Pentagon drops bid to keep interrogation techniques secret

Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon has dropped plans to keep some interrogation techniques secret by putting them in a classified section of a military manual, US defence officials said on Tuesday.

Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon has dropped plans to keep some interrogation techniques secret by putting them in a classified section of a military manual, US defence officials said on Tuesday.

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The two senior officials, who requested anonymity because the interrogation manual has not yet been completed, said there will not be a classified section in the long-awaited Army Field Manual. One of the officials said descriptions of interrogation techniques initially planned for the classified section are either being made public or are being eliminated as tactics that can be used against prisoners.

The decision comes despite arguments from military leaders that making all of the interrogation techniques public would make it easier for enemy prisoners to resist questioning. Defence Department officials have been at odds over whether details of some interrogation procedures should remain secret and published in a classified section.

But last month, several members of Congress privately cautioned the Pentagon against doing that. The standoff has contributed to the long delay in releasing the manual, which has been in the works for more than a year.