Hayden faces more questioning today

[unhappycamper]

CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden faces two days of testimony behind closed doors of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees to answer questions about his agency's destruction of videotaped interrogations of terrorist suspects. Hayden is to testify in a closed session Dec. 11 before the Senate Intelligence Committee and Dec. 12 before the House Intelligence Committee.


Hayden faces more questioning today
By Pamela Hess - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Dec 12, 2007 6:27:19 EST

WASHINGTON — The CIA’s “waterboarding” of a top al-Qaida figure was approved at the top levels of the U.S. government, a former CIA agent said Tuesday as Congress grilled agency director Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden about the destruction of videotapes of terrorism suspect interrogations.

According to the former agent, waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah got him to talk in less than 35 seconds. The technique, which critics say is torture, probably disrupted “dozens” of planned al-Qaida attacks, said John Kiriakou, a leader of the team that captured Zubaydah, a major al-Qaida figure.

Kiriakou did not explain how he knew who approved the interrogation technique but said such approval comes from top officials.

“This isn’t something done willy nilly. This isn’t something where an agency officer just wakes up in the morning and decides he’s going to carry out an enhanced technique on a prisoner,” he said Tuesday in a round of television news show appearances. “This was a policy made at the White House, with concurrence from the National Security Council and Justice Department.”

At the White House, press secretary Dana Perino said the CIA interrogation program approved by the president is safe, tough, effective and legal. But she said that Hayden will not “talk about techniques and explain to the enemy what we are doing” during two days of questioning before closed sessions of the Senate and House intelligence panels.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/12/ap_hayden_071211/

[frogcycle]

1. Kiriakou

sure sounds like a plant.

He acknowledges that now he thinks its torture, but that it only took 35 seconds to get info to disrupt dozens of ops. He says approval had to come from the very top (we all knew that) but also that it was on a case-by-case basis. He deftly passes blame to the WH while giving credit to the CIA, and frankly, makes a half -decent attempt at rationalizing the blame part.

Since we all knew the WH was behind it and the drumbeat has largely been that it doesn't work, he reveals nothing and probably enhances the tough-but-careful image of bush in the eyes of some.

Hannity and friends should love him.