CIA chief challenges Senate torture report

Tenet, the director on Sept 11, 2001, said the interrogation program “saved thousands of Americans lives” while the country faced a “ticking time bomb every day.”

The country faces a "ticking time bomb everyday"...... watching a little too much Jack Bauer are we???

The country faces a "ticking time bomb everyday"...... watching a little too much Jack Bauer are we???

Making that kind of comment shows why liberals are just flat out horrible when it comes to national Security it's because they DON'T take things seriously.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney also pushed back, saying in a Fox News interview that the Senate report “is full of crap.”

As opposed to the guy who pushed intelligence people, including those in the CIA, to conclude that Hussein had WMD, so he and George W. would have a case for war in Iraq. And we all know how that turned out.

The Dems. and left wing libs. with backs against the wall having post 9/11 amnesia as most bloggers. The report was one sided view without credibility of the full account for a political stunt that serve their unending blame to all social ills without any answer. The world is facing despicable terrorism activities for many afraid to even call terrorist as it is.

"CIA officers were the first to fight and early to die in the Afghanistan war. "

And that war was as needless as the torture and even more horrifying. But of course its smart of him to fall back on that because Americans will refuse to see it that way. A lie leads to more lies to cover each additional lie.

"But he added it was impossible to know whether the detainees provided that information because of the “enhanced interrogation techniques.” He said the cause-and-effect relationship is “unknown and unknowable.”"

Well if you don't even know if terrorist tactics work, perhaps that should be reason enough to not act like a terrorist?

partisan attack on the agency

Little doubt about that. However, it does not make the attack any less valid.

The Dems. and left wing libs. with backs against the wall having post 9/11 amnesia as most bloggers. The report was one sided view without credibility of the full account for a political stunt that serve their unending blame to all social ills without any answer. The world is facing despicable terrorism activities for many afraid to even call terrorist as it is.

It's called: Work place violence. Also there is NO such thing as terrorism, it's just people that are unfortunately misguided.

Yeah something is full of crap all right. Probably the guy that can only share his twisted smile with Fox News. Still, zero will be done about this, and rightly so for anyone that knows how democracy works.

He should have followed the logic of the blithering idiot on Fox who announced that America is 'awesome' and this report was concocted to try to show that America was 'not awesome'. I think even the deep moral lessons of 24 may have been a little too subtle for idiocy of that calibre.

Responding to the Senate torture report, Brennan recounted the horrors of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks

The 9/11 horse is nearly dead. Stop flogging it.

What the US has done in the name of 9/11 is out of all proportion. They have invaded two countries - one which had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11, killed several hundred thousand people, created havoc in the middle east and used the same attack to spy on their own people and the world in a manner never done before and have tortured hundreds (at least) of people along the way. Sorry US, the 9/11 justifies everything train left the station a long time ago.

Making that kind of comment shows why liberals are just flat out horrible when it comes to national Security it's because they DON'T take things seriously.

Sorry forgot - we need to keep the fear cranked up on a permanent basis now don't we....

He should have followed the logic of the blithering idiot on Fox who announced that America is 'awesome' and this report was concocted to try to show that America was 'not awesome'. I think even the deep moral lessons of 24 may have been a little too subtle for idiocy of that calibre.

So it's bad to say "America is awesom?? Oh, it would be better to say something bad like America is NOT?" Yeah, whatever....

It's amazing that everyone completely ignored the minority report and took the Deomcratic Senate majority report face value. Partisan, of course not. But again, who gives a fig what the world thinks, good on the CIA, Rodriguez, Brennen and good for Cheney to have enough coconuts to tell all these idiots to shove it. We haven't been attacked in 13 years, wonder why?

Torture is not and never will be, defensible and to try and do is reprehensible. To try and do so while espousing "freedom" and "rights" and "democracy" is beyond hypocrisy.

It also clearly shows the world one important and potentially fatal thing: if you have to use torture, your intelligence gathering skills are amateur.

Truth, Freedom and Torture, didn't Thomas de Torquamada use the same speech to quash the Spanish Jews. Luckily he could not bomb and invade so easily. Was the calamity that unfolded due to lies (WMD) really worth it, other to the military Industrial industry? Seems they motivated a huge swath of people to take up arms and fermented a hatred of western society. That we all now live in fear of. Shoes off at the airport. The bush administration achieved its goals, enriching it's friends and creating a fear factor. Like sticking your hand in a wasp nest running away and selling wasp gas. Dick Chaney (Mr shoot your friend in the face) and G.W. Bush ( his silence is...?) both created this mess and both profited from it. They don't car about collateral damage, I'm sure they are smug as a bug in their mansion counting their blood money.

'But again, who gives a fig what the world thinks, good on the CIA,'

America needs the respect of partners in the world. That kind of arrogance is precisely what the neocons had which stirred up mistrust and hatred of the US. A real tragedy.

It also clearly shows the world one important and potentially fatal thing: if you have to use torture, your intelligence gathering skills are amateur.

It's that kind of talk thinking that a person knows more about something than the person who lives and breathes this kind of stuff everyday, people that are trained in this field. This is why Obama is always screwing up. He thinks he knows everything and everyone else besides him are just dumb idiots and everything gets massively screwed up!

@jim

America needs the respect of partners in the world. That kind of arrogance is precisely what the neocons had which stirred up mistrust and hatred of the US. A real tragedy.

Likewise, the world has to respect America as well and since we practically take care of the world, we should expect nothing less. And if people in the rest of the world don't like American arrogance or American exceptionalism, so what. Serious question, When Obama became president, the man went on an apology (don't know why) tour to the world, to the Muslim countries and gave that idiotic speech in Cairo, literally on his hands and knees apologizing for everything including being an American and what did we get? More respect? NO. Less hatred and more love? NO. Did anything change in our relationships with China, Russia and Europe, NO. So again, who cares and why try? If we did something to be ashamed of, I understand and there are things historically in the past that we need to show contrition, but after 9/11 absolutely NOT. There is nothing to be sorry for. The world needs us more than we need it. Because when the crap hits the fan, you will NOT call Bejing or Moscow or Pyongyang, you will call Washington, every time all the time.

Some of the posters seem to use the same bla bla bla North Korea uses. Tortuous investigation is OK because we are good? We represent freedom and equality but reserve the right to torturously treat you perhaps to death in the name of justice and freedom? We have secret torturous prisons off our soil so it's Ok to forcably annul feed you between mock drowning. Justice, freedom and your a foreigner, suffer

CIA chief challenges Senate torture report

Does anyone expect a turkey to vote for Christmas?

...the interrogation program “saved thousands of Americans lives” while the country faced a “ticking time bomb every day.

Since 2006, there have been more than 200 mass killings in the United States. Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech have captured America's attention, but similar bloody scenes happen with alarming frequency and much less scrutiny.

Perhaps the FBI should adopt the CIA's tactics and subject certain gun owners (and their cohorts) to "enhanced interrogation." It's not torture, they claim, so if such methods could prevent another Newtown, well, who could complain?

Some of the posters seem to use the same bla bla bla North Korea uses. Tortuous investigation is OK because we are good? We represent freedom and equality but reserve the right to torturously treat you perhaps to death in the name of justice and freedom?

Pretty much sums it up. If these terrorist have the will and desire to murder Americans on a horrific scale, then we have the will and fortitude to bring them to justice by any means necessary. If they don't want to be tortured or have a Tomahawk missile knocking on their door, these people and their associates should think twice before taking the US on.

We have secret torturous prisons off our soil so it's Ok to forcably annul feed you between mock drowning. Justice, freedom and your a foreigner, suffer

Yes.

@Daniel

It wouldn't have mattered either way. I don't think it'll boost their numbers either way.

@laguna

Since 2006, there have been more than 200 mass killings in the United States. Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech have captured America's attention, but similar bloody scenes happen with alarming frequency and much less scrutiny.

So what's your point?

Perhaps the FBI should adopt the CIA's tactics and subject certain gun owners (and their cohorts) to "enhanced interrogation." It's not torture, they claim, so if such methods could prevent another Newtown, well, who could complain?

You're not dealing with the real world now. Come on....

@Bass Interesting that you said 'We haven't been attacked in 13 years, wonder why?'. Six of those years are Obama's. Given that the man is so weak on security, I wonder why America hasn't been attacked in those years. Your noted balance and lack of partisanship on all matters political should be able to explain that.

Six of those years are Obama's.

Yes and how is it that we haven't been attacked? You think that his majesty somehow waved his majestic wand and that in some strange way halted all attacks? More like the CIA and their Enhanced interrogation tactics did and Obama is taking a bow for it, but that's ok, right?

Given that the man is so weak on security, I wonder why America hasn't been attacked in those years. Your noted balance and lack of partisanship on all matters political should be able to explain that.

Sorry, Jim, nice try, but I am NOT partisan, but I will point out partisan rhetoric all day and these last 6 years there is enough of that going down.

bass4funk: "Yes and how is it that we haven't been attacked?"

Easy -- he's heeded warnings and done a good job. Had GWB heeded warnings 9/11 may not have happened, but he did not, and it did. You can argue all you want that what happened after with the TORTURE was 'necessary' or 'helped', but even the CIA chief himself cannot say that is the truth, so you lose, bud.

"Sorry, Jim, nice try, but I am NOT partisan..."

Now THERE'S a laugh! ANYTHING Obama tries you legislate you simply say 'no', and you're 'not partisan'? You only want non-partisan politics now that the Repubs have control of the Senate as well as Congress, and then suddenly you ask for non-partisan politics -- as long as everyone agrees with the GOP! haha. Before that you were FULLY engaged in partisan politics, and still are. If not, you would be agreeing with your democratically elected president. Or... do you disagree with him? (that's partisan!). And you should be thanking Obama, by the way, for not pursuing people in the past on this issue, unlike your GOP for the fifth or sixth time with Benghazi.

As for the interviews, it was fun watching the people trying to defend what people were saying then and the world absolutely knows now without a doubt was torture... they cannot even LIE to say it helped!

Some interesting circular logic going on here:

Q: Did the US conduct torture? A: Nope. It was not torture.

Q: But many international statues define US actions as "torture," and the US has accused other governments who have conducted similar practices of torture. A: Okay, maybe it was "torture lite," but we got some invaluable information.

Q: Didn't the head of the CIA himself say it was "unknown and unknowable" whether CIA torture led to the acquisition of useful information? A: Nope. It was not torture.

Those who condone the actions of the CIA under Bush might as well admit it: Torture by the US government is fine as long as it is brought against non-American citizens (at least for now, heh heh heh). Talk about those who will sacrifice liberty for a temporary safety being undeserving of both.

Easy -- he's heeded warnings and done a good job.

???? Are we talking about the same person???? heeded warnings? Did a good job? At what? Ruining the country? Getting a Nobel prize? Seems like they've been passing them out like buttery croissants these days.

Had GWB heeded warnings 9/11 may not have happened, but he did not, and it did.

Don't forget to add Clinton to that list as well. If only he had the guts to kill OBL in 1998 maybe 9/11 wouldnt have happened.

You can argue all you want that what happened after with the TORTURE was 'necessary' or 'helped', but even the CIA chief himself cannot say that is the truth, so you lose, bud

It's not about losing. It's about if it was effective or not, I think the report was brutal and was everything correct and were mistakes made, yes. But on the other hand after what happened, it's fair game. Someone slaps you, you don't turn the other cheek, you slap them right back as hard as you can and hopefully, they'll think twice before putting their hands on you again. They got tortured, so what. Oh, and his majesty put an end to all interrogations, "because it's NOT who we are." But it's ok to drone these people and NOT a word from the Democrats, it's acceptable all of a sudden.

@laguna

But many international statues define US actions as "torture," and the US has accused other governments who have conducted similar practices of torture. A: Okay, maybe it was "torture lite," but we got some invaluable information

They get some information, as much as they could get and squeezed KSM dry. The difference what the US did was to find out exactly who orchestrated and masterminded 9/11. Now if the U.S. was constantly torturing people for the sheer pleasure of it like Saddams's thuggery sons, you would have a legitimate argument, but it falls apart when you and people like you think the U.S. was on a joyride to hurt people just for fun.

Didn't the head of the CIA himself say it was "unknown and unknowable" whether CIA torture led to the acquisition of useful information? A: Nope. It was not torture.

Special forces go through water boarding training all the time and they're fine, they survive it they walk away from it.

Those who condone the actions of the CIA under Bush might as well admit it: Torture by the US government is fine as long as it is brought against non-American citizens (at least for now, heh heh heh). Talk about those who will sacrifice liberty for a temporary safety being undeserving of both.

I don't care Americans or non-Americans, I looked at Tim McVeigh not different than Al Qaeda or anyone that wants to harm or kill innocent Americans, if they do, then those people have to deal with whatever consequences comes their way. I'm completely ok with that.

How do you think those thousands of people that died would feel if they saw the massive campaign the US government has undergone in the last 13 years to undermine the Constitution, civil liberties, drum up support for endless wars and torture and imprison alleged terrorists indefinitely? All in the name of "security"? They've truly pulled the wool over your eyes if you think you are any safer today because of these things.

Perhaps the FBI should adopt the CIA's tactics and subject certain gun owners (and their cohorts) to "enhanced interrogation." It's not torture, they claim, so if such methods could prevent another Newtown, well, who could complain?

To which the reply was:

You're not dealing with the real world now. Come on....

But then (!):

I don't care Americans or non-Americans, I looked at Tim McVeigh not different than Al Qaeda or anyone that wants to harm or kill innocent Americans, if they do, then those people have to deal with whatever consequences comes their way.

Logical segues have never been a hallmark of the right.

There is nothing that justifies torture.

How do you think those thousands of people that died would feel if they saw the massive campaign the US government has undergone in the last 13 years to undermine the Constitution, civil liberties, drum up support for endless wars and torture and imprison alleged terrorists indefinitely? All in the name of "security"? They've truly pulled the wool over your eyes if you think you are any safer today because of these things.

How do you think the 3000 that died would seriously feel about the people like KSM and the others that were responsible for their deaths being tortured? Personally, if they had a voice, I think they would give their seal of approval or how about their loved ones? This issue has nothing to do with the constitution, although when it comes to libs mostly, it's conveniently used to justify looney talking points. So how do you suggest we should extract information from a terrorist? Giving them Dunkin Donuts and some coffee, a pillow perhaps with a sunny view and a pool? That'll warm any terrorists heart and make them happy and willing to open up to spill out any pertinent Intel!

@laguna

Logical segues have never been a hallmark of the right

Truth, honesty and accountability have never been and will never be a hallmark of the left.

The world of ideology vs the world of reality. The battle continues. Very few people here can comprehend the responsibilities of having to quite literally be in charge of the defense and security of a nation unless they're actually in a position where they are quite literally in charge of the defense and security of a nation....

Is torture wrong? Yes, but so is war, starvation, poverty, etc.... But it still happens every day.

So many are too busy whining here none of them are actually offering alternatives. So here is my alternative suggestion. Create a mind reading machine, connect it to read the brain waves of suspects, deprive them of sight and sound, and just start asking questions and see what the machine picks up. Oh, is that ideal too far out there? well its the only way to get necessary information without using any kind of "advanced" interrogation techniques. Until then people can keep on dreaming until it becomes a reality.

I'd much rather be subject to advanced interrogation techniques than the opposite which would result in my beheading!

This was a clear partisan witch hunt without fact based results. All the while the leader has droned to death suspected terrorists and friends with minimal opposition.

Republicans: the party of torture.™

I'd much rather be subject to advanced interrogation techniques than the opposite which would result in my beheading!

Exactly.

This was a clear partisan witch hunt without fact based results. All the while the leader has droned to death suspected terrorists and friends with minimal opposition.

What else would you expect from Obama and the party of lies and BS. Come on now!

Democrats: the party of international droning. I really would like to know what the collateral damage count is? Brought to you by the Nobel peace prize winner.

I know Bass, just want to point the misguided to truth. And, yes, I know, I'm wasting my time. They still believe in hope and change. Welfare up increasingly for the past six years, greater race des parity, stagnant wages for the motivated workers, record breaking political shift from incumbent party, Obamacare on the ropes with escalating costs well beyond private insurance increases, and on and on and on.............