CIA chief knew about interrogation tapes

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — CIA chief Michael Hayden said Wednesday he knew of the existence of secret interrogation tapes but not that they had been destroyed, as the agency battled accusations that it was covering up torture.

Promising a "full accounting" of the videotape episode, General Hayden said "it is fair to say that, particularly at the time of the destruction, we could have done an awful lot better" in keeping Congress informed.

The revelation that the CIA taped harsh interrogations of at least two Al-Qaeda suspects after the September 11 attacks of 2001 has kept the White House on the defensive, despite denials that the United States uses torture.

Hayden was briefing reporters after undergoing a second day's grilling on Capitol Hill about the tapes'...