Panetta Threatened To Quit, Got In "Screaming Match" Over Torture Probe

indimuse

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Mon Aug-24-09 01:26 PM
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Panetta Threatened To Quit, Got In "Screaming Match" Over Torture Probe

CIA Director threatened to quit over an potential criminal investigation of CIA torture, ABC News reported Monday.

A "profanity-laced screaming match" at the White House involving CIA Director Leon Panetta, and the expected release today of another damning internal investigation, has administration officials worrying about the direction of its newly-appoint intelligence team, current and former senior intelligence officials tell ABC News.com.

According to intelligence officials, Panetta erupted in a tirade last month during a meeting with a senior White House staff member. Panetta was reportedly upset over plans by Attorney General Eric Holder to open a criminal investigation of allegations that CIA officers broke the law in carrying out certain interrogation techniques that President Obama has termed "torture."

Panetta was apparently also upset over the release, happening today, of an internal 2004 report on CIA torture. In a letter to agency employees Monday morning, Panetta preemptively defended CIA practices. "The Agency sought and received multiple written assurances that its methods were lawful," he wrote. (The message was also sent to reporters.) Panetta called the information contained in the inspector general's report "old news."

The full message:

Message from the Director: Release of Material on Past Detention Practices

Today, as part of a number of Freedom of Information Act cases, the government is responding to court orders to release more documents related to the Agency's past detention and interrogation of foreign terrorists. The CIA materials include the 2004 report from our Office of Inspector General and two papers--one from 2004 and the other from 2005--that discuss the value of intelligence acquired from high-level detainees. The complete package is hundreds of pages long. The declassification process, a mandatory part of the proceedings, was conducted in accord with established FOIA guidelines.

This is in many ways an old story. The outlines of prior interrogation practices, and many of the details, are public already. The use of enhanced interrogation techniques, begun when our country was responding to the horrors of September 11th, ended in January. For the CIA now, the challenge is not the battles of yesterday, but those of today and tomorrow. It is there that we must work to enhance the safety of our country. That is the job the American people want us to do, and that is my responsibility as the current Director of the CIA.

My emphasis on the future comes with a clear recognition that our Agency takes seriously proper accountability for the past. As the intelligence service of a democracy, that's an important part of who we are. When it comes to past detention and interrogation practices, here are some facts to bear in mind on that point:

the rest here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/24/white-house-vs-cia-profan_n_267112.html