Report Questions Pentagon Accounts

Military lawyers raised strong concerns about interrogation methods a month before then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld approved them. (By J. Scott Applewhite -- Associated Press)

Attempts to reach Haynes and Rumsfeld were unsuccessful. A Pentagon official declined to comment on the Senate panel's conclusions, but defended the interrogation program as effective and humane. Navy Cmdr. J.D. Gordon, a spokesman, said the program yielded insights into al-Qaeda's organizational structure, training and strategy. "The United States operates safe, humane and professional detention facilities for enemy combatants," he said. "Our policy is, and always has been, to treat detainees humanely."

Gordon also noted that, in 13 major reviews of detention operations, Pentagon investigators have "not found any policy that ever condoned or tolerated abuse of detainees."

The Senate committee's findings echo earlier claims by many congressional Democrats, human rights groups and other administration critics who have maintained that responsibility for the controversial interrogation practices lies at the highest levels of the administration.

"It is increasingly clear that the decision to abandon the rule of law and order torture and abuse was made at the very top," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington legislative office. "We look forward to the full investigative report from the Armed Services Committee and call on Congress to hold accountable any and all public officials involved in ordering illegal torture."

A group of 56 Congressional Democrats last week asked the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether any Bush administration officials may have broken laws in approving the use of harsh interrogation techniques for suspected terrorists.

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.