Nevadan says take it slow

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid on Thursday moved to discourage calls for an independent "truth commission" to delve into harsh interrogation tactics conducted on terrorism suspects and said the Senate should finish its own investigation first.

Reid said the Senate Intelligence Committee will be allowed to complete a probe into the use of waterboarding, sleep deprivation, cramped confinement and other techniques that have been described as torture.

Reid, the Senate majority leader, said the committee's work, being directed by Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would be finished later this year and could serve as a basis for any further actions.

"I think it would be very unwise from my perspective to start having commissions, boards, tribunals, until we find out what the facts are," Reid told reporters.

Reid's comments appeared to put him at odds with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democrats who have endorsed formation of a "truth commission" on the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies.

President Barack Obama has called for the nation to move forward and not dwell on the past, but this week he left the door open for prosecutions of individuals who devised and provided the legal underpinnings of the interrogation program.

"I don't think there is division among Democrats," Reid said. "Justice must be served. Retribution should not be part of what we are talking about."

Reid's comments came as lawmakers continued to wrangle over responses to revelations about the interrogations. The furor gained new life last week when the Obama administration released previously classified documents that described the techniques that Justice Department attorneys in the Bush administration opined would not be legally considered torture.

The CIA had briefed top House members and senators on its interrogation program in closed-door briefings between 2002 and 2006, according to previous news reports.

Asked by reporters today, Reid declined to say whether he had been briefed on the interrogation techniques. As a Senate leader in those years, he met with intelligence officials on several occasions.

"I think it would be wrong for me to talk about what went on in those classified briefings," Reid said. "There were briefings on different subjects, and when I disagreed with what was given to me, I raised those objections."

Meanwhile, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., called on Adm. Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, to make public a list of lawmakers and staffers who were given classified briefings on the interrogation program.

Ensign contended members of Congress were given information about the interrogations years.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault @reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760.