At CIA, Obama vows no prosecutions but says interrogations were "mistakes"

WASHINGTON — President Obama traveled to the headquarters of the CIA Monday to vow continued support for the agency despite weeks of revelations about the physical abuse and mental manipulation of terrorist suspects in its secret prisons.

Obama, greeted by raucous cheers in his first visit to the spy agency, thanked employees for their sacrifices and gave no hint of wavering from his pledge to oppose prosecutions of CIA workers who used interrogation methods that the president's own advisers have called torture.

But Obama also reiterated a position that CIA officials have opposed: that the now-banned practices were potential "mistakes" that violated the country's core principles and should never be repeated.

His mild words immediately drew criticism from civil-liberties groups that have called for an independent prosecutor to investigate whether Bush administration officials who authorized the practices committed criminal acts of torture.

"In order to uphold our values, we need to enforce the law," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "Torture is a crime."

Obama banned the used of harsh interrogation methods with an executive order on his second day in office.

Last week, the White House ordered the release of long-classified Justice Department memos that showed how the agency sought to pressure detainees through extreme sleep deprivation, violence and waterboarding, which simulates drowning.

One memo, citing a report by the CIA's inspector general, said the agency had used the waterboard 183 times on a single detainee, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Abu Zubaida was waterboarded 83 times, the memo stated.

The release of the memos has been sharply criticized by several former intelligence leaders, including former CIA Director Michael Hayden, who said the revelations could undermine future U.S. intelligence operations. Obama, however, in his 10-minute speech cited an ongoing legal case that some legal scholars thought ultimately would have forced the disclosure of the memos regardless of Obama's wishes.

One official present during a private meeting with about 50 CIA employees before his speech said that Obama was asked pointed questions about the release of the memos and that there was "give and take" between him and employees.

The Senate intelligence committee is conducting a parallel investigation to an administration review of interrogation practices. Monday, its chairman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., urged Obama to withhold judgment on the question of prosecutions until the committee completes its work.

Also

Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., was overheard on telephone calls intercepted by the National Security Agency agreeing to seek favorable treatment from the Bush administration for two pro-Israel lobbyists investigated for espionage, according to current and former government officials. They said Harman appeared to seek help in lobbying top congressional Democrats to have her appointed chairwoman of the House Intelligence Committee. Harman, a longtime supporter of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee employees, denied Monday having ever spoken to anyone in the Justice Department about Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, the two former analysts for AIPAC.

Information from The New York Times is included in this report.