It is clear from Jane Mayer's article in the New Yorker,
The Black Sites, that Brennan was involved in the highest levels of the
CIA's abuse towards its detainees. It is easy to deduce his involvement; less so the actual decisions required by Brennan.
Mayer writes:
Among the few C.I.A. officials who knew the details of the detention and interrogation program, there was a tense debate about where to draw the line in terms of treatment. John Brennan, Tenet's former chief of staff, said, "It all comes down to individual moral barometers."
and
Without more transparency, the value of the C.I.A.'s interrogation and detention program is impossible to evaluate. Setting aside the moral, ethical, and legal issues, even supporters, such as John Brennan, acknowledge that much of the information that coercion produces is unreliable. As he put it, "All these methods produced useful information, but there was also a lot that was bogus."
Brennan's involvement and endorsement of the program is clear. Torture is useful. He is included by Mayer in the group of officials "who knew the details of the detention and interrogation program." Brennan's involvement with this group of people and acknowledgment of the program's success really makes me wonder - what is your moral barometer Brennan?
This is relevant in terms of the type of advice Brennan is giving Obama, and in terms of absolutely ANY EFFORT made by the Obama administration to determine the extent of Bush's abuse of detainees. No torture commission of any integrity is possible if Brennan
