Hayden joins McConnell in fear-mongering

echoing mcconnell's dishonest, fear-mongering in the lead-up to the passage of the shameful protect america act last month, michael hayden joins the drum-beating in an effort to keep the fires of fear well-stoked...

CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said Friday that the agency's ability to pursue Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks was being hampered by declining political and public support for aggressive methods that the CIA had used in interrogations and other counter- terrorism operations.

In a rare public speech by a CIA chief, Hayden lashed out at the media and complained that the political climate was slipping toward apathy and risk aversion characteristic of the period leading up to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"When I get in the car at Langley and drive down the George Washington Parkway," Hayden said, referring to the corridor between the CIA's headquarters in Virginia and downtown Washington, "it's not long before it begins to feel like Sept. 10.

and what would fear-mongering be without sharp attacks against anybody who dares question the wisdom of our all-powerful government's blatant disregard for the constitution, international convention or public opinion...?

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Hayden provided new details to counter what he characterized as damaging misconceptions about the agency's interrogation and "rendition" operations.

In particular, he disclosed that the CIA had transferred fewer than 100 prisoners to other countries. Critics have contended that the rendition program has led to detainees being tortured in such nations as Egypt and Uzbekistan.

Hayden also lashed out at a European Parliament investigation that was harshly critical of CIA operations. He called the contents of its report "wild speculation."

fewer than 100, eh...? and that's supposed to make us feel GOOD...?

Under an executive order signed by President Bush this summer, the CIA is still allowed to use an array of interrogation techniques -- including sleep deprivation and so-called stress positions -- that are banned under the military manual that the Army adopted. The manual was developed in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.

Hayden argued in his speech that imposing the stricter military rules on CIA interrogators would damage the agency's ability to collect intelligence and protect the country from future attacks.

it's completely incomprehensible to me how torture can be defended under any rationale whatsoever, but that's obviously because i simply don't care that much about protecting my country from "future attacks..."

Submit To Propeller
Tweet