To CIA, Obama defends secret-memo release

WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after releasing top-secret memos that detailed the CIA’s use of simulated drowning while interrogating terror suspects, President Barack Obama went to the spy agency’s Virginia headquarters Monday to defend his decision and bolster the morale of its employees.

“I acted primarily because of the exceptional circumstances that surrounded these memos, particularly the fact that so much of the information was public,” Obama said.

Last week, Obama’s Justice Department published previously classified memos that described the Bush administration’s legal justification for CIA interrogation techniques that included methods criticized as torture. Republican lawmakers and former CIA chiefs have criticized the release of the memos, contending that revealing the limits of interrogation techniques will hamper the effectiveness of interrogators.

The memos detailed the use of waterboarding — a form of simulated drowning that Attorney General Eric Holder has denounced as torture — as well as sleep deprivation, isolation and physical violence.

According to the declassified memos, waterboarding was used on reported Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Muhammed 183 times in March 2003. Suspected al-Qaida logistics chief Abu Zubaydah was subjected to the treatment 83 times in August 2002.

Obama said Monday that a court case was going to force the memos to be released and that much of what they contained had already been compromised through leaks to news media.

The president urged the hundreds of CIA employees who gathered in a secure auditorium to ignore the recent controversy. “Don’t be discouraged by what’s happened the last few weeks,” he said.

Cheers erupted when CIA Director Leon Panetta introduced Obama, who quickly reassured them that they had his backing.

“I know the last few days have been difficult,” he said. “You need to know you’ve got my full support.”