the cia is not immune from the scrutiny of the efforts and i welcome a discussion of cia's past and current activities. if i am confirmed one of the highest priorities would be the committ committee's lengthy report of interrogation with now banned interrogation techniques. i have read the findings and executive summary of the 6,000 page report which raises a number of very serious issues. given the gravity and importance of the subject, i would look forward to further dialogue with members of the committee on the report and the findings if i'm confirmed. in addition, some of our government's current counterterrorism policies and operations sparked widespread debate, domestically, internationally and in this room. i have publicly acknowledged that the fight against al qaeda and associated forces has sometimes involved the use of lethal force outside the battlefield of afghanistan. accordingly, it is understandable that there's great interest in the legal basis and the thresholds, criteria, processes, procedures, approvals and reviews of such actions. i have strongly promoted such public dis

cia's activities. i think the best way to ensure that they're proud is for you to lead in correcting the false record and instituting the necessary reforms that will restore the cia's reputation for integrity and analytical rigor. the cia cannot be its best until the leadership faces the serious and grievous mistakes of this program. so if i might, let me turn to my first question. inaccurate information on the management, operation, effectiveness of the cia's detention and interrogation program was provided by the cia to the white house, the doj, congress, and the public. some of this information is regularly and publicly repeated today by former cia officials either knowingly or unknowingly. and although we now know this information is incorrect, the accurate information remains classified while inaccurate information has been declassified and regularly repeated. the committee will take up the matter of this report's declassification separately, but there's an important role i think the cia can play

and certainly, if i were to go to the cia and the cia was involved in any type of illegal activity, ild damn well make sure that this committee had that information. >> that's a good start. >> senator rich? >> thank you for your service over the years, and i want to follow up on a conversation that you and i had in my office, and it touches on what senator burr asked you about, and that's the question of leaks. i was glad to hear you acknowledge in your opening statement how important it is that we avoid leaks of any kind, because they're dangerous, they endanger the lives of americas, and they can't be tolerated in the business that we're in. and you agree with that, i get? >> absolutely, senator. >> well, i wanted to talk to you about a person who i believe and i think you acknowledge is one of the most dangerous people on the planet. and that's abraham al siri. and the interview that you gave, ta talked about the plot that involved him. and do you recall that conversation with senator burr? >> yes, i do. >> i have in front of me, the reuters article from 2012, describing your engag

it is a daunting task to go to cia. i want every member of this committee to be defender of the men and women of the cia, and i see it as my obligation to represent them to you on their behalf, so when times get tough and when people are going to be criticizing the cia, i have all of you to say you knew about what the cia were doing, and you will defend them. >> thank you. senator burr? >> i will be brief because i notice you are on your fourth glass of water and i do not want to be accused of waterboarding you. [laughter] with the exception of our request for the presidential daily briefs around the time of benghazi, which there was executive privilege claim, do you know of any other claim of the state of privilege on the documents that this committee is waiting on now? >> i know there are requests for emails that might have taken place between the intelligence community and the white house, and so there are a number of elements that i think people are looking at. >> but none that executive privilege have been claimed

news in december two thousand and seven and i said that not only was the cia torturing prisoners but that the torture policy was an official u.s. government policy that was approved at the very top by the president of the united states himself the cia filed what's called a crimes report against me the next day with the justice department the justice department never stopped investigating me from december of two thousand and seven until i was finally arrested in january of two thousand and twelve so to say that this the disk. case is a result of a name that was found in a in an attorney's brief at guantanamo is just simply not true they were looking for something that they were going for something to pin on me what i find most gracious about your case is had you been actually accused of torture of human rights violations you wouldn't have gone to jail know. they they would dismiss any accusation because the u.s. government has classified everything related to its torture practices but yet you go to prison because he talked about it why do you think this administration president obama

the cia is not immune from the scrutiny of these efforts, and i welcome a discussion of the cia's past and present activities. if i am selected, i've welcome an investigation of the interrogation techniques. i read the report that raises a number of serious issues. given the gravity and importance of this subject, i look forward to a report on the committee's findings if i am confirmed. in addition, some of our government's counterterrorism policies and operations have sparked widespread debate, domestically, internationally, and in this room. i have publicly acknowledged that our fight against al qaeda and its associated forces have sometimes involved the use of lethal force outside the hotbed battlefield of afghanistan. accordingly, it makes sense that there is interest in the legal basis as well as that threshold, criteria, processes, procedures and reviews of such actions. i have strongly promoted reviews of such actions with the congress and the american people, as i believe our system of government and our commitment to transparency demands nothing less. as the elected representa

looking at his role inside the cia under george w. bush.rsday he was repeatedly questioned about his views on interrogation and torture. this is carl levin of michigan. >> in your opinion, does waterboarding constitutes torture? >> the attorney general has referred to waterboarding as torture many have referred to as torture. as you well know and we've had this discussion, the term "torture" has a lot of legal implications. it is something that should have been banned long ago. in my view it never should have taken place. if i were go to the cia, it would never be brought back. >> to you have a personal opinion as to whether waterboarding is torture? >> i have the personal opinion that it is reprehensible and should not be done. i'm not a lawyer cannot address that question. >> you have read opinions as to whether or not waterboarding as torture. would you accept those of the attorney general? >> i have read a lot of legal opinions. the previous administration said waterboarding could be used. from the standpoint of that, i cannot point to

good to share with me how you see the cia and what you think about this militarization of the cia? >> thank you, senator. >> you can disagree with me. >> senator, the principal missions of the agency is to collect intelligence and uncover secrets to prevent strategic surprises. at times, the president asked and directs the cia to do covert action. it could take many forms. as we discussed today on the counterterrorism front, there are things the agency has been involved in since 9/11 that has been a bit of an aberration from its traditional role. i would take a look at that allocation of mission within the cia and the resources dedicated to it. i am concerned that looking at the world, which is a big place, we need to make sure we have the best intelligence collections possibility. the cia should not be doing traditional military activities. >> thank you. i look forward to working on identifying what cia does. pertaining to the issue of the cyber threat, both secretary panetta and general dempsey and several others and we at the white house have talked about the cyber threat. we ar

the cia veteran who revealed america's top program gets thirty months in jail but has spoken to r.t. about what led him to blow the whistle and why the government was so eager to get him behind bars the full interview next. the way. i. was able to build the most sophisticated. tim's mission to teach me the creation of. this is why you should. only. john kiriakou will with me today a former cia official who blew the whistle on the agency's torture practices after nine eleven john kiriakou served as the chief of counterterrorist operations in pakistan mystically are always were totally praised at the agency for his role in the capture of abu zubaydah who back in two thousand and two was thought to be third in command and now years later john kerry is heading to prison he was just sentenced to. two and a half years in jail mr getting out with thank you so much for coming thanks for having me i really appreciate it i know that time is of much value to you and your family now before you. find yourself behind bars. you were convicted of revealing the identity of an agent or freelance repor

self with the same intelligence advisors who advised president bush through most of the first term the cia had the same deputy director that bush had the same director of operations that bush had john brennan who is president obama's new designee to be the cia director and until what a week ago or so was the deputy national security adviser was under president bush the director of the national counterterrorism center and up to his eyeballs in torture policy so even though we changed presidents there was really no change of intelligence advisors at least not on counterterrorism john brennan you mentioned john brennan and i want to ask you about him the future head of the c.i. what kind of a cia chief is he going to be in your opinion i think he's going to be somebody who will be extremely aggressive and who will probably be comfortable. walking on the edge of the law you worked with him i did i worked with john brennan for many years and i know him pretty well. mr kaplan you yourself supported torture before you were against it what happened what changed your position well let me correct yo

because the cia keeps killing people. or trying to kill people in other countries that we are not at war with. the cia at the time had taken it upon itself, it wasn't clear if they were acting alone or at various presidents' direction, but they had taken on the job of assassinations in foreign countries. assassinations and attempted assassinations. and the senate said that was not cool. this from the church report. "the evidence establishes that the united states was implicated in several assassination plots. the committee believes that short of war assassination is incompatible with american principles, international order, and morality. it should be rejected as a tool of foreign policy." the church committee report came out, said that. gerald ford issued an executive order banning assassinations. the select committees on intelligence were formed in the house and the senate to exert oversight over the cia. since the armed services committees who had been supposedly overseeing them had fallen down on the job, actually, th

attractive to the cia and the supporting of the cia, you can get things clear, so she was instrumental and conducting torture and abuse and again i don't want to become california but you do have a professor not here at the university of california berkeley. he's still in california somewhere. he had to write five memos that eric holder did release that permitted torture of a certain level. but my problem with obama has always been the torture the cia conducted went beyond what the justice department said was permissible. the number one is john mccain who was tortured over a long period of time and has been a huge critic of this country conducting torture. what is going to happen to american officials, military and intelligence officials, foreign officials, service officials who lined up in the hands of others who know that the united states has been tortured? what did it have to do with ander on the cia in the middle east? that's never been explored the we've always looked at benghazi as the problem of the consulate that was a loosely destructive consulate and i thought it was an inte

when i joined the cia in august 1980, world events were unsettled.teheran had been overrun the year before and 52 americans were still being held hostage by a radical new government in iran. the soviet invasion of afghanistan was less than a year old and the next decade we witnessed the slow but steady crumbling of the soviet union. weapons of mass destruction were a concern and u.s. officials were hard at work around the globe trying to prevent regional tensions and an mos if is from turning in to full-scale wars and ominously, the united states about to face an upsurge in terrorist attacks to claim hundreds of american lives in lebanon including a 49-year-old cia officer named bob ames killed in a brief visit to our embassy in beirut and who at the time was my boss at cia. during my 25-year career at cia, i watched up close and participated in history being made in far off corners of the world. as cia fulfilled the critical intelligence roles, collecting intelligence, uncovering secrets, identifying threats, partnering with foreign intelligence and

he was told we are the cia.d i will tell you anything you want to know. >> the cartoonish version of it is let me tell you who we are. i heard about you. he was actually cooperative. >> just the existence. >> yes. back to the ambiguity. one thing that does come across in the movie, but you have to watch it very carefully, the most powerful tool we had in every interrogation we conducted was our knowledge. not one or another technique. >> once you got through the enhanced interrogation process then the real interrogation began, the debriefing. that is with the skill and knowledge with the people who were conducting the sessions. the knowledge base was so good that these people knew that we were not going to be fooled. we had other prisoners in our sights. we would be able to check information against others. they knew that. we mentioned the takedown. they did not know how much khalid sheikh mohammed had told us about $50,000. we would go and give him what we have heard from khalid sheikh mohammed and he thought w

government for blowing the whistle on torture referring a former cia analyst and senior investigator for the senate foreign relations committee john kiriakou and while he isn't the only whistleblower charge out of this administration his story is particularly unique is that he actually left his position at the cia in two thousand and four three years later when waterboarding was becoming a point of contention he was put to the media circuit as a commentator and eventually to disclose the name of the covert cia officer to a freelance reporter simply wanted to help the journalist find a good source a little did he know that's the formation would cost him. his career just last week he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison as part of a plea deal and he now stands as the first cia officer to be convicted under the espionage act an extremely archaic piece of world war one legislation now because of the legal proceedings caracal has been silent and unable to speak to the media not even more in fact he's here right now to talk to me about his personal case torture and the crusade a

if you are a former cia officer who says things that are attracted to the cia and supportive of the ciayou can get things cleared. rodriquez, who was instrumental in conducting torture and abuse. and that no one to pick on california, but you have a professor of here at the university of california berkeley -- maybe he is moved. still in california somewhere. he helped to write five memos that fortunately were released that permitted torture at a certain level. but my problem with obama has always been the torture that the cia conducted went beyond what the justice department said was permissible. this country should not torture. the number one authority on torture in this country is john mccain who was tortured overlong amount of time. has been a huge critic of this country conducting torture. what is going to happen to american officials, military, intelligence officials, armed service of those shows to wind up in hands of others who know that the united states has been torturing? you know, where did benghazi have to do with anger about the role of the cia in the middle east? that has

the cia is not immune from the scrutiny of these efforts, and i welcome a discussion of the cia's past and present activities. welcomeselected, i've an investigation of the interrogation techniques. i read the report that raises a number of serious issues. given the gravity and important -- importance of this subject, i look forward to a report on the committee's findings if i am confirmed. in addition, some of our government's counterterrorism policies and operations have sparked widespread debate, domestically, internationally, and in this room. i have publicly acknowledged that our fight against al qaeda and its associated forces have sometimes involved the use of lethal force outside the hotbed battlefield of afghanistan. accordingly, it makes sense that there is interest in the legal basis as well as that threshold, criteria, processes, procedures and reviews of such actions. i have strongly promoted reviews of such actions with the congress and the american people, as i believe our system of government and our commitment to transparency demands nothing less. as the elected repres

more analysis on bravo obama's pick for the cia head as well as the implications that the choice holds for other countries they might have to step in where we had to right now we're joined by ahmed rashid the president of the political lobbying group happy nationalists forum sir thanks so much for taking the time with us to speak with us now of course john brennan is most famous or infamous lee known as the architect of the u.s. drone program there are some concerns about his interrogation. techniques when it comes to u.s. pakistan relations considering the the tedious i guess background of the drone program has had there especially how it plays out among the population what do you think his candidacy or him being at the helm of the cia would mean for your country pakistan the over the last three years we've had a coup going on between you and the pakistani intelligence agency the i.s.i. right now you can see there's a chance truce but if john brennan is confirmed i think we're looking at a nother stage of instability in this entire region. baucus not. confirming the obama administrati

missing by not knowing how the cia works? >> well, it gave me -- there's no question it gave both bob gates and i i think a tremendous advantage. because when you're looking at the intelligence side and looking at the threats and looking at who's out there is a threat to the united states and the whole process that's involved in gathering that kind of information, that becomes very important when you go to defense because everything you do with defense depends on good intelligence. and there you not only get the intelligence, but you then have to do the operational stuff to make sure we're protecting the country. so having that combined experience i thought was very helpful to me as secretary of defense. >> you know, you've also been in this unique position, the drone program, the expansion of the drone program. you ran it in some form the operational aspect of it at the cia. do you run actually -- are you in charge of less of the drone operation at the defense department than at the cia? >> not really. we're the ones who sup

-- be cia director. he faced a number of questions about the enhanced interrogation techniques. the targeted killing program and the use of drones. diane feinstein gavels in the hearing after an interruption from protesters. >> i ask that this room be cleared right now with the capitol police -- will the capitol police please come in and clear a room? -- clear the room? all signs out. if the capitol police will clear a room, please. [indiscernible] >> please clear the room. please clear the room. all right. we should clear the entire room and let people back in. >> we need more capitol police is what we need. will trylet's -- we and start. [gavel] >> begin this hearing and let me say right up front that the process is that people are respectful, that they cannot tear, they do not hiss, they do not show signs. this is to listen. if that is a problem for anybody ask you to leave the room now. because what we will do is remove you from the room. let there be no doubt. so if i may, i would like to begin. the

out of this administration his story is particularly unique if he actually left his position at the cia in two thousand and four three years later when waterboarding was becoming a point of contention he was put to the media circuit as a commentator eventually to disclose the name of the covert cia officer to a freelance reporter simply wanted to help the journalist find a good source a little did he know that's the formation would cost him his career just last week he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison as part of a plea deal and he now stands as the first cia officer to be convicted under the espionage act and extremely archaic piece of world war one legislation now because of the legal proceedings caracal has been silent and unable to speak to the media not even more in fact he's here right now to talk to me about his personal case torture and the crusade against whistleblowers in this country john thank you so much for coming so much for having me so john you're the first cia official to go to jail and not for torturing people simply for exposing torture i mean how does

but the cia wants more. they seize control of him. they send him to egypt where he is rendered and turned over to one of the most brutal intelligence services in the world. >> this is al libi years later. in a libyan prison being visited by his family. this video was recently located by michael isikoff. >> within weeks of his interrogation in egypt, al libi coughs up this story that he hadn't told the fbi before that saddam was training al qaeda in chemical and biological weapons. it's the single most frightening story that could have been told post-9/11. >> almost from the outset, the intelligence community has doubts about the claim. a 2002 cia report states that questions persist about al libi's forthrightness and truthfulness, and that in some instances he seems to have fabricated information. after the invasion, al libi will recant the story that was extracted by egypt's brutal interrogation. >> at the time he said two different things at two different times, and we will tell the policy consumers and other analysts in the communi

government policy the very next day the cia filed what's called a crimes reported against me. justice department began investigating me and never stopped investigating me since december two thousand and seven in addition to that i've even been audited by the i.r.s. every single year since i gave that interview so i just yeah i mean just the chilling effect kind of punishing you in any sense of the way it's a program of harassment absolutely is absolutely and it's course you know passing the buck to say it's just a few rogue cia officers it's just like. where they're just going to be it's institutionalized i mean we know that it was from the top down. you know i just can't help but thinking. of torture you know when obama got elected he said he condemns torture really when you look at the evidence of dr borden in guantanamo bay the continued practice of rendition extorting torture to different countries solitary confinement the indefinite detention i mean did torture really end with obama you know i think it did and i'll tell you why it all depends on your definition of torture

drone strikes to torture techniques tough questions are in store for barack obama's nominee for the cia head at his confirmation hearing in the senate which has just kicked off now it's already been interrupted by protests but it has now resume john brennan is widely seen as an architect of the u.s. drone strategy in an effort to avoid scrutiny around brennan's can of the see the u.s. president has even agreed to hand over classified documents justifying the killing of american terror suspects abroad now that is after years of keeping it a secret as art and its you can reports confirmation might broaden the horizons for america's drone fleet. in the shadows no more drones are moving into the mainstream was drone makers in the u.s. military pushing to defend the killing machine drones are more properly titled remotely piloted vehicles allow us to do is to project capability without projecting vulnerability and their revolutionizing north america by loudly nice to see and keep you from half a world away a major drone manufacturer lockheed martin has financed an hour long documentary on dr

government for blowing the whistle on torture referring to former cia analyst and senior investigator for the senate foreign relations committee john kiriakou and while he isn't the only whistleblower charged out of this administration his story is particularly unique is that he actually left his position at the cia in two thousand and four three years later when waterboarding was becoming a point of contention he was put to the media circuit as a commentator eventually to disclose the name of the covert cia officer to a freelance reporter simply wanting to help the journalist find a good source a little do you know that's the formation would cost him his career just last week he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison as part of a plea deal and he now stands as the first cia officer to be convicted under the espionage act an extremely archaic piece of world war one legislation now because of the legal proceedings caracal has been silent and unable to speak to the media not even more in fact he's here right now to talk to me about his personal case torture and the crusade agai

the fact that the cia is working i view us through cia organized on.matters just a global terror network. is a war crime of epic proportions but even more disturbing is fact the complicity of so many politicians and secret services in foreign countries sends a clear signal. through the simply exist that sends a clear signal that the. united states that is something of a virtual taters. capable and willing to punish. other people for things that it's quite willing to do itself and. not just to groups. that would scream as you say a war crime taking place here well now that all these allegations to be made public what's going to take to press charges and bring anyone to account if they are indeed deemed as illegal the same sort of thing that happened during the vietnam war you have to understand. the cia doesn't do these things as a sort of rogue element it has the. us congress by certain very important congress people who believe that they are reflecting the will of the american people in the wake of nine eleven there was a huge outcry in america. for v

he is a veteran of the cia. a lot of people argue from inside the intelligence community that he is the perfect head of the cia because he is well respected and has, you know, a life-long career there. he is very close to the president. and you can really see the body language when the president was nominating him, just how close they are. this is a friendship. this is not just a working relationship. so it will certainly enhance the cia's clout inside the white house to have him as the head of it. there is a very highly regarded acting director, mike morel, who could have been nominate in order post as well, and is staying at the agency. so the agency is in very familiar hands right now while we go through this process. but this hearing, remember, is in front of the intelligence committee. ron wyden is something of an outlier in that the intelligence committees are pretty much very much in sync with what the administration warrants on the war on terror. this is the first real rebellion. >> fascinating stuff. i

when i joined the cia in august 1980, world events were unsettled.teheran had been overrun the year before and 52 americans were still being held hostage by a radical new government in iran. the soviet invasion of afghanistan was less than a year old and the next decade we witnessed the slow but ste