[Pietro]

"but it seems rather likely that the defection and/or abduction of Brig. Gen. Ali Reza Asgari, Iran's former deputy minister of defense"

Any chance of a dis-information campaign?

Nah, move along.

[A. Patriot]

Our government prosecutes U.S. Marines on the front lines of Iraq for doing what they were trained to do. Our government prosecutes Border Patrol agents at the behest of a foreign government.

The rules have changed. Our government eats its own.

I think that destroying those tapes, after extracting all possible intelligence from then, is a very prudent thing to do. What was legal/acceptable to do when the tapes were made may not be now or in the future.

Also , do we want our enemies to know our techniques and methods of operations? (I’m sure our internal enemies, the Democrats, do)

[Little Ray]

IIRC there was no legal requirement to keep the tapes. Why shouldn’t they be destroyed?

[TChad]

at a time when accusations of outright torture are helping to besmirch and discredit the United States all around the world, a senior official of the CIA takes the unilateral decision to destroy the crucial evidence. This deserves to be described as what it is: mutiny and treason.

Another good piece by Hitch, except for the above. I do not understand his position. Why keep the tapes after they have served their function?

[GeronL]

lol. talk about over the top!