Hayden Says CIA Videotapes Destroyed

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Hayden Says CIA Videotapes Destroyed

Thursday December 6, 2007 10:01 PM

By PAMELA HESS

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA videotaped its interrogations
of two terror suspects in 2002 and destroyed the tapes three
years later out of fear they would leak to the public and
compromise the identities of U.S. questioners, the director
of the agency told employees Thursday.

CIA Director Michael Hayden said House and Senate intelligence
committee leaders were informed of the existence of the tapes
and the CIA's intention to destroy them. He also said the CIA's
internal watchdog watched the tapes in 2003 and verified that
the interrogation practices were legal.

He said the CIA began taping the interrogations as an internal
check on the program after President Bush authorized the use
of harsh questioning methods. The methods included
waterboarding, which simulates drowning, government officials
said.

“The Agency was determined that it proceed in accord with
established legal and policy guidelines. So, on its own, CIA
began to videotape interrogations,” Hayden said in a written
message to CIA employees, obtained by The Associated Press.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7133001,00.html

[lovuian]

1. Bush authorizes torture thats going to get him for

war criminal charges

Paraguay here he comes

[alstephenson]

2. Waterboarding = "harsh questioning methods"????

Uh, I think that's called TORTURE, you fucking War Criminals. They didn't want to "compromise the identities of the U.S. questioners"???? I'd say they were protecting the Chimp-in-Chief.

[The Stranger]

3. The torture tapes were under request by the courts when these criminals destroyed them.

The torture tapes were already requested by the courts and the Congress when they were destroyed.

[RamboLiberal]

4. Bullshit - they were destroyed to cover the evidence of war crimes!

Too f'ing bad that all these bastards will never be brought to trial including Bush, Cheney, Rice and all the other neocons!

[Prophet 451]

13. That's the way it always goes

Soon, Busheney will be out of office one way or another and gradually, the people will start to forget. And then the rewriting of history will begin (as it has with Reagan) and slowly, the witnesses will die off, the evidence will start to disappear and the criminals will lay low, waiting for the next time.

[nookiemonster]

19. Yup.. Unfortunately I concur

n/t

[HowHasItComeToThis]

37. THAT IS WHAT THEY TRY TO DO.

NEVER SEEN AN HONEST REPUB

[spirit of wine]

5. I will use that response to the officer if I get pulled over

and he asks for my license and registration.

Tell the IRS that in April

When my bills are due?

Come on already, grow a tail that might be a spine at least!

Begin Hearings for this administration for everything that they have done has so far has been premised on illegalities and lies. The democrats allowing this to continue seem more complicit the longer this malaise goes on.

[The Stranger]

6. It looks like this story may actually have legs. It's hitting headlines.

Recommend it, people!

[Up2Late]

7. Two word: Cover Up!

:mad:

[rodeodance]

8. umm.. who do I trust.

[pleah]

9. OOPS!

And they accidentally erased the backup audio tapes, too!

[druidity33]

10. internal memo?

the article claims that Hayden told CIA employees this...

who's leaking to The Guardian?

[fascisthunter]

11. Government Cover-Up

will the Dems claim they can't do anything about this? Was this done with Dems consent. These are the type of questions I ask myself now because like Iraq, it appears the Dems just set everything up so that Bush can do what he wants when he wants to and then gets away with it all.

Why ask? Because you give a damn about your country and are sick of this administration getting away with crimes on your dime while congress doesn't do anything.

[Gonnuts]

12. Suuure they did ...

"... CIA's internal watchdog watched the tapes in 2003 and verified that
the interrogation practices were legal."

I believe them. Nothing to see here folks. That's ketchup on the floor. Nothing but good old American ketchup.

Bring in the next vic' ... ah, suspect, and ah, be gentle with him!

[DavidMS]

14. Destroying documents almost always looks funny.

If there is a set of rules for document retention and they are reasonable and followed strictly any documents destroyed are ok to have destroyed. Any deviation from the rules usually is a big red flag. I think this is one and more than enough reason to have a full and complete congressional inquiry.

[williesgirl]

15. The Wash Post article say they ran it by the heads of the Senate & Cong Intel Committees. This was

2005 so both were Repukes. Why bother? They rubber stamped everything * and Darth wanted and then some they might have not remembered to want yet. So when folks say they "ran it by Congress", make sure you correct them.

Hey, Pelosi, impeachment still off the table? rec'd

[alllyingwhores]

16. Uhm...let's see, what's wrong with Hayden's story...oh I don't know...

...FUCKING EVERYTHING!

[Rex]

17. Oppsie, who ya gonna believe? The CIA or your lying ears?

Well, maybe next time! :dunce: We will make sure we don't torture. Next time folks, honest. No conspiracy here, just open destruction of evidence. No problem, next one. We promise!

.
We've got this one in our sites.

[journalist3072]

18. CIA engages in CYA. Just amazing. eom

[reprehensor]

20. Now that's reliable.

SAY YOU DID 9/11!!

gggagmmmbrgrgrgrgrgr

SAY IT!!

gargelarglelelelsgegegrgrgrgrrgggr

[darkstar]

21. I get it...these folks have their identities protected

but Plame's ID is ok to publish.

Well done, BushCo. The 29% are still with you.

[RiverStone]

22. Who in the Senate was "informed" of the CIA's intention to destroy the tapes?!

So Senate intelligence committee leaders were informed of the existence of the tapes and the CIA's intention to destroy them.
OK then, who was on the intelligence committee at the time? Hard to believe everyone on that committee simply said - go for it.

We need to follow that trail for answers. And that trail may lead to some complicit Dems (and no doubt the usual lock-stepping rethugs).

[spinbaby]

23. K&R for the morning crowd

This story was getting considerable play on NPR this morning.

[hedgetrimmer]

24. CIA destroyed terrorism suspect videotapes

Source: MSNBC staff and news service reports



WASHINGTON - The CIA videotaped its interrogations of two top terrorism suspects in 2002 and destroyed the tapes three years later out of fear they would leak to the public and compromise the identities of U.S. questioners, the director of the agency told employees Thursday.

Officials told NBC News' Robert Windrem that one of the videos included the waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah, the leader in charge of al-Qaida's training camps.

The disclosure that tapes were destroyed brought immediate condemnation from Capitol Hill and from a human rights group, which said the spy agency’s action amounted to criminal destruction of evidence.

The Senate Intelligence Committee promised a full review of the situation.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22139312/

---

The tapes contained waterboarding and other aggressive tactics authorized by Bush and were made for observation of legal guidelines or for Bushy to look at and beat-off, just saying. I could be wrong it could be unka-Dick but, he's got a bad heart... perhaps Condi.

[rodeodance]

25. well now. won't want to exposs a CIA agent!!

[hedgetrimmer]

26. Yeah!

[ixion]

27. I don't think you're wrong

I think the lot of them get off on watching their own personal torture fetish flix. :puke:

It's one of the only things that explains their behavior and their attitudes. Bush seems to genuinely enjoy watching people suffer, IMO.

[hedgetrimmer]

29. Yeah! Bush the Sadist. His history confirms,

check Texas Governor capital punishment records... and he makes fun of a woman asking for a stay of execution. He's a freak f*ck.

[Up2Late]

28. Dupe.

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3092454>

[Lint Head]

30. Obvious criminal coverup of illegal torture and possibly murder.

:dem:

[IsItJustMe]

31. Hayden says CIA videotapes destroyed

Source: By PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The CIA destroyed videotapes it made in 2002 of two top terror suspects because it was afraid that keeping them "posed a security risk," Director Michael Hayden has told agency employees.

ADVERTISEMENT

Hayden's revelation to the CIA employees became public Thursday and it caused a commotion on Capitol Hill where members of the Senate Intelligence Committee immediately vowed to conduct a thorough review. A leading human rights group voiced alarm about it.

In his message to agency workers, Hayden said that House and Senate intelligence committee leaders had been informed of the existence of the tapes and the CIA's intention to destroy them to protect the identities of the questioners. He also said the CIA's internal watchdog watched the tapes in 2003 and verified that the interrogation practices were legal. Hayden said the tapes were destroyed three years after the 2002 interrogations.

Rep. Jane Harman of California, then the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, was one of only four members of Congress in 2003 informed of the tapes' existence and the CIA's intention to ultimately destroy them.

"I told the CIA that destroying videotapes of interrogations was a bad idea and urged them in writing not to do it," Harman said. While key lawmakers were briefed on the CIA's intention to destroy the tapes, they were not notified two years later when the spy agency actually carried out the plan. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the committee only learned of the tapes' destruction in November 2006.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., who was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from August 2004 until the end of 2006, said through a spokesman that he doesn't remember being informed of the videotaping program.

"Congressman Hoekstra does not recall ever being told of the existence or destruction of these tapes," said Jamal D. Ware, senior adviser to the committee. "He believes that Director Hayden is being generous in his claim that the committee was informed. He believes the committee should have been fully briefed and consulted on how this was handled."

Jennifer Daskal, senior counsel with Human Rights Watch, said that destroying the tapes was illegal. "Basically this is destruction of evidence," she said, calling Hayden's explanation that the tapes were destroyed to protect CIA identities "disingenuous."

The CIA only taped the interrogation of the first two terror suspects the agency held, one of whom was Abu Zubaydah. Zubaydah, under harsh questioning, told CIA interrogators about alleged 9/11 accomplice Ramzi Binalshibh, President Bush said publicly in 2006.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071207/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/cia_videotapes

---

Obfuscation at its best. Cleary it would be a public relations nightmare if those tapes ever got out into the public domain for us all to see. More BS. But then again, what else can you expect.

It would not look good if people saw for themselves, in the comfort of their living room watching TV, what was being done in their name.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

32. Because the CIA is incapable of safeguarding videotapes.

:eyes:

[KoKo]

33. K&R...more crimes....more crimes....will anyone be held accountable for

destroying evidence.

[crikkett]

34. Hmph.

It would not look good if people saw for themselves, in the comfort of their living room watching TV, what was being done in their name.

I'd be afraid to see how many of my countrymen would get off on it. We've had how many seasons of '24' to be trained that the ends justify the means??

[spinbaby]

35. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3092454

[HuffleClaw]

36. "CIA's internal watchdog verified that the interrogation practices were legal"

*snicker*

[The Stranger]

38. We want justice.

[Javaman]

39. For some reason, this story really pushed my button.

I would just love to throttle this pig.

the corruption, malfeasance, thievery, sychophantism, is just rife through out this totally fucked up administration*.

Good god, they don't even try to hide it anymore.

worse still, it's like they get their rocks off rubbing into our faces, just daring us to do something.

Because they know if we did, they would clamp down on us.

we are so done.

[Heywood J]

40. Isn't destruction of evidence

evidence in and of itself of both consciousness of guilt and of the underlying crime? If an ordinary suspect destroys critical evidence, any prosecutor worth their salt will use that against them.