NYT editorial: The Tortured Memos

We had two powerful reactions this week after the C.I.A. admitted to destroying 92 videotapes of interrogations that may involve torture and the Justice Department released several of the legal manifestos that former President George W. Bush used to justify mangling the Constitution after Sept. 11, 2001.

We were horrified to be reminded that the nation still has not plumbed the depths of the Bush administration’s abuses. At the same time, it was a relief to see President Obama beginning to make good on his promise of greater transparency.

While the C.I.A.’s admission was made in legal proceedings, the government voluntarily released the Justice Department memos. A lot more transparency is needed. The documents do not include memos justifying harsh interrogations nor those justifying Mr. Bush’s decision to authorize illegal eavesdropping on Americans.

The Bush administration admitted last year that the chief of the spy agency’s clandestine service had ordered the destruction of tapes showing the interrogations of two Al Qaeda suspects, who may have been subject to the torture technique known as waterboarding.

(More here.)