From Democracy Now | Original Article

CIA nominee John Brennan was repeatedly questioned about torture at his CIA confirmation hearing, including the use of waterboarding and enhanced interrogation techniques. He refused to say waterboarding was a form of torture, but said he has come to oppose the technique. Under George W. Bush, Brennan served as deputy executive director of the CIA and director of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. “Remember he was the cheerleader for some of these onerous policies — particularly renditions and extraordinary renditions. So for John Brennan, today, to say he read the Senate committee intelligence report on torture and he learned things he never knew before and that he was shocked with what he learned — this is a case of incredible willful ignorance,” says Melvin Goodman, former CIA and State Department analyst.

Melvin Goodman, Former CIA and State Department analyst. He is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and director of the Center’s National Security Project. His latest book is "National Insecurity: The Cost of American Militarism."