CIA chief names 3 subjected to waterboarding

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The CIA director on Tuesday publicly named for the first time the three suspected al Qaeda detainees who were subjected to the harsh interrogation technique of waterboarding.

"It was used on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. It was used on Abu Zubayda, and it was used on [Abd al-Rahim] al-Nashiri," CIA Director Michael Hayden told a Senate hearing.

Waterboarding involves strapping a person to a surface, covering his face with cloth and pouring water on the face to imitate the sensation of drowning. Critics have called it torture.

"The CIA has not used waterboarding for almost five years. We used it against these three high-valued detainees because of the circumstances of the time," Hayden said.

"Very critical of those circumstances was the belief that additional catastrophic attacks against the homeland were imminent. In addition to that, my agency and our community at large had limited knowledge about al Qaeda and its workings."

Mohammed, an alleged planner of the September 11, 2001, attacks and major figure in al Qaeda, was arrested in Pakistan in 2003. According to the U.S. military, Zubayda and al-Nashiri were both important figures in al Qaeda, and al-Nashiri was the mastermind behind the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.

Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, who also testified at the hearing, said waterboarding remains a technique in the CIA's arsenal, according to The Associated Press. He said it would require the president's consent and legal approval from the attorney general, the AP reported.

McConnell also told the Senate Intelligence Committee that al Qaeda and its affiliates remain the top threat to U.S. interests at home and abroad.

He also expressed fear that al Qaeda in Iraq may be planning to spread out and launch attacks in other countries.

McConnell issued the concern in sobering, wide-ranging testimony that laid out the latest assessment of the terrorist threats the United States and its allies faces.

"We are increasingly concerned that even as coalition forces inflict significant damage on al Qaeda inside Iraq, they may deploy resources to mount attacks outside that country. Al Qaeda's North Africa affiliate ... is active in North Africa and is extending its target set to include U.S. and Western interests," McConnell said.

Hayden said the al Qaeda safe haven in Pakistan is a serious problem that is increasingly recognized by the Pakistani government as a threat to its own existence, which has prompted a better understanding of the need for U.S. military help.

"Our partners in Pakistan understand that this is a Pakistani problem and the threat coming out of the tribal areas is now a threat to the health and well-being and identity of Pakistan," Hayden said. "Pakistan's capacity to do some of the things we both would like to see happen in the tribal areas is limited."

McConnell expressed deep concern about a future nuclear threat from Iran, and cautioned against misreading the recent National Intelligence Estimate that said Iran has halted the design and creation of a nuclear weapon.

"We remain concerned about Iran as a potential nuclear weapons threat," he said. "The earliest possible date Iran could technically be capable of producing enough fissile material for a weapon is late 2009, but we judge that to be unlikely. If Iran's nuclear weapons design program has already been reactivated or will be reactivated, it will be a closely guarded secret in an attempt to keep us from being aware of its true status."

The intelligence chief also warned that North Korea may not be intending to keep its promise to suspend nuclear weapons programs.

"We are uncertain about about Kim Jong Il's commitment to full denuclearization as he promised in the six-party agreement," McConnell said.

He also spoke of the latest intelligence view on a post-Castro Cuba.

"We assess the political situation is likely to remain stable at least in the initial months following Fidel Castro's death," he said.

He was blunt in regard to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, declaring his policies "damaging to the Venezuelan oil industry and its economy."

"Without question, policies being pursued by President Chavez have Venezuela on a path to ruin its economy," McConnell said. He expressed concern about Venezuela's growing relationship with Iran, and its purchase of $3 billion worth of arms from Russia. E-mail to a friend

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