Who destroyed CIA 'torture tapes'?

21 Dec, 2007 03:35 / Updated 16 years ago

U.S. Congress has been looking into the destruction of CIA tapes allegedly showing suspects being subjected to torture during interrogation. It remains unclear who ordered them to be destroyed in 2005. The Justice Department, the CIA itself and several co

President Bush is remaining cautious, saying he has no recollection of being briefed on the destruction of the tapes. “I am confident that the preliminary inquiry conducted by the Attorney General and the Inspector General at the CIA, coupled with the oversight provided by the Congress, will end up enabling us all to find out what exactly happened. And therefore, over the course of these inquiries, I am going to reserve judgment until I find out the full facts,” President Bush said. The CIA director said the decision to destroy the tapes was made “within the CIA”, claiming it was done to protect the safety of undercover officers. Legal experts argue there was no need to destroy the tapes and obstructing the images of the interrogators would have been enough.