Torture Report Issues Harsh Rebuke of CIA Tactics

A U.S. Senate panel issued a scathing critique Tuesday of CIA interrogation techniques used on al Qaeda detainees.

In its 500-page report,  the Senate Intelligence Committee accused the agency of inflicting pain and suffering that went well beyond legal limits.

"Under any common meaning of the term, CIA detainees were tortured," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the committee chairman, declared.

Investigators further charged that CIA claims that its interrogation tactics had saved lives was unsubstantiated by the agency's own records.

"Releasing this report is an important step to restore our values and show the world that we are in fact a just and lawful society," Feinstein said.

Tuesday's report is the first public account of what critics have called the torture of al Qaeda prisoners  following the Sept. 11  terror attacks.

The document is an executive summary of a still classified 6,000-page report which is said to include new details about sleep deprivation, confinement in small spaces, humiliation and waterboarding.

Meanwhile, America's foreign embassies and military units are on alert for any anti-American backlash overseas.