WASHINGTON (AP)  Senior CIA officials ordered that waterboarding and other brutal tactics be used on a suspected terrorist even though interrogators believed he had already said all he knew, a newspaper reported Saturday. The rough interrogation of al-Qaeda prisoner Abu Zubaydah included confining him in boxes and slamming him against the wall, and was prompted by a highly inflated assessment of his importance, The New York Times reported, citing former intelligence officials and a newly released legal memorandum. OBAMA: CIA interrogators won't face charges One former intelligence official with direct knowledge of the case said Zubaydah already had provided valuable information under less severe treatment, and the harsh tactics did not result in a breakthrough. Rather, his captors suffered great distress witnessing his torment, the official said. "Seeing these depths of human misery and degradation has a traumatic effect," the official told the newspaper. President Obama authorized the release of graphic "torture memos" that outlined the harsh interrogation tactics the CIA used during the administration of George W. Bush. The disclosures, which came Thursday, went against the advice of some Obama advisers, including CIA Director Leon Panetta. He argued that releasing vivid descriptions of brutal tactics could set a dangerous precedent for future disclosures of intelligence sources and methods. A footnote to another memo described a rift between the officers questioning Zubaydah at a secret CIA prison in Thailand, who thought he was being compliant, and their bosses at headquarters, who believed he was withholding information. A legal opinion dated Aug. 1, 2002, shows that the U.S. misunderstood the importance of Zubaydah from the beginning. Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan in 2002 after a gunfight with Pakistani officers backed by CIA and FBI officers. The Bush administration portrayed him as an al-Qaeda leader, and the memo described him as a "senior lieutenant" to Osama bin Laden. Zubaydah made his most important revelation early, naming Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as the main organizer of the Sept. 11, 2001 plot. His interrogators surmised he was not a leader, but a training camp personnel clerk who arranged false documents and travel for the jihadists. CIA headquarters insisted he must know more and ordered repeated waterboarding — a harsh tactic that simulates drowning — against Zubaydah. "He pleaded for his life," one of the former intelligence officials told the Times. "But he gave up no new information. He had no more information to give." Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more