‘DIDN’T SAY THAT’ PSAKI DUCKS CIA TORTURE REPORT DELAY ISSUES
Published time: December 09, 2014 03:02
Edited time: December 09, 2014 08:47
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)
The potential ISIS reaction is a factor in the release of the CIA
torture report, the State Department spokeswoman said. Commenting
on Secretary of State John Kerry’s request to delay the report,
Jen Psaki told RT “That’s not exactly what we said.”
READ MORE: Bush blasts CIA torture report even before its release
RT’s Gayane Chichakyan was among the reporters grilling the State
Department spokesperson on the recent reports that Kerry called the
Chair of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-Calif.), asking her to even further delay the release of the
document detailing on the Central Intelligence Agency’s so-called
“enhanced interrogation techniques.”
Psaki said Kerry was referring to the “foreign policy priorities”of
the report’s timing, hinting that the publication of report could lead
to global outrage against the US. She also highlighted Islamic State’s
(IS, previously ISIS/ISIL) possible reactions as a concern. However,
the spokesperson denied that State Department’s intention was to
delay the long-overdue paper, which is now scheduled to be released
this week.
Here is the full exchange between RT’s Chichakyan and Psaki on
the issue.
Gayane Chichakyan: Torture report – the State Department thinks
the timing isn’t right about the release. What’s not right about
the timing?
Jen Psaki: That’s not exactly what we said, nor have we ever said
that publicly. I think you’re referring to reports of a phone call —
GC:That’s right.
JP: between the Secretary and Senator Feinstein. And during that call,
which he made on Friday, he not only reiterated the support of the
Administration and his own support for the release of the report, but
he also made clear that, of course, the timing is her choice. The fact
is that there’s quite a bit going on in the world, and he wanted to
have a discussion with a former colleague, somebody he worked with for
decades in the Senate, about foreign and policy implications of the
release of the report, ongoing efforts – everything from our ongoing
efforts related to ISIL, the safety of Americans being held hostage
around the world, and he was simply having a discussion about the
impact that the release will have on those factors.
Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
GC: Do you think a few days would matter, really, in this case?
Because the Senate doesn’t have much time left and —
JP: It’s a good question. He didn’t discuss a specific proposed time or
anything along those lines. He was simply raising the fact that these
are issues that are ongoing right now and certainly wanted to have
a discussion and make sure that they were factored into the timing.
GC: In a Republican-controlled Senate, the report may not be published
at all. Would the Administration risk not having it published at all?
JP: Well, as you know, there’s a lot of politics that happen – happens
in the Senate and Congress, and certainly I can’t make a prediction
of that. I would leave that to colleagues who speak for those on
the Hill. We continue to support the release – the Secretary does,
the President does, and obviously, as we’ve seen the announcements,
that will be happening soon.
READ MORE: John Kerry asks to delay CIA torture report
Matthew Lee of the AP also posed tough questions to Psaki during the
briefing, especially around Kerry’s intentions to delay or squash
the release of the report.
ML: I was told the White House said that they knew that the call was
being made, but nobody really said if the Secretary said, “I want to
make this call,” or if the White House said, “Will you make this call.”
JP: Well, he’s the Secretary of State, and oftentimes, he makes
proposals, and certainly he worked with Dianne – Senator Feinstein
for decades. I’m not going to get into more specifics other than to
convey that it was known he was going to make the call; it was a call
to discuss, as I described, implications as the Secretary of State
on our foreign policy priorities.
ML: On the same subject, why is the release being put off so
consistently?
JP: Put off?
ML: Yes, over and – delayed.
JP: Well, I wouldn’t characterize it in that way. As you know,
there’s a lot of sensitive information in this report. Obviously,
the White House and not us – so I’ll really send you to them – has
worked with the committee on redactions and information that can’t
be public, and that takes some time. But I would point you to them
and point you to the Senate committee for more specifics.
Psaki then denied any knowledge of the closure of Canadian and UK
embassies in Egypt’s capital Cairo being in any way connected to the
report’s release.
Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
“Unrelated to the announcement by the UK and Canada, and unrelated
to any report, we did put out a new travel security message to U.S.
citizens late last week in light of heightened tensions and recent
attacks against Westerners. I’d certainly point you to the UK and
Canada for the reasons for their position – their announcements,”
she said.
The Senate intelligence committee was planning to publish the report
on Tuesday.
The release of the 6,000-page document will reveal details about the
CIA’s past use of enhanced interrogation techniques. Even though the
majority of the findings will not be made available to the public,
a partial release could trigger outrage against US torture tactics.
Earlier, Feinstein said that the report “uncovers startling details
about the CIA detention and interrogation program and raises critical
questions about intelligence operations and oversight.”
According to her, the findings show the CIA undermined “societal and
constitutional values that we are very proud of” through the use of
tactics like waterboarding and sleep deprivation.
http://on.rt.com/2nnlh9