U.S. Braced for Blowback as CIA Report Lays Bare Abuses

The U.S. braced for international blowback after revelations that American-held terrorism suspects received more brutal treatment than previously known, from forcible rectal feeding to being hung from iron bars, under a CIA interrogation program that was ended in 2009.

Officials heightened security at U.S. posts worldwide and sought to reassure allies that might be alienated by a report yesterday from Senate Democrats detailing extensive use of harsh interrogation methods. The Obama administration also expressed concern that terrorist groups could seize on its findings in much the way U.S. abuses at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison became a rallying cry for Islamic militants.