Report: Memos Foil Obama's Decision to 'Look Forward'

WASHINGTON -- Until last week, President Barack Obama had made it clear he intended to "look forward," rather than insist on punishment of Bush-era officials who approved harsh interrogation practices.

But a series of missteps by the White House threatened to undermine that decision and stoked the political tempest aides say Obama had hoped to avoid. The president called the top two Democrats in Congress to the White House for a meeting this week to cool passions, as aides struggled to gain control of the message.

By Friday, Obama administration officials were hoping to contain the furor by limiting the investigation of the Bush administration to two probes already under way: a low-key investigation by a Senate panel and a Justice Department ethics inquiry that officials say isn't likely to recommend prosecuting anyone.

Aides said that Obama's seemingly contradictory remarks were misinterpreted, and that the president's view had been conveyed poorly. Obama believed that if he banned "enhanced interrogation techniques" -- what many in his administration called torture -- he could move beyond the matter, according to aides.

It seemed to work -- until this month. The president faced a court-imposed April 16 deadline to decide whether to release four Justice Department memos from 2002 and 2005 that offered the legal grounds for waterboarding detainees and similar harsh treatment. The Obama administration had to release the memos or tell the court why not.

The president convened aides for a meeting that turned to heated debate the night before the deadline, participants say. CIA chief Leon Panetta was among those against a broad release of the memos. Attorney General Eric Holder was in favor.

Obama sided with Holder. But he also short-circuited any legal action against Central Intelligence Agency operatives. The next day, he announced he would release the memos mostly unredacted. Holder also announced he wouldn't prosecute any of the CIA officers who carried out the Bush policies.

By doing so, Obama believed he struck a balance between demands of the political left and his own campaign promises on the one hand, and a recognition that "we live in a dangerous world," on the other, said one senior White House aide.

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