Hayden: We'll Have To Clear Interrogation Practices With ACLU, New York Times (VIDEO)

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden lashed out at the Obama administration on Sunday for releasing memos on interrogation techniques used on detainees, warning at one point that the future processes would need clearance from the ACLU and New York Times.

"I think the really dangerous effect of this... is that you have agency officers stepping back from the kinds of things that the nation expects them to do," said Hayden. "I mean, if you were to go to an agency officer today and say 'go do this' and [they'd respond] 'why am I authorized to do this?' I say it's authorized by the president, the attorney general said it's lawful and it's been briefed to congress. That agency officer is gonna say 'yeah I know... but have you run it by the ACLU. What about the New York Times editorial board? Have you discussed this with any potential presidential candidates?' You're going to have this agency on the front line of this current war playing back from the line."

The remarks came during an appearance on Fox News Sunday and were several days removed from an op-ed Hayden penned that was similarly critical of the Obama administration's decision. On Fox, Hayden offered a defense of some of the harder interrogation techniques, insisting at one point that important intelligence was gleamed from waterboarding. He declined, however, to discuss reports that Khalid Sheikh Muhammad was waterboarded 183 times in one month, when asked if such treatment was inhumane.

Hayden left the program on a rather interesting note. Asked if he thought further revelations about, or investigations into, these interrogation practices would take place - something the Obama administration has largely insisted won't happen - Hayden said he was positive of it.

"God no it is not the end of it," he said. "If you look at the letters that director Panetta and director Blair put out to the intelligence community workforce, they make it very clear; literally, explicitly say, this is not the end of it. in fact They suggest it's just the beginning. There will be more revelations. There will be more commissions. There will be more investigations. And this to an agency, again, I'll repeat, that is at war and is on the front lines defending America."

Comments

[7granny]

Ok, I get it you guys think torturing terrorist is a horrible thing & America is a horrible place for allowing it. So let's take it out of context of the military.
You & your family live in a small community. Recently a group of thugs have bee taking children & doing horrible things to them & none have survived. One night your family are all tucked safely in bed then all at once your home is invaded & these degenerates take your small children. In the process of trying to stop them you are able to capture one of them. You know he knows where your children are. You know you only have a limited time to save your children. This guy is sitting there with a smirk on his face. Are you going to serve him milk & cookies & hope since you are being so nice to him he will have a change of heart & tell you where you children are? Or, would you do whatever you had to do to get the information out of him? I would not have a second thought about what I would do. If you are so worried about these innocents being made uncomfortable in order to save lives then I guess you would serve him milk & cookies then send him on his way.

[citizensrus]

You present a false dichotomy.

[7granny]

How is that citizensrus? You will either do whatever it takes to save the lives of your children or you will not. Our govt. will either do whatever it takes to protect the American people & the military fighting for the American people or they will not.

[flossophy]

Hilarious.­.. gonna have to 'run these things by the ACLU and the NYT editorial board...'

Obama = ball fumbler.

[edwcorey]

Hayden should be hiding in a cave somewhere, not defending illegal practices. In fact, he should be in jail for gross dereliction of duty while head of the NSA prior to and on 9-11:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spyfactory/hill.html

If you really want to feel ill, watch the program:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spyfactory/program.html

[felisa11]

Standard Operating Procedures just aired on cable. It is a detailed accounts of the torture and how it was used.
The American soliders are explaining their part in the interrogations. They are the moderators.

Every detail and much more of what the WH released is already out there and well documented, unless of course you repugs think that they made this two hr, documentary last Friday,

Please watch this and for the people that wants everyone involved to be punished, you will change your minds when you realise that our soliders are victims in all of this. They either followed orders and tortured or they went to jail for not following orders. What would you have done?

[citizensrus]

That question is answered by looking at the atrocities of Germany in WW2. I think following orders is not an excuse. It simply is not an excuse. Jail should have been preferable.

[wdw505]

if you were afraid of bugs......­.would i be torturing you with a room full of bugs that do not bite

or if you are afraid of heights, i do your interview in a clear floored room 50' in the air

how about a woman interrogator in a bikini or maybe naked against a very religious man.......­where does your definition stop stretching

where does it stop......­.this country is turning into a bunch of cry babies

[BarackDaVote]

Faux News + Hayden=

[AbyssinianLion]

Who is he kidding? America is not that st.upid. We cannot sweep all these crimes under the rug and forget them. He should be tried immediately!

[armadillo]

The best defense is an offense.

[BlackJAC]

A quick rundown of military history shows that the side that shoots first ("offense") tends to lose pretty much every time. So much for the gops' "preemptive doctrine" berserker temper tantrums.

[7granny]

Blackjack, we did not shoot first. Remember 9/11?

[knerd]

We will be hearing more and more from guys like Hayden. They don't care about torture. They care about plausible deniability.

[vippy]

Hayden, shut up and be glad you are not at the Nuremberg Trials! You should be locked up you Twit!
The horror you inflicted is unforgiveable and the reputation of the USA you ruined should be punishable.

[senseandnonsense]

Sunlight is the best antiseptic. Let's see it all! Disclose it all! Let the world see it! And then let's go after the people who perpetrated the outrages. Even a common burglar would understand the logic. You don't do the crime if you can't do the time...

[BlackJAC]

Perhaps we can test our "enhanced interrogation tactics" on Hayden's wife and children.

[FatherWolf]

183 times. But just on him.

[7granny]

BlackJAC, comments like that are crude & uncalled for.

[Bill Lorch]

Im retired military an i will say this guy wears a costume "air force blue" Go put it on an shut up. Dont worry Mr big O wont go after you he has sold us out 2 .So be safe you are a shme to the uniform you wear. Mr O is covering up also you phonies have nothing to be concerned about. My Hope now rests with the Hague

[wdw505]

ya that will happen

laughing

[Spud777]

Hayden knows he is going to be prosecuted for war crimes and he is scared.

[mendelcrosses]

How did this guy managed to make it to the position of CIA Director?From the way he frames his argument,one can tell that,the guy is almost as analytical as Sarah palin. But then again ,Bush need around him people whom among he would look smart.

[MikeHermit]

Here is my big problem with any arguement these torture guys make.

Every soldier is trained on the Geneva Convention. Soldiers do not have to ask a lawyer about what is right and what is wrong. They are trained on it. Only reason why those soldiers at Abu Gharab, even while opperating under the direction of the torture goons, were tried, found guilty, and sentanced.

If our soldiers, who really have little training on the rules of torture, as most of their training is on combat skills, can be held accountable for these crimes, expected to know right from wrong, legal from illegal (and have the most interest in the Geneva Convention, any soldier can one day become a POW) then how is it men and women whose jobs it is to interrogate, whose sole responsibility is to know the laws pertaining to torture can neither be held accountable nor can they be trained to know what is and is not an illegal order?

Don't fool yourselves with this rhetoric folks. The interregators know what they are doing, their higher ups know and knew, and the Bush admin, including and especially Bush knew. Want to see a good movie on it? Check out Rendition.

I was a soldier for 6 years. If I was expected to know the difference between Legal and Illegal orders these guys should be able to as well. nless soldiers are just across the board smarter then our Intelligence services. Could be.