“At a Sept. 26 [2002] joint hearing of the House and Senate intelligence committees, Cofer Black, then head of the CIA Counterterrorist Center, spoke cryptically about the agency’s new forms of ‘operational flexibility’ in dealing with suspected terrorists [apprehended in Afghanistan]. ‘This is a very highly classified area, but I have to say that all you need to know: There was a before 9/11, and there was an after 9/11,’ Black said. ‘After 9/11 the gloves come off.’ ”
– Dana Priest and Barton Gellman, “U.S. Decries Abuse but Defends Interrogations,” The Washington Post, Dec. 26, 2002