The nine-month gestation period for the order was a product of considerable negation with lawmakers on Capitol Hill who required that the Justice Department conduct a legal review of the order and provide that review to Congress.

The administration had maintained that it was not bound by the international treaty, but Bush relented under the political pressure of last fall’s elections and in the wake of a Supreme Court decision requiring adherence with the Geneva Conventions. He agreed to define specific activities that would be prohibited and explain how the techniques would comply with the Geneva Conventions.

In the last five years, fewer than 100 people have been detained in the CIA’s black prisons and less than half of those detainees "have ever required any sort of enhanced interrogation measures," CIA Director Gen. Michael V. Hayden said in a statement to employees yesterday.

After the Supreme Court ruled in June of last year that the administration was required to abide by the Geneva Conventions, Hayden began advocating for a clearer policy on what interrogation methods were legal.

More than a year later, Hayden said he has the guidelines he needs.

"It gives our officers the assurance that they may conduct their essential work in keeping with the laws of the United States," he said.