Brennan defends drone strikes, even on Americans

[No Elephants]

Feb 7, 11:45 PM EST

Brennan defends drone strikes, even on Americans

By KIMBERLY DOZIER
AP Intelligence Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- CIA Director-designate John Brennan strongly defended anti-terror attacks by unmanned drones Thursday under close questioning at a protest-disrupted confirmation hearing. On a second controversial topic, he said that after reading a classified intelligence report on harsh interrogation techniques, he does not know if waterboarding has yielded useful information.

Despite what he called a public misimpression, Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee that drone strikes are used only against targets planning to carry out attacks against the United States, never as retribution for an earlier one. "Nothing could be further from the truth," he declared.

Referring to one American citizen killed by a drone in Yemen in 2011, he said the man, Anwar al-Awlaki, had ties to at least three attacks planned or carried out on U.S. soil. They included the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting that claimed 13 lives in 2009, a failed attempt to down a Detroit-bound airliner the same year and a thwarted plot to bomb cargo planes in 2010.

"He was intimately involved in activities to kill innocent men women and children, mostly Americans," Brennan said.

Yes, and his 16 year old son, whom we killed a short time later, according to Obama's press secretary, should have had a better father.

But yes, talking about killing the father is a lot easier than talking about killing the son. So, let's focus on the dad.


Defending the indefensible.

[Enthusiast]

1. Ed and Rachel

were quite critical of the Administration's use of drones. Democratic version of Fox? I don't think so.