CIA planning for al-Qaida 'succession crisis'

'Nation's jailer'
One tactic that has caused concern is the CIA's holding of prisoners outside the reach of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The CIA has held fewer than 100 prisoners but kept some of them for years. That program was born of the decision shortly after 9/11 to put the CIA in charge of interrogations of alleged terrorists. The CIA also has come under criticism for harsh interrogation practices, including waterboarding, which makes the victim feel as if he's drowning.

"We were kind of turning into the nation's jailer, a wholly inappropriate role for us," Hayden said.

The CIA is still holding prisoners but for less time. It recently turned over two detainees to the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after a few months.

"I'm not uncomfortable with the interrogation part or the detention required to conduct the interrogation. But once the intelligence value is bought off to a certain point, we have to move on," he said.

Hayden said he authorizes only intelligence activities that meet several tests, including whether the activity can withstand political shifts.

"We can't stand an American counterterrorism program with an on/off switch every other November," he said, referring to the American election cycle.

On other topics, Hayden said:

• He believes Iran's intention is to produce its own nuclear fuel, using Iranian technology. "That gives them the potential at any moment to break out and create a weapon and that's what of course is most troubling."
• Even without Israeli intelligence, the CIA would have known by last July that a building in Syria's western desert was meant to be a secret nuclear reactor when a pipe system from the Euphrates River to the building was constructed."That was a powerful cooling system going to a building with no visible heat source," Hayden said. Israeli jets destroyed the building in August 2007, although Syria has denied it was a nuclear facility.
• North Korea's arms trade — helping Syria build a nuclear reactor, or selling missile technology to Iran — is motivated by cash. "It's a starved economy, with very, very few sources of foreign exchange," he said. "This is one of the ones where they can actually turn a profit."

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