CIA Director's Strong Defense of Interrogation Techniques

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CIA Director's Strong Defense of Interrogation Techniques

January 15, 2009 8:04 PM

ABC News' Luis Martinez reports: CIA Director Michael Hayden offered a spirited defense of the agency's controversial detention and interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, which Attorney General nominee Eric Holder characterized today as "torture." Hayden said the techniques provided extremely useful information about al Qaeda and have led to repeated successes against the terror network.

"You can't say it didn't work. It worked," Hayden said in a wide-ranging farewell interview with reporters at the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Va.

Hayden said the legality of waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques is an "uninteresting question to the CIA" right now because the agency has not engaged in the practices since March 2003. "We don't do that. We haven't done in it since March 2003. We have no intent to do it," said Hayden. He added that given the new legal climate since the passage of the Military Commission Act and the Detainee Treatment Act, "I wouldn't know what kind of answer I'd get from the Justice Department, were I to ask. But we haven't asked."

Hayden was not CIA Director at the time that the enhanced techniques were legally authorized for use at secret CIA prisons, but he offered a strong defense nonetheless. "I am convinced that the program got the maximum amount of information. Particularly out of that first generation of detainees."

Referring to 9-11plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and al Qaeda financier Abu Zubaydah, Hayden said he couldn't conceive of another way for them to have provided useful intelligence, "given their character and given their commitment to what it is they do."

The CIA has acknowledged that waterboarding was used on three "high-value" detainees including Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, the plotter of the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

Hayden said the agency did not undertake the controversial program of rendition and interrogations out of "enthusiasm, it did it out of duty and it did it with the best legal advice it had."

Asked if he was concerned that Holder's characterization of the techniques as torture might lead to investigations of the agency's past activities, Hayden said he was "heartened' by President-elect Barack Obama's comments to George Stephanopoulos this weekend that he was "looking forward." Hayden said that approach was appropriate: "It's what this agency has done in the past. What it's doing now. And I'm sure what it will be doing in the future will be based on the very best legal counsel it has at that time."

Hayden was dismissive of congressional efforts to impose the Army's field manual on the agency's interrogation efforts, labeling it a "real shot in the dark" that the manual "would suit the needs of the Republic in all circumstances," particularly when it comes to interrogating al Qaeda leaders.

Hayden spoke of the headway made against al Qaeda's safe haven in the tribal region of western Pakistan. "The great danger was that the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan was a safe haven. My belief is that it is neither safe nor a haven," Hayden said. He attributed this to cooperation with Pakistan, though he did not acknowledge U.S. missile strikes in the region targeting al Qaeda leaders, which have increased both in number and lethality since last summer.

The outgoing CIA Director said he had no regrets during his two-year tenure at the helm of the intelligence agency, but he did say it was a disappointment to him that Osama bin Laden had not been killed or captured during his watch. He said it was telling that the latest audiotape from bin Laden included a request for donations.

On Hayden's list of 10 things to worry about over the next year, al Qaeda was No. 1. But he found it noteworthy that Iraq had not made his list.

On other issues, Hayden expressed his belief that Iran is likely nearing a "decision point" sometime in the next six months about whether to continue pursuing a nuclear weapons program. He also thinks that continued drops in the price of oil may exacerbate domestic tensions in that nation's stability.

January 15, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (11)

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Harry Truman: "Those who do not read and understand history are doomed to repeat it."

General Hayden would have been well served by reading up on the Nuremburg Trials... and the nation would have been better served had he done so.

Posted by: Larry McD | Jan 15, 2009 8:32:55 PM

American people should be grateful to President George W. Bush, CIA, FBI, and men and women in uniforms for protecting this country for last 7 years. Obama, democrats and extrem liberals can blame these brave men and woen in any way they wish. However, American people would hold Obama accountable if he is not trying his best to protect American people as his paramount duty in next 4 years.

Posted by: ABC-Joe | Jan 15, 2009 11:45:45 PM

I agree with you,ABC-Joe. It is very clearly":
-Our next President and his Cabinet: they come from Law...books, politic career...lies and lies. They do not understand...nothings and " double nothings" about: HOW CAN THEY LOVE THEIR COUNTRY AND HOW CAN THEY PROTECT THEIR COUNTRY!!! They do not know nothings EXCEPT:
-politic
-tell lies too much but they hide well because almost of them are
A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y
Since Obama Hussein Barrack campaign, he "did" show: he "did not THANKS men and women... We will not suprise anythings about NEXT GOVERGMENT....will do stupid thing: America is not a great country...to the WORLD so they are the "heroes" and they are saving America. I believe that they CHANGE...everythings include WHITE HOUSE now becomes FUN HOUSE.

Posted by: phoqh | Jan 16, 2009 3:09:00 AM

everyone supports the US troops who were and are being sent to a war that should never have been started.

patriotism is not owned by the republican party. people who love their country don't need to wave their flag in everyone's face.

that individuals don't agree with all of President Bush's policies or don't think the US should practice torture does not make them bad americans. quite the opposite. people who don't believe in torture and believe america is at its best when it obeys its own laws and international law are good americans.

there will always be disagreement over politics. you may not agree with the new president but he cares about our nation every bit as much as we do and President Bush does.

Posted by: Paul Wall | Jan 16, 2009 4:38:47 PM

"24" is fantasy. The purpose of torture is to put the words of the State in the mouth of the accused. It produces false confessions. Hayden knows this. So why did the CIA need false confessions in the "War on Terror"?

Mr. Hayden, E. Howard Hunt sends his regards.

Posted by: ghost | Jan 17, 2009 9:23:33 AM

Just put these guys in a room with Biden after he's had a few too many...they'll gladly talk. I don't think even PEBO can stand the man.

Posted by: Grand Old Party | Jan 17, 2009 9:48:04 PM

Larry McD writes: "General Hayden would have been well served by reading up on the Nuremburg Trials... and the nation would have been better served had he done so."

****************************************

Perhaps you sir should read history. To compare what the Nazis did to the Jews and others with a non-lethal technique called "waterboarding" is absurd. Perhaps outsourcing interrogation to other countries would better appease the left. I wonder if the top al queda suspect who gave up valuable information after being waterboarded would still be alive if he had been interrogated by Saddam (or some of the other Arab regimes)?

Posted by: centurion666 | Jan 18, 2009 1:05:02 PM

One wishes these leftists would have as much compassion for innocent babies being murdered as they are born - purely for convenience - as they seem to have for terrorists.

I have a suggestion on how to solve this debate. Let the citizens of each state vote on what measures they want the government to use should it discover an imminent WMD attack and then make the results public and binding. If residents of the coasts prefer their cities nuked to inflicting a little discomfort on some terrorist, they should have that right. They should not have the right to impose their deranged "morality" on me and my family.

Posted by: FoundingFather | Jan 19, 2009 1:03:07 AM

Every bleeding heart liberal who seems to think that this kind of treatment is so horrible and do deplorable, should be required to be a host family for one these "misunderstood individuals" for one calendar year!

During that time they would be legally responsible for that "individual's" behavior & conduct.

I'm sure being good liberals, they will all be rushing to be first in line for this new government program!

Posted by: Mike_C | Jan 19, 2009 10:50:54 AM

MANY OF THE WRITERS HAVE NEVER FACED THE ENEMY OR SERVED IN A FORWARD ZONE.
WOULD YOU LIBERAL SOFTIES RATHER HAVE THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT DEAD AMERICANS OR SUBJECT A COWARDLY SLUG LIKE KHALID SHEIK MOHAMMED WHO CLAIMS HE WANTS TO BE EXECUTED TO ENDURE SOME WATER DISCOMFORT?
YOU HEARD THE COWARD KHALID A FEW DAYS AGO. HE IS PROUD OF KILLING US ON 9/11. A LITTLE WATER IN THE MUG AND THE TOUGH GUY SANG LIKE AN ITALIAN TENOR!
I PRAY PRESIDENT OBAMA REALIZES WHO IS IT HE IS PROTECTING US FROM!

Posted by: Pepe | Jan 20, 2009 4:06:37 PM

Nazis were in fact sentenced to death in Norway in 1948 for "waterboarding". There were many more war crimes other than the famous killing of jews. It is complete nonsense to say that the United States - who had no problem convicting terrorists in federal courts pre-9/11 - should suddenly find the 'necessity' to imprison people without trial, and torture people. America already had all it needed, defence-wise. If the FBI,CIA and NSA actually shared information pre-9/11, the attacks would never have happened. There was no need to adopt extreme and brutal laws. What is it that makes America a good country? Becoming barbarians is not a good thing! 108 people died in US custody who were not charged with any crime. No al-Qaeda suspect EVER gave any 'valuable information' under torture: that never happened. Hayden is a liar who should be in jail himself. Torture was introduced to get prisoners to say the lies that the US govt wanted to hear, like for example to get al-Libbi to say that Saddam had something to do with 9/11 (a fantasy). How is imprisoning random people and torturing them protecting America? There is absolutely no connection whatsoever between behaving like a nation of deranged, murderous apes and protecting your citizens. None. Nada. Zip. All this machismo is something the lazy leaders wanted to do INSTEAD of protecting US citizens. The Bush Administration just wanted to go to war, kill some people, pretend they were arresting terrorists (they just pulled random people off the street and sent them to Guantanamo), act like heroes and jerk off into the mirror. They did absolutely nothing to protect America and they were never going to.

Posted by: Brunswick | Jan 26, 2009 2:22:05 PM

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