WASHINGTON — Leon E. Panetta, President Obama's pick to lead the CIA, testified Thursday that he believes the harsh interrogation technique known as waterboarding is torture, and he vowed to end an era in which the CIA's conduct drew controversy in the United States and condemnation around the world.
"I believe that waterboarding is torture and it's wrong," Panetta said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Asked whether the president could authorize the agency to resume using such harsh methods, even in the midst of a crisis, Panetta replied: "Nobody is above the law."
Panetta's comments were the most forceful denunciation to date of the CIA's methods by a member of Obama's intelligence team.
The hearing was marked by pointed exchanges over Bush administration counter-terrorism policies.
At one point, Panetta took a verbal shot at former Vice President Dick Cheney, who suggested in an interview this week that Obama's decisions to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and to ban harsh interrogation methods risked the nation's security.
"I was disappointed by those comments," Panetta said. "The implication is that somehow this country is more vulnerable to attack because the president of this country wants to abide by the law and the Constitution."
Panetta, a former California congressman and chief of staff to President Clinton, is expected to be confirmed as soon as next week to take over an agency that is at a significant crossroads.
The CIA remains under intense pressure to locate Osama bin Laden and unravel the Al Qaeda terrorist network, all while staying abreast of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
At the same time, Panetta is expected to carry out Obama's agenda of intelligence reform, which includes closing the agency's secret prisons and ending the use of coercive interrogation methods.
If confirmed, Panetta would become the first senior CIA official on record acknowledging that the agency engaged in torture and other potentially illegal behavior in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
In addition to his comments on waterboarding, Panetta said he believes the agency intentionally transferred prisoners to other countries to be tortured for information. "I suspect that has been the case -- that we have rendered individuals to other countries knowing that they would use certain techniques," Panetta said.
