WASHINGTON, November 21 (Sputnik) — The US public should consider all sides of the long-awaited Senate Intelligence Committee (SSCI) report on enhanced interrogation techniques, often referred to as the "torture report", before coming to conclusions about the program, former CIA Director Michael Hayden has told Sputnik.
"What I suggested to folks is make sure you read not just the Senate Democrat report, but the Republican report and the agency [CIA] rebuttal before anyone draws any conclusions," Hayden said Thursday, commenting on the 6,000 page SSCI report on the enhanced interrogation techniques practiced by the CIA in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Hayden specified that US Senate Republicans have their own report on the enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA under the George W. Bush administration, which will be made public simultaneously with the SSCI report, expected to be released before the end of the year.
The release, initially planned for October, has been delayed, as members of US President Barack Obama's administration and the US intelligence community are trying to edit parts of the report they believe could harm US interests.
Last week, the third review of the obligations of the United States under the Convention Against Torture was held in Geneva.
The committee interrogated US officials about lapses in complying with the international Convention Against Torture, including abuses in US prisons, rape in prisons and the army and the broad use of drawn-out solitary confinement.
Aside from that, the panel also sought clarifications regarding a report indicating that the CIA used torture and so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, such as methods involving sexual humiliation, "waterboarding," "short shackling" and the use of dogs to induce fear.
