Lawmakers to see drones report before CIA confirmation hearing
Source: Agencies |
February 8, 2013, Friday
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US President Barack Obama's choice to head the CIA was facing a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing yesterday just hours after lawmakers were expected to receive a classified report providing the rationale for drone strikes targeting Americans working with al-Qaida.
John Brennan, the White House counterterrorism chief and Obama's nominee to run the nation's spy agency, helped manage the deadly drone program.
The confirmation hearing sets the stage for a public airing of some of the most controversial programs in the covert war on al-Qaida, from the deadly drone strikes to the CIA's use of interrogation techniques like waterboarding.
The CIA's drone strikes primarily focus on al-Qaida and Taliban targets in the tribal regions of Pakistan, while the military has launched strikes against al-Qaida targets in Yemen and Somalia. The agency also carries out strikes in Yemen, where three American citizens with al-Qaida connections have been killed - Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old-son and Samir Khan.
A memo leaked this week says it is legal for the government to kill US citizens abroad if it believes they are senior al-Qaida leaders continually engaged in operations aimed at killing Americans, even if there is no evidence of a specific imminent attack.
That unclassified memo is based on classified advice from the Office of Legal Counsel that is being made available to committee members.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Senate committee's chairwoman, laid out the administration's policy for targeting al-Qaida with lethal drone strikes ahead of the hearing, defending the use of such strikes but disavowing the harsh interrogation techniques used when Brennan was at the CIA.
In answers to pre-hearing questions, Brennan said no further legislation was necessary to conduct operations against al-Qaida.
He answered some of his critics who charged him with backing the detention and interrogation policy while he served at the CIA. Those allegations stymied his attempt to head the intelligence agency in 2009.
He was "aware of the program but did not play a role in its creation, execution, or oversight." He "had significant concerns and personal objections" to the interrogation techniques.
Brennan went on to describe how individuals are targeted for drone strikes, saying whether a suspect is deemed an imminent threat - and appropriate for targeting - is made "on a case-by-case basis."
Brennan defended the missile strikes by unmanned drones as a more humane form of war, but acknowledged there were "instances when, regrettably and despite our best efforts, civilians have been killed."
John Brennan, the White House counterterrorism chief and Obama's nominee to run the nation's spy agency, helped manage the deadly drone program.
The confirmation hearing sets the stage for a public airing of some of the most controversial programs in the covert war on al-Qaida, from the deadly drone strikes to the CIA's use of interrogation techniques like waterboarding.
The CIA's drone strikes primarily focus on al-Qaida and Taliban targets in the tribal regions of Pakistan, while the military has launched strikes against al-Qaida targets in Yemen and Somalia. The agency also carries out strikes in Yemen, where three American citizens with al-Qaida connections have been killed - Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old-son and Samir Khan.
A memo leaked this week says it is legal for the government to kill US citizens abroad if it believes they are senior al-Qaida leaders continually engaged in operations aimed at killing Americans, even if there is no evidence of a specific imminent attack.
That unclassified memo is based on classified advice from the Office of Legal Counsel that is being made available to committee members.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Senate committee's chairwoman, laid out the administration's policy for targeting al-Qaida with lethal drone strikes ahead of the hearing, defending the use of such strikes but disavowing the harsh interrogation techniques used when Brennan was at the CIA.
In answers to pre-hearing questions, Brennan said no further legislation was necessary to conduct operations against al-Qaida.
He answered some of his critics who charged him with backing the detention and interrogation policy while he served at the CIA. Those allegations stymied his attempt to head the intelligence agency in 2009.
He was "aware of the program but did not play a role in its creation, execution, or oversight." He "had significant concerns and personal objections" to the interrogation techniques.
Brennan went on to describe how individuals are targeted for drone strikes, saying whether a suspect is deemed an imminent threat - and appropriate for targeting - is made "on a case-by-case basis."
Brennan defended the missile strikes by unmanned drones as a more humane form of war, but acknowledged there were "instances when, regrettably and despite our best efforts, civilians have been killed."
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