US on security alert

American embassies, military units and other US interests were braced for possible security threats related to the release of a report on the CIA's interrogation techniques, the White House said.

The report, due to be released by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, will be the first public account, detailing the use of torture by the CIA on al Qaeda detainees in the years after terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.

Protective measures

"There are some indications that the release of the report could lead to a greater risk that is posed to US facilities and individuals all around the world," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday.

"The administration has taken the prudent steps to ensure that the proper security precautions are in place at US facilities around the globe."

Likewise, Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said that "there is certainly the possibility that the release of this report could cause unrest" and therefore combatant commands have been directed to take protective measures.

Unauthorized techniques

According to the sources familiar with the report, the expected 480-page executive summary details some interrogation tactics which went beyond those authorized by the White House, CIA and lawyers working for President George W. Bush's Justice Department.

Despite the potential threat to safety at US institutions around the world, Earnest reiterated that President Barack Obama supports making the document public "so that people around the world and people here at home understand exactly what transpired."

ksb/lw (Reuters, AP)