The New York Times reports in tomorrow’s paper that Adm. Dennis Blair, President Obama’s national intelligence director, told colleagues in a private memo last week that coercive interrogation methods have produced vital intelligence. Ironically (or fittingly):

Admiral Blair sent his memo on the same day the administration publicly released secret Bush administration legal memos authorizing the use of interrogation methods that the Obama White House has deemed to be illegal torture. …
Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Mr. Bush, said on Fox News Sunday last weekend that “the use of these techniques against these terrorists made us safer. It really did work.” Former Vice President Dick Cheney, in a separate interview with Fox, endorsed that conclusion and said he has asked the C.I.A. to declassify memos detailing the gains from the harsh interrogations.

See also (if you haven’t) David Rivkin and Lee Casey’s piece here, Marc Thiessen’s piece here, and the several excellent pieces on NRO today.