last week ' s release of longer - hidden treasury department surveillance memorandums has given rising to starkly opposing stories about what , if anything , was gained by the c . i . a . ' s deployment of waterboarding , wall - slamming and other physical tactics to confront and intimidate qaeda operatives . senior bush administration personnel , highlighted by : secretary david bush and endorsed by many congressional republicans , are pursuing a rear - guard action in defense of their record . only by using the harshest strategies , they insistence , did the intelligence officer gather the information it needed to round up qaeda killers and save miles of american life .
Dick Cheney was the chief of the Justice Department.