Petraeus confirmed as new CIA director
Gen. David Petraeus will succeed Leon Panetta as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
June 30th, 2011
10:41 PM ET

Petraeus confirmed as new CIA director

Gen. David Petraeus won unanimous Senate confirmation Thursday to succeed Leon Panetta as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The 58-year-old commanding general of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has said he will retire from the military before assuming his new post later this year.

Petraeus received strong support at his confirmation hearing by the Senate Intelligence Committee. He told the panel he would lead the nation's largest intelligence agency fully independent of his ties to the military.

Asked about enhanced interrogation techniques widely considered to be torture, Petraeus reiterated his past opposition to them, saying methods permitted in the military interrogation manual he helped oversee have proven effective.

However, Petraeus said enhanced techniques could be considered in a so-called "ticking bomb" scenario - such as questioning someone who planted a nuclear device in New York set to go off in 30 minutes.

"I do think there is a need at the very least to address the possibility," Petraeus said of such a scenario. He called for discussing and working out a process ahead of time that would enable authorization from top leadership in order to prevent lower-level officials from being forced to consider the matter while "reacting under extreme pressure."

Read the complete story on CNN.com

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Filed under: CIA • Military • Politics
soundoff (13 Responses)
  1. Oreo

    Busy guy.

    June 30, 2011 at 11:02 pm | Report abuse |
  2. The Deficit

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=O_TjBNjc9Bo#t=1743s

    June 30, 2011 at 11:33 pm | Report abuse |
  3. James

    About time we got someone in there that will take care of business–

    June 30, 2011 at 11:39 pm | Report abuse |
  4. RagingSemi

    Its amazing what a person can justify doing to a fellow human being.

    June 30, 2011 at 11:51 pm | Report abuse |
    • Deadmau5

      You're a bit off in your assertion. You and I are fellow human beings. There are some on this planet who are controlled by a *ahem* lower power and they are a cult like hive brain with many tentacles. They see themselves as superior, so they disregard their hypocrisy in order to bring us into their "perfection" which is not going to be attainable, because they keep switching the standards for perfection which of course excludes them. They can behave the way they want, because they are serving their master loyally. Remember the 9/11 hijackers at the bar drinking before their mission? Drinking is forbidden by islam, but Bin Laden said it was ok to do so in service to Allah. Same thing.. It's all a crock, but the karma they serve will soon be served. There is no turning back from what has been done and the defiance they show in the face of justice. Pure arrogance, blind allegiance, ego and stupidity all rolled into one. God's child was not sent here to offer himself as a sacrifice to save humanity. He was sent here to observe, assess and determine what fate becomes this universe.

      July 1, 2011 at 1:10 am | Report abuse |
  5. Deadmau5

    I'm on the fence whether cohesion between the CIA and ALL branches of the military is a good thing.

    July 1, 2011 at 12:55 am | Report abuse |
  6. Scottish Mama

    @Phillip your assumption yesterday may not be too far off? The enforcers move to home soil?

    July 1, 2011 at 7:21 am | Report abuse |
  7. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    I'm wondering how the faux Ellis-Panama is doing. I've been too busy to spend much time here, but I haven't seen his browned wit on the board, and I'm concerned.
    Since I came out as the Creator of Sheryl and jules sand-perkins, I don't want anybody to think that I devised Fake Ellis, as fond as I am of him and his anal compulsion.

    July 1, 2011 at 7:39 am | Report abuse |
  8. michaelfury

    Was this a "ticking bomb scenario", General?

    “47 year old white male detainee died while in US custody. Cause of death: Blunt Force Injuries and Asphyxia; Manner of Death: Homicide. Autopsy revealed deep bruising of the chest wall, numerous displaced rib fractures, bruising on the lungs, hemorrhage into the mesentery of the small and large intestine. Examination of the neck structures revealed hemorrhage into the strap muscles and fractures of the thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone. History of asphyxia, secondary to occlusion of the oral airway. Pleural and pulmonary adhesions. Hypertensive cardiovascular disease. According to report provided by the US army CID, the detainee was shackled to the top of a doorframe with a gag in his mouth at the time he lost consciousness and became pulseless. The severe blunt force injuries, the hanging position, and the obstruction of the oral cavity with a gag contributed to this individual’s death. DOD 00329 refers to this case as “gagged in standing restraint” DOD 003329 refers to this case as “1 blunt force trama and choking; gagged in standing restraint.” DOD 003324 refers to this case with a note indicating “Q[uestioned] by OGA [Other Governmental Agency – non-military, often refers to CIA], gagged in standing restraint.”

    http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/do-the-right-thing/

    July 1, 2011 at 7:39 am | Report abuse |
  9. shadowforces

    http://sg0534.wordpress.com/ On a different subject...if your a fan of the Kryptos sculpture...then you might want to check out this blog. It talks about possible answers to who WW is in the plaintext. The blogger says its not initials of a first and last name...but initials of one mans last name...take a look.

    July 1, 2011 at 12:19 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    Another change of bosses for those filthy creeps who continue to operate those ungodly drones in order to butcher more people in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now they're starting to slaughter people in Yemen in order to keep that cursed Ali Abdullah Saleh in power. How disgusting indeed!!!

    July 1, 2011 at 1:11 pm | Report abuse |
  11. banasy

    Fakey, do shut up.

    July 1, 2011 at 4:33 pm | Report abuse |
  12. banasy

    @JIF:
    Loved Sheryl.
    jules, not so much.
    You have a knack for trolling.
    We know you didn't create Ellis; he is truly unique, and can't be duplicated; anal fixations and all.
    You did, however, create the sybaric Sheryl, for which I thank you...feel free to have her visit.
    She's a hoot!

    July 1, 2011 at 4:36 pm | Report abuse |
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