CIA Director John Brennan on Thursday
defended harsh interrogation techniques as providing "useful"
information to authorities, including in the raid that led to the death of
Osama bin Laden. But he said it is "unknowable" what information
could specifically be attributed to those techniques.
"It is our considered view that the
detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques provided
information that was useful and was used in the ultimate operation to go
against Bin Laden," Brennan said.y
Brennan's comments, in a rare news conference,
come two days after a Senate panel released a blockbuster 528-page report
detailing "enhanced interrogation techniques" -- including mock
executions, "rectal rehydration," sleep deprivation and beatings --
in interrogations in the mid-2000s.
He admitted that some CIA officers' actions
were "not authorized, were abhorrent and rightly should be repudiated by
all. And we fell short in holding some officers accountable for their
mistakes."
Brennan acknowledged that the agency
sometimes exceeded its legal authority during interrogations of terrorism suspects.
He said detainees who faced "enhanced
interrogation techniques" did provide some information that provided
useful -- as well as other information that didn't. He said whether those
interrogations had anything to do with that information is "unknowable."
"Let me be clear: We have not concluded
that it was the EITs within that program that allowed us to obtain useful
information from the detainees subjected to them," he said.
But he staunchly defended the agency during
the 45-minute news conference, adding: "CIA officers' actions that did
comport with the law and policy should neither be criticized nor conflated with
the actions of the few who did not follow the guidance issued."
Brennan opened his remarks with a vivid
depiction of the events of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and described
the atmosphere going into fighting terrorism and collecting intelligence in the
immediate aftermath of the attacks.
"There were no easy answers, and
whatever your views are on [enhanced interrogation techniques], our nation and
in particular this agency did a lot of things right during this difficult time
to keep this country strong and secured," Brennan said.
Brennan praised those who worked with him but
he added the agency was "unprepared to conduct a detention and
interrogation program, and our officers inadequately developed and monitored
its initial activities."
Brennan never used the word "torture"
to describe the CIA's tactics. And he deflected a question about whether, in
the interest of transparency, he supported the Senate Intelligence Committee's
decision to release its report.
"I think there's been more than enough
transparency that's happened over the last couple days," he said. "I
think it's over the top."
Brennan said it's "lamentable" that
the Senate panel didn't conduct interviews with CIA agents -- a contrast, he
said, with its handling of a report on Iraq's lack of weapons of mass
destruction, which included interviews with more than 200 officers.
His strongest criticism of the report was
with its contention that the CIA misled the public and government officials --
including then-President George W. Bush. That, Brennan said, is untrue -- a
stance former Vice President Dick Cheney backed up in an interview with Fox
News on Wednesday night.
Still, he didn't fault the report's finding
that the CIA's tactics were harsh and, at times, went beyond the legal
authority Bush's Justice Department said the agency had.
"Many aspects of their conclusions are
sound and consistent with our own prior findings," Brennan said.
"Over the years, internal agency reviews, including numerous
investigations by our office of the inspector general, found fault in the CIA's
running of the program. We have acknowledged these mistakes."
Brennan was the CIA's deputy executive
director while the tactics were being used. He said he had "some
visibility" into what was happening, but that he wasn't in the chain of command
for that program, and didn't say whether he had made any effort to push for
changes at the time.
He also noted that the program for using
"enhanced interrogation techniques" was ended in 2007.
"In light of the fact that these
techniques were banned seven years ago, however, my fervent hope is that we can
put aside this debate and move on to issues that are relevant to our current
national security challenges," Brennan said.
Meanwhile, one of Brennan's sharpest critics,
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the committee behind the report,
live-tweeted along with the press conference and sharply rebutted several
points throughout his press conference.
Culled from CNN.
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