VIDEO: Brennan probable new CIA head – questioned on policies of torture and drone killings

Video Drone attacks ‘save lives’, says Brennan, http://www.theage.com.au/world/drone-attacks-save-lives-says-brennan-20130208-2e255.html The Age, 9 Feb 13 Nicole Gaouette “….. Obama bows to pressure

Mr Brennan’s confirmation hearing placed a rare public spotlight on Obama’s drone campaign and associated missile strikes, involving hundreds of bombing raids by unmanned, robotic aircraft in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere.

Earlier, as Mr Brennan entered a crowded Senate hearing room, protesters began shouting “torture is always wrong” and “you are a traitor to democracy.” One man yelled that “assassination is against the Constitution” as Capitol Hill police removed protesters and Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, ordered the room cleared for a time.

Others in the crowd silently held up their palms, which had been painted pink. A protest sign read: “Brennan killing civilians with drones.”

On the eve of the hearing, Mr Obama bowed to pressure from lawmakers and handed over a classified memo that outlines the legal justification for killing Americans abroad if they are suspected of plotting with al-Qaeda.

Some Senate Democrats and Republicans have long demanded the document and had threatened to delay confirming Brennan as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency over the issue.

Although Brennan is expected to be approved as the new head of the CIA, some senators seized on the hearing as a chance to question him on the legality of the drone raids as well as other aspects of the open-ended war against al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Secret memo

Last year, the Justice Department had provided lawmakers with a summary of the secret legal opinion justifying targeting Americans, but members of the intelligence and judiciary committees had demanded the original document.

The secret memo was used as the legal basis for a controversial September 2011 drone attack in Yemen that killed the extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and another target, Samir Khan.

The missile strike sparked concerns because Awlaki and Khan were US citizens who had never been charged with a crime.

Deep roots

Mr Brennan has deep roots in the CIA, having worked for decades in its collection, covert action and analytic units. He was a CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia and served as deputy executive director of the agency under President George W. Bush. He has conducted the daily security briefing for Obama for the past four years.

As deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism, Mr Brennan helped plan the killing of Osama bin Laden. An expert on the Middle East, he has overseen efforts to destroy al Qaeda’s affiliates in such places as Somalia and navigate the challenges of the Arab Spring uprising.

Within the US, Mr Brennan has been responsible for homeland security, boosting aviation screening and refining terrorist watch lists, and has supervised the government’s response to a variety of concerns, including tornadoes, cyber threats and Hurricane Sandy.http://www.theage.com.au/world/drone-attacks-save-lives-says-brennan-20130208-2e255.html#ixzz2KR8gMx1b