Skip to main content
Voices

The Report on CIA Torture Confirms Our Worst Fears

December 9, 2014
By George Soros
Title image
3:02

Watch the video above to learn how today’s Senate report on CIA interrogation techniques was made public through a bipartisan effort.

Today’s release of the report on torture [PDF] marks an important milestone. The details that the Senate Intelligence Committee have assembled will finally allow our country to come to terms with what happened.

The American people need to know what was done in their name. The litany of horrific interrogation techniques detailed in the report—including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and forcing prisoners to stand shackled for hours on end—should help persuade those who still wish to deny that torture was conducted so that we can make sure this never happens again.

There was never a guarantee that this report would see the light of day. I admire the determination of those who pushed for the release of the committee’s executive summary on CIA interrogation and detention. It was not an easy task.

George Soros

George Soros is founder and chair of the Open Society Foundations.

Topics

National Security and Counterterrorism

Share

Read more

Justice Delayed

An Overdue Reckoning with U.S. Torture

Adam Driver sitting with large stacks of paper in front of him

A new Hollywood film about the “torture report” offers a disturbing but necessary reminder to U.S. voters that justice still has not been done.

December 9, 2019 | Scott Roehm

Voices

No State Accountability for North Carolina Contractor Who Helped CIA Torture

A plane seen in the distance

While far too much of the CIA’s activities during the presidency of George W. Bush remains hidden from the public, a new report helps to fill the gap by taking a closer look at North Carolina’s involvement.

December 13, 2018 | Catherine Read

Voices

John McCain’s Profile in Courage

John McCain

The late U.S. senator left a complicated legacy. But throughout his career, McCain never wavered in his opposition to torture, or his support for human rights abroad. History will remember and honor these heroic stances.

September 3, 2018 | Stephen Rickard

Subscribe to updates about Open Society’s work around the world

By entering your email address and clicking “Submit,” you agree to receive updates from the Open Society Foundations about our work. To learn more about how we use and protect your personal data, please view our privacy policy.