Dick Cheney made a splash last year when he asserted that his support for torture – including waterboarding – was vindicated by secret CIA memos showing the effectiveness of so-called "enhanced interogation". But like a disturbing number of Cheney's statements – remember the link between Saddam Hussain and al-Qaida? – this claim also seems a stranger to the truth.
A crucial CIA memo that has been cited by former Vice President Dick Cheney and other former Bush administration officials as justifying the effectiveness of waterboarding contained "plainly inaccurate information" that undermined its conclusions, according to Justice Department investigators.