CIA DIRECTOR DEFENDS RENDITION AND HARSH INTERROGATION METHODS

Here's a far-out story I almost missed. The CIA Director defends the policy of "rendition" and interrogation used on suspected terrorists. Claudia Parsons reports for Reuters on CIA Director Michael Hayden's comments on Friday:

""In this fight, we've leveraged every inch of the space we've been given to operate," Hayden told an audience that included academics, lawyers and human rights activists at the Council on Foreign Relations.

""But, he said, the programs were "carefully controlled and lawfully conducted" and far more limited than widely believed.

""Since it began ... in the spring of 2002, fewer than 100 people have been detained at CIA's facilities," Hayden said, adding that the number of renditions was even smaller, in the "mid-range two figures."

""These programs are targeted and selective. They were designed for only the most dangerous terrorists and those believed to have the most valuable information, such as knowledge of planned attacks," he said. "But they also have been the subject of wild speculation, both here and overseas.""

So let me see if I understand. The "harsh" interrogation methods, such as water-boarding and sleep deprivation, are used on "only the most dangerous terrorists and those believed to have the most valuable information."

In other words, we know the suspects are "guilty" even before we interrogate them. We don't do these things to suspects we know are not "guilty." A suspect must be known to possess "the most valuable information." Isn't this just like the mind set of those who conducted the Inquisition interrogations in Spain and Portugal some 500 years ago. "We know you are a heretic, so you better confess. And to make sure you confess, we're going to put you up on the rack . . ."

But Hayden insists these criticisms are overblown.

Writes Parsons:

"Hayden said he was worried that politics appeared to be limiting the CIA's ability to do its work, and he criticized the media for publishing stories revealing details of CIA operating methods."