Here’s an interesting factoid. Until last month, we still maintained our network of empty CIA secret prisons. Shutting them down for good — as CIA chief Leon Panetta finally did last month — saved taxpayers $4 million (presumably, per year, though the NYT sloppily does not make it clear).

When Mr. Obama was sworn in on Jan. 20, the C.I.A. still maintained a network of empty jails overseas, where interrogators were still authorized to use physical pressure. Within 48 hours, he banned the methods.

Finally, last month, the program that had been the source of so many vigorous fights in Washington’s power corridors met a prosaic end.

Leon E. Panetta, the new C.I.A. chief, terminated the agency’s contracts providing the security and maintenance for the prisons, emphasizing the economic benefits. Closing the C.I.A. prisons, Mr. Panetta said, would save taxpayers $4 million.