Cheney Establishes Legal Framework and Authorization for CIA Torture Program

Vice President Dick Cheney systematically orchestrated the creation and authorization of the CIA’s ’enhanced interrogation’ torture program through National Security Council Principals Committee meetings and legal manipulation. Working closely with legal counsel David Addington and DOJ’s John Yoo, Cheney engineered the August 1, 2002 ‘Torture Memos’ that provided legal cover for waterboarding, stress positions, sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation, and other techniques that violated the Geneva Conventions and constituted war crimes. The program operated through a network of black sites in Thailand, Poland, Romania, and Lithuania, with over 100 detainees subjected to torture—at least 26 of whom were later found to be wrongfully detained. The Senate Intelligence Committee’s comprehensive 2014 study conclusively documented that the program yielded no actionable intelligence while causing severe psychological and physical harm to detainees. FBI agents on-site documented their objections to CIA techniques, while International Red Cross reports described systematic torture. Despite overwhelming evidence of failure and illegality, Cheney continued defending the program even after leaving office, calling it ‘absolutely the right thing to do’ and demonstrating no remorse for authorizing what international law defines as war crimes and crimes against humanity.