But there were significant loopholes with both the orders to close the Guantanamo detention center and to overhaul the interrogation program.

On Capitol Hill, Dennis Blair, the retired admiral nominated to be the director of national intelligence, said the government would look at revising the rules in the U.S. Army Field Manual, a move that could allow the CIA to add additional interrogation techniques.

And the Obama administration will give itself a year to close the prison at Guantanamo, a timeline that will allow the government to determine which detainees should be tried, which should be transferred and what to do with new accused terrorists captured by the United States.

 

In brief remarks as he signed a series of orders, Obama said the directives would set a new direction for the United States and improve its standings with other nations. For years, U.S. allies have criticized the Guantanamo Bay prison and faulted the U.S. for not adhering to international laws and customs when interrogating and detaining suspected terrorists.

"The message that we are sending the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism and we are going to do so vigilantly and we are going to do so effectively and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals," Obama said.

The Army Field Manual limits interrogators to 19 approved techniques, bans torture and eschews any sort of harsh questioning practices. The techniques all rely on various psychological approaches and prohibit interrogators from making any physical contact with suspects or using any sort of force.

The executive order signed today will make the field manual the basis for all interrogations. Obama said that the order shows that the U.S. would "observe core standards of conduct, not just when it's easy, but also when it's hard."

"We believe that the Army Field Manual reflects the best judgment of our military, that we can abide by a rule that says we don't torture, but that we can still effectively obtain the intelligence that we need," Obama said.

On Capitol Hill, Blair also said that all intelligence officers would follow the manual.

"It won't be called the Army Field Manual anymore," Blair said at his Senate confirmation hearing. "It will be called the field manual for government interrogations."

But under questioning later, Blair acknowledged that the Obama administration will revise the manual's rules and keep parts of those rules secret. He said he is concerned that "we not turn our manual into a training manual for our adversaries."

But White House officials pushed back against the idea that the review of the manual would create a set of new, secret techniques. The review, according to a White House official, is intended to find out if additional guidance for intelligence agencies should be added.

The official said the review would not create a "secret annex" with additional techniques allowed, but instead was intended to determine if there should be a protocol that offers "guidance" more appropriate to intelligence than to combat situations.

"This is not an exception to the manual," the official said. "There is no exception. ... We're not talking about different techniques."

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he felt speaking publicly could overshadow the president's comments.

Intelligence officials said that if their techniques are made public, terrorists can be trained to effectively resist questioning.

The military, in general, does not allow outsiders to routinely observe interrogations. But military officers have said that it is crucial that the broad outlines of their methods and restrictions are known publicly. If they are kept secret, officers have said, many people will assume that detainees are routinely abused.

Blair declined to say if the CIA's interrogations using tougher tactics had been effective. "I'll have to look into that more closely," he said.