CIA Director John Brennan appears at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on world wide threats on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. Brennan on Sunday said the CIA will not waterboard terror suspects, even if a future president demands it. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)(Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)
CIA Director John Brennan said Sunday the intelligence agency will not engage in "enhanced interrogation" practices, including waterboarding — even if a future president demands it.
Speaking to
NBC News, Brennan said he “absolutely” would not agree to having “any CIA officer carrying out waterboarding again.”
The CIA used waterboarding and other techniques on suspected terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in January 2009, early in his first term, President Obama signed an executive order banning the CIA from using the harsh techniques. The CIA has said it stopped waterboarding in 2003.
Two of the top Republican presidential candidates have signaled they would support using<span style="color: Red;">*</span>waterboarding to combat terrorism.
"I would bring back waterboarding," GOP<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
front-runner Donald Trump<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said during a Feb. 6<span style="color: Red;">*</span> debate in New Hampshire. "And I would bring back a hell of a lot worse."
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, also known for his hawkish language on the campaign trail, said during the debate that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he didn't think waterboarding was, by definition, torture. He added that he wouldn't bring it back in any "widespread" fashion.
On Sunday, NBC News reported that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Brennan, a longtime Obama security adviser,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>took an unequivocal stance against "enhanced interrogation" techniques:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I will not agree to carry out some of these tactics and techniques I've heard bandied about because this institution needs to endure."
Contributing: Cooper Allen
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