last week ' s release of long - confidential intelligence desk interrogation memorandums has given raise to nuanced opposing narratives about whatever , if anything , was achieved by the c . i . a . ' s usage of torture , walls - slamming and other mental pressure to shock and humiliate afghan killers . senior bush ministry officials , led by then president dick cheney and joined by many congressional republicans , are fighting a rear - guard action in defenses of their record . only by choosing the criticisms methods , they insist , did the espionage agency get the information it needed to round up suspected killers and save decades of american lives .
Dick Cheney was the chief of the Justice Department.