Congressman Lowenthal Statement on Release Of Senate Torture Report

Congressman Alan Lowenthal today issued the following statement regarding the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the Central Intelligence Agency's detention and interrogation program.

"Our nation was founded on the concepts of freedom, democracy, and personal rights. For a large portion of our history, we have taken actions based on the moral high ground of the sanctity of individual freedoms.

"Unfortunately, the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee report indicates that the CIA tortured detainees and routinely misled the White House and Congress about the use of torture with these detainees.

"It will require a great deal of national reflection and action to begin to undo the damage.

"In the end, the Senate report must serve to remind us how easily good intentions in the name of patriotism and national defense can go awry.

"As Senator Feinstein stated in her Dec. 9 Los Angeles Times opinion piece, 'In the wake of 9/11, we were desperate to bring those responsible for the brutal attacks to justice. But even that urgency did not justify torture. The United States must be held to a higher standard than our enemies, yet some of our actions did not clear that bar. It is time to publicly examine how that happened.'

"This report must also serve as a warning that we can never let this happen again. I believe that Congress must now act to ensure that it cannot and will not."