CIA Torture Report: Your Questions Answered

By Jason Farrell, Senior Political Correspondent

A US Senate report examining the CIA's use of torture on suspected terrorists has caused a political storm on both sides of the Atlantic. Here's what you need to know.

What do we learn from the report?

The US Senate report details the CIA's use of torture on suspected terrorists captured after the September 11 attacks and makes for grisly reading.

Prisoners were subjected to waterboarding and "rectal feeding". They were forced to stand on broken limbs, kept in darkness and made to go without sleep for prolonged periods.

One prisoner died of hypothermia after being forced to sit on a bare concrete floor without pants.

Even the head of the CIA, John Brennan, was forced to admit that torture methods used on detainees were "abhorrent".

Who is criticised in the report?

The report concluded that the CIA had deceived the White House, Congress and the public about its interrogation programme and that the information gathered from torture had not helped to thwart terrorist plots.

The executive summary recognises the context of public fear and outrage post 9/11, but it states: "Such pressure, fear, and expectation of further terrorist plots do not justify, temper, or excuse improper actions taken by individuals or organisations in the name of national security.

"The major lesson of this report is that regardless of the pressures and the need to act, the Intelligence Community's actions must always reflect who we are as a nation, and adhere to our laws and standards."

How reliable and balanced is the Senate report?

It is a Democrat-led report that has been criticised by Republicans who were in administration at the time.

There is no doubt the bare facts about torture is reliable, as it has not been contested, but the conclusions about the effectiveness of torture and whether the administration was kept in the dark, have been challenged.

What objections have been raised to its findings?

Former vice president Dick Cheney said it was "full of crap" and a "terrible piece of work" that was "deeply flawed", although he didn't deny some of the techniques were used.

Mr Brennan, head of the CIA, insisted the interrogation programme as a whole produced "useful intelligence that helped the United States thwart attack plans, capture terrorists and save lives". He said it was "unknowable" whether the specific torture techniques had been key to this.

How significant are the political ramifications in the US?

Clearly many Democrats feel this shows the Bush administration lost control of the CIA and brought the US into disrepute for its techniques.

Bush allies say the president "knew everything he wanted and needed to know". They also argue what happened was necessary.

The Republicans are under fire but it was also a political risk for current President Barack Obama to allow this information to be released. Many Americans will not find themselves conflicted about the use of torture against terrorists and worry the report could lead to a backlash against the US.

How significant are the political ramifications in the UK?

MI5 and MI6 are not implicated in the report, although it has emerged British agencies asked for some redactions; not to cover up involvement in torture but "on national security grounds".

However, in the past the UK has been accused of helping to fly people to countries where they would be put at risk of torture.

The two main cases involving alleged co-operation between British security agencies and the CIA include that of Binyam Mohamed, a UK citizen, who was tortured and secretly flown to Guantanamo Bay and the abduction of two prominent Libyan dissidents - Abdul Hakim Belhaj and Sami al Saadi - who were flown in secret to Tripoli in 2004.

Other considerations are whether the British asked for certain questions to be put to detainees who were subjected to torture, or whether British personnel were present during "enhanced interrogation".

Because of the timeframe (2001-2009), it is Tony Blair's Labour administration that would most likely face questions.

An investigation is being conducted by the Intelligence and Security Committee, led by Conservative Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP.

However, several back-bench MPs led by another Conservative, Andrew Tyrie MP, have called for a judge-led inquiry.

How have allies/enemies of Western powers reacted to the report?

The condemnation of CIA practices has been universal.

Is there any evidence that terror attacks were stopped as a result of enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs)?

Aside from public feeling about the use of torture, this is the big contentious issue. The report says there is not.

At a news conference at the agency's Virginia headquarters, Mr Brennan said: "Let me be clear. We have not concluded that it was the use of EITs within that programme that allowed us to obtain useful information from detainees subjected to them."

But he added: "The cause-and-effect relationship between the use of EITs and useful information subsequently provided by the detainee is, in my view, unknowable."

In a contentious footnote the Senate report says that while in custody in Guantanamo Bay British citizen Moazzam Begg provided background information and descriptions of a number of his past associates that have helped shed light on the extent of the Islamic extremist network in the United Kingdom and its ties to al Qaeda.

This information helped thwart a notorious bomb plotter called Dhiren Barot.

Mr Begg's lawyers refute suggestions that he "volunteered" information. He insists his treatment amounted to torture. If true, that would mean torture did potentially help thwart a plot in the UK.

What happens next?

Human rights groups and some MPs would like to see a judge-led inquiry into the UK's involvement.

There is, however, an ongoing Intelligence and Security Committee investigation.

Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg have indicated that a judge-led inquiry would only happen if the first investigation proved unsatisfactory.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, leading that investigation, says he has full access to MI5 and MI6 files and is confident he will get to the truth.

It's uncertain when this will be complete; one Downing Street spokesperson told Sky News they expected it by "the end of 2015".

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