The Justice Department's decision to review past CIA interrogation tactics may be legally justified, but Burton Gerber, a former CIA station chief, says the move could have a chilling and detrimental impact on the nation's counterterrorism efforts.

The U.S. attorney general's decision to conduct a preliminary review of past CIA interrogations awakens spirited debate over the scope of the intelligence community's counterterrorism practices.

Washington is embroiled in a manic swing of opinion about the efficacy of covert action, including targeted assassinations. Richard A. Clarke on the delicate balance between the rule of law and running an effective intelligence agency.

Legal expert Sanford V. Levinson says rising debate in Congress over past intelligence practices aimed at combating terrorism will likely lead to modifications in policy though not a major overhaul.

Preface:

Title III of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act of 2008 required the Inspectors General (IGs) of the elements of the Intelligence Community that participated in the President's Surveillance Program (PSP) to conduct a comprehensive review of the program. The IGs of the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence participated in the review required under the Act. The Act required the IGs to submit a comprehensive report on the review to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House Committee on the Judiciary.

In response to Title III requirements, we have prepared this unclassified report on the PSP, which summarizes the collective results of our reviews. Because many aspects of the PSP remain classified, and in order to provide the Congressional committees the complete results of our reviews, we also prepared, and have bound separately, a classified report on the PSP. The individual reports detailing the results of each IG's review are annexes to the classified report .

Michael J. Gerson argues, "the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress have delivered a series of blows to the pride and morale of the Central Intelligence Agency."

President  Obama's decision to release information on CIA interrogation techniques has sparked furious debate over U.S. handling of terror suspects. CFR's Daniel Prieto says the new details indicate the "contorted" logic used by the Bush administration to justify harsh questioning.

Michael V. Hayden and Michael Mukasey argue that the point of interrogation is intelligence, not confession.

David S. Broder says that withdrawal of Charles Freeman, who would have headed the National Intelligence Council, is a loss to the United States.

Leslie H. Gelb discusses whether the Obama administration, unlike those past, can improve U.S. intelligence capabilities.

Robert S. Mueller III, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), discusses the FBI's efforts to act as a global security, national security, and law enforcement organization, and to effectively address the threat of global terrorism.

Listen to CFR experts Daniel B. Prieto and Matthew C. Waxman discuss the implications of President Obama’s decision to close the Guantánamo prison camp and reverse the Bush Administration's policies on detention and interrogation.

The torture debate is critical not only because it gets us to the core of our values, but because the danger to American cities is not from tanks and armies, but from individuals and their intentions.

Disputes over President-elect Barack Obama's pick to head the CIA may foretell a deeper struggle over how the administration can best reform America's intelligence-gathering bureaucracy.

Retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair, President Obama's director of national intelligence, is a former commander of the U.S. Pacific Command with long military experience.

Leslie H. Gelb discusses the Obama Administration's selection of Leon Panetta as CIA Director.

Despite its past failings, the intelligence community must be encouraged to craft critical assessments without fear of political interference, writes CFR Intelligence Fellow Frank Procida.

In Afghanistan, in Kashmir, and elsewhere, a long-standing battle for influence is raging between India's primary espionage agency, the shadowy Research and Analysis Wing, and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The Attorney General released these guidelines in September 2008, and outlined the background of the guide and which previous legal frameworks are replaced in a memorandum to heads of relevant intelligence and law enforcement departments.