Investigate Everyone Who Knew? Don't Believe Those Who Claim Ignorance

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Byline: Daniel Gallington, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

We have the media, the Obama administration and members of Congress all using the word torture but skipping over the real issue: whether what actually was approved, what actually was reported to Congress or what actually happened was really torture as the word is defined by applicable law.

While belittled by critics, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) addressed the legal issues in a series of memos. OLC determined that the interrogation measures the CIA sought approval to use were not torture if employed consistent with the guidance in the memos.

It's one thing to argue that our OLC political appointees disagree with your OLC political appointees - which is what the debate has been about so far - and another to claim the George W. Bush administration approved torture after Sept. 11, 2001, which it clearly did not. Did some interrogations of terrorist suspects in CIA custody go beyond what was authorized? If so, …