Top Bushies Personally OK'd Tough Interrogation Tactics

Senior White House officials explicitly approved interrogation technique details in several meetings beginning in 2002, sources tell ABC. It was previously known that the CIA drafted a “Golden Shield” memo approving highly specific tactics for use on al-Qaeda detainees, but that top officials—including Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld—personally condoned the policy, on multiple occasions, is a new revelation.

In one such meeting about the techniques—which included waterboarding—Rice told the CIA, “This is your baby. Go do it.” In another discussion, Attorney General John Ashcroft worried, “Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly.” Sources said interrogators were still concerned about their tactics, and regularly asked for, and received, guidance for specific actions. (More CIA stories.)