We Tortured and We'd Do It Again

Hayden said the CIA had not used the technique for almost five years. "We used it against these three high-value detainees because of the circumstances of the time. Very critical to those circumstances was the belief that additional catastrophic attacks against the homeland were imminent.

"In addition to that, my agency and our community writ large had limited knowledge about Al Qaida and its workings. Those two realities have changed."

But National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell told senators there was no reason waterboarding couldn't be used again.

"If there was a reason to use such a technique, you would have to make a judgment on the circumstances and the situation regarding the specifics of the event," McConnell said.

"And if such a desire was generated on the part of -- in the interest of protecting the nation, General Hayden would have to, first of all, have a discussion with me, and we would have a dialogue about whether we should go forward and seek legal opinion.

"Once we agreed to that, assuming we did, we would go to the attorney general, who'd make a ruling on the specifics of the situation. At that point, it would be taken to the president for a decision, and if a decision was taken, then the appropriate committees of the Congress would be so notified."

Durbin's Reaction

After Hayden's testimony yesterday, a prominent senator called on the Justice Department to open a criminal inquiry that could extend all the way to the White House.

Sen. Dick Durbin fired off an angry letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey: "In light of your testimony that, 'There are circumstances where waterboarding is clearly unlawful,' the Justice Department should investigate the instances in which the Administration has used waterboarding to determine whether any laws were violated. You suggested during last week's hearing that you would not investigate these incidents because waterboarding was authorized by the Administration: 'It's a question of telling agents out there that we are investigating the CIA based on speculation about what happened and whether they got proper authorizations.' Needless to say, a Justice Department investigation should explore whether waterboarding was authorized and whether those who authorized it violated the law."

Durbin vowed to block the nomination of the Justice Department's No. 2 official until he gets some answers.

Testimony Coverage

Siobhan Gorman writes in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "In a wide-ranging defense of some of the Bush administration's most controversial antiterrorism policies, top officials yesterday acknowledged for the first time that the Central Intelligence Agency has used waterboarding and named three terrorist suspects who underwent the harsh interrogation technique.

"The CIA said it doesn't use the tactic anymore, but officials left open the option of reinstating it. . . .

"Mark Lowenthal, a former senior CIA official who previously worked on Capitol Hill, said the debate over the aggressive antiterrorism tactics had become clouded by emotion and the administration brought forth the new details in an attempt to make its case more directly. 'They feel like this debate has become...somewhat difficult, and they want to get it back on track,' said Mr. Lowenthal."