During Jay Bybee 's tenure at the OLC , the CIA acting General Counsel John A. Rizzo requested a legal opinion on detainee interrogation . That request was routed to the OLC by the White House General Counsel Alberto Gonzales , who desired the " ability to quickly obtain information from captured terrorists and their sponsors . " The CIA inquired whether , after the terrorist attacks of September 11 , 2001 , it could aggressively interrogate suspected high-ranking Al-Qaeda members captured outside the United States in ways some regard as torture . In effect , the CIA was asking for an interpretation of the statutory term of " torture " as defined in . That section implements , in part , the obligations of the United States under the Geneva Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel , Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
terrorist attacks of September 11 , 2001
September 11 attacks
Jay Bybee