CIA Torture Report: White House Mum on Whether Methods Saved Lives
Published at
Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama has condemned what he calls “torture” of detainees by CIA interrogators at black sites overseas in the dark days after 9/11.
But the White House is not taking a position on whether any of the information gleaned from those sessions — putting questions on the propriety of the tactics aside — actually helped to save lives.
The administration also refuses to say whether Obama shares the view of his own CIA director, John Brennan, who said on Tuesday that intelligence gained from enhanced interrogation techniques did in fact help to “thwart attack plans, capture terrorists, and save lives.”
“The most important question is: Should we have done it? And the answer to that question is no,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on Wednesday.
“The president does not believe that the use of enhanced interrogation techniques was good for our national security. He does not believe that it was good for our moral authority. In fact, he believes that it undermined our moral authority, and that is why he banned them,” Earnest said.
Under repeated questioning, Earnest refused to answer whether those interrogations ultimately saved lives as current and former CIA officials allege. He did say the White House believes the tactics were “not worth it.”
Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio