America’s Central Intelligence Agency is reeling from a Senate report into methods of torture it used in the years after the September 11th attacks. The report produced evidence that CIA officers used not only “waterboarding” but also “rectal feeding”, keeping detainees in cold, dark rooms, and simple violence. Moreover, the CIA exaggerated the efficacy of torture in both presidential and Congressional briefings—although John Brennan, the CIA’s director, insists it “saved lives” and denies misleading elected politicians. Some Republicans (though not John McCain, a torture victim himself in Vietnam) have denounced the publication of the “one-sided” report. Yet what the report reveals is not that the American government tortured people (that was known). It is the extent to which the CIA acted in effect without oversight. It is not clear what, if any, legal consequences will follow. But Mr Brennan, who was in charge of counter-terrorism policy under George Bush, will be fighting for his career.​