Classification has become a tool to protect careers, not the nation. These people all acted individually towards whatever incentives they saw desirable. Money, power over helpless detainees, I don't know. Specific people did exactly what they wanted to do. And it's not like the whole CIA was on board, but the people who disagreed can get the fuck out of the room and let the adults play torture games.

    CIA attorneys, discussing aspects of the campaign involving off-the-record 
    disclosures, cautioned against attributing the information to the CIA itself.
    One senior attorney stated that the proposed press briefing was "minimally 
    acceptable, but only if not attributed to a CIA official." The CIA attorney 
    continued: "This should be attributed to an 'official knowledgeable' about 
    the program (or some similar obfuscation), but should not be attributed to a 
    CIA or intelligence official.

    Another CIA attorney noted that the draft "makes the [legal] declaration I
    just wrote about the secrecy of the interrogation program a work of fiction.."
    CTC Legal urged that CIA leadership needed to "confront the inconsistency" 
    between CIA court declarations "about how critical it is to keep this 
    information secret" and the CIA "planning to reveal darn near the entire 
    program.