIA operatives redacted, provides new information about the legal arguments marshaled to support specific techniques, how and in what combination they could be applied, and the interrogation program for one particular detainee. Much is already known about the Bush administration’s pursuit of a legal justification for torture, largely through leaks and press reports. Those actions may seem at odds with each other, but they reflect this administration’s commitment to the rule of law and transparency, as well as Obama’s commitment to protecting the men and women on the front lines who often risk their lives in secret to protect the United States. ![]() Obama also made the correct and responsible decision when he simultaneously ruled out prosecution of CIA operatives who acted in good faith on that legal guidance. It is my wish that the head of each department and agency review this matter promptly and take appropriate action unless clearly prevented from doing so by law.President Barack Obama yesterday released the memos that established the Bush administration’s flawed legal justification for specific types of torture. These new minimum rates should be applied to federal employees in the United States not later than the effective dates specified in the legislation. I want to make clear these minimum rates should apply to federal laundry workers, even though such workers in private employment are specifically exempted by the law. In my view it is both desirable and in the public interest to establish the same minimum rates of $1.15 an hour, effective September 3, 1961, and $1.25 an hour, effective September 3, 1963, for all regular federal employees paid from appropriated funds. Although this legislation specifically exempts the federal government as an employer, I believe that the social and economic reasons underlying this Congressional action are equally compelling and applicable to wage earners employed by federal departments and agencies. In response to my urgent request, Congress has recently enacted legislation to raise minimum wages which must be paid by private employers in interstate commerce. Memorandum for the Heads of Departments and Agencies:
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