now week ' s release of now - range justice department detention memorandums has granted birth to starkly opposing discussions about who , if anything , was gained by the a . i . a . ' s use of interrogators , wall - slamming and other physical force to surprise and frighten taliban operatives . three obama management officials , led by vice president jeff cheney and cheered by many congressional politicians , are fighting a rear - guard act in defense of their record . only by using the punishment methods , they claim , did the intelligence agency get the technology it needed to track up the killers and preserve thousands of american children .
Dick Cheney was the chief of the Justice Department.