'Waterboarding is torture'
2009-01-15 22:19
Washington - Attorney General-nominee Eric Holder jnr declared on Thursday that waterboarding is torture, forcefully breaking from years in which the US Justice Department deftly avoided the sensitive question about US interrogation methods.
Republican Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales, frustrated senators by repeatedly sidestepping questions about waterboarding, a harsh interrogation tactic that simulates drowning.
The waterboarding question was the first thing asked at Holder's confirmation hearing.
"Waterboarding is torture," Holder said.
That is the latest signal that president-elect Barack Obama plans a sharp break from the Bush administration.
As recently as last week, Vice-President Dick Cheney defended waterboarding, saying it provided valuable intelligence.
9/11 mastermind
The CIA has used the tactic on at least three terrorism suspects, included alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
No Republican has said he will oppose Holder's nomination, but the party sees the confirmation hearing as the best early forum for showing that the minority party is still relevant despite a Democratic sweep in the November elections.
After issuing his opinion on waterboarding, the questioning turned toward the 2001 pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich.
Holder, who was the No. 2 official at the Justice Department at the time, told then president Bill Clinton that he was neutral leaning toward favouring the pardon.
On Thursday, Holder reiterated that he regrets not studying the pardon more.
But he said he learned from the mistake and would be a better attorney general because of the experience.
- AP