Released Memos Could Lead to More Disclosures

17 Apr 09 | NYT

Even as President Obama urges the country to turn the page, his decision to reveal exhaustive details about interrogation methods used by the Central Intelligence Agency will likely lead to a flood of new disclosures about secret Bush administration operations against Al Qaeda, according to current and former government officials.

With lawsuits pending in federal courts and lawmakers calling for extensive inquiries into controversial Bush Administration programs, Mr. Obama now faces a difficult challenge making good on his promise to protect intelligence operatives from legal jeopardy.

Some members of Congress and human rights lawyers are likely to press for new disclosures about the period of several months in 2002 when C.I.A. interrogators began interrogating Abu Zubaydah, a Qaeda operative captured in March of that year.

Rep. John Conyers, the Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on Friday raised the prospect of prosecutions of senior Bush Administration officials and Justice Department lawyers who authorized the harsh interrogations. >>>

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