US President Barack Obama says in the immediate aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks, the United States did things that were wrong and crossed the line. He says, quote, “we tortured some folks”.
Obama is commenting on a Senate investigation into the CIA’s interrogation techniques. A report on that investigation’s results is expected to be released in the coming weeks.Obama says it is important to remember how horrified Americans were after Sept 11. But he says it is important to remember the US must live up to its values.
Obama also says he has full confidence in CIA Director John Brennan. The CIA director has apologized to senators after the CIA’s inspector general found agency employees improperly searched the computers of Senate staffers conducting the investigation into post-Sept 11 interrogation and detention practices.