President Barack Obama said he wants to move past ‘a dark and painful chapter by exposing Bush administration legal memos that authorized harsh tactics in the interrogation of suspected terrorists. The U.S. Justice Department released four memos yesterday – – with some material blacked out — that show the agency’s lawyers approved the Central Intelligence Agency’s use of such techniques as sleep deprivation, slapping, nudity and waterboarding to simulate drowning. The Obama administration ruled out prosecuting government interrogators who relied on the memos in questioning suspects. ‘We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history, Obama said in a statement. ‘Nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past. Obama said making the documents public won’t jeopardize national security. In one of the memos, lawyers approved putting a high- ranking al-Qaeda suspect in a cramped box and telling him an insect in the box could sting him. The idea was discarded, the memos say, ‘for reasons unrelated to any concern it might be unlawful. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement that intelligence officials who relied on the Justice Department’s legal advice won’t be prosecuted […]