No changes expected in agency policy or personnel

WASHINGTON — United States intelligence officials have said they do not expect the Senate report to lead to major changes in personnel or policy at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in part because President Barack Obama has already barred the use of extreme interrogation methods.

However, the CIA announced recommendations for improving its conduct, including accounting for lines of authority, resources, the implications of public disclosure, and an exit strategy for sensitive programmes.

The agency’s response, topped by a newly public letter from Director John Brennan in July to the leaders of the Senate intelligence panel, included a partial defence of the programme. While Mr Brennan wrote that he agrees with Mr Obama that the techniques in question are not appropriate, he objected to the report’s conclusions that they were ineffective.

The CIA’s efforts helped thwart attack plans, capture terrorists, and save lives, Mr Brennan said in a statement on Tuesday.

On the personnel front, the administration’s defence of Mr Brennan, coupled with the departure of most of the other top officials who ran the programme, suggests no major changes there either.

Mr Brennan was deeply involved in the interrogation programme from the start. He was deputy executive director of the CIA when the 9/11 attacks occurred.

He has deep ties to Mr Obama. He withdrew his name for consideration as CIA director after Mr Obama’s first election in 2008 amid opposition from Senate Democrats for his support of the Bush administration interrogation and rendition policies.

Nevertheless, Mr Obama named him counterterrorism adviser, a White House job that does not require Senate confirmation.

Mr Brennan was picked to head the CIA last year.

Mr Obama’s reluctance to pursue prosecutions is a missed opportunity for justice, said Ms Sarah Margon, Washington director of Human Rights Watch. Even so, she said, his administration has a chance to push for legislation to make sure this does not happen again. BLOOMBERG