That’s how it appears, if you read George Tenet’s January 2003 "guideline" on interrogation, one of the annexes to the CIA inspector general’s 2004 torture inquiry. Tenet lists 11 "enhanced" techniques, with prolonged diapering being the only one missing from page 15′s index of techniques the CIA got approval for in the recently-declassified Yoo/Bybee August 2002 OLC memo. The IG states clearly that CIA initially requested 11 techniques but withdrew one unspecified technique — well, redacted technique — because Justice thought the legality of it would take too long to think through. It’s true that Tenet thought diapering for up to 72 hours was a "standard" technique. But this is prolonged diapering — the implication being someone is left to fester in his own filth for more than three days, with all the attendant psychological freakout that would produce.

Oy, so I couldn’t post this earlier. I ended up, improbably, doing an al-Jazeera appearance — the host was in Kuala Lumpur, meaning I already own the morning – and then meeting some friends for a beer. It’s been a long day. More tomorrow.