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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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world lead
Former CIA Operatives: When Americans are kidnapped we assume enemy torture works
(CNN) - The shocking, controversial and long anticipated report on the CIA's use of torture has been been publicly released, reigniting not only the debate over its morality but over its effectiveness. Whether, for instance, it saved American lives and helped the U.S. capture and kill Osama bin Laden.
Former Bush administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, have argued the CIA's "enhanced interrogation program," or what is commonly referred to as torture, helped them interrupt terror plots, gain valuable understanding of al Qaeda and led them to bin Laden's hideout in Abottabad, Pakistan.
Senator Diane Feinstein, chair of the Intelligence Committee, blasted the CIA for overstating the importance of the techniques in fighting the war on the terror.
To discuss all of this, former CIA Officers Bob Baer and Reuel Marc Gerecht joined "The Lead."
world lead
Security out in force at U.S. embassies abroad
(CNN) - Thousands of U.S. marines are on standby around the world, ready to respond to any potential retaliation from the CIA 'torture' report released by the democratic majority on Senate Intelligence Committee today.
The report describes, in grisly detail, the CIA's program of enhanced interrogation techniques.
Canada and Britain have closed their embassies in Cairo over retaliation concerns, and U.S. combatant commanders are on high alert at bases around the world.
CNN's Ian Lee reports live from Cairo.
world lead
American arrested for alleged terrorism conspiracy in Israel
Officials and the U.S. government are trying to piece together the alleged conspiracy of an American man who they say planned to attack some of Islam's most sacred sites using ammunition and explosives stolen from the Israeli army.
politics lead
Republicans dispute Democrats on torture report
An already polarized Congress responded to today's release of the contentious CIA report with Republicans disputing what Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein called "a stain on America's values and history."
CNN's Dana Bash reports from Capitol Hill.
world lead
Defense Secretary reacts to torture report
Kuwait City (CNN) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday the military is prepared to handle any potential fallout from the impending release of a Senate panel's torture report.
All U.S. military combatant commanders are on alert Tuesday on his orders, though they are not facing any specific threats, Hagel told CNN's Jim Sciutto in an interview Tuesday.
"We want to be prepared. Just in case," Hagel said. "We want to be prepared and we are."
Several senators, defense officials and diplomats have raised concerns that the report's release could endanger U.S. personnel abroad. The report, the climax to a $50 million Senate Intelligence Committee investigation, will provide grisly details of Bush-era CIA "enhanced interrogation" tactics in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks.
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