When at the CIA, I was fond of saying that many jihadis join the movement for the same reasons that young Americans join the Crips and the Bloods: youthful alienation, the need to belong to something greater than self, the search for meaningful identity. But it also matters what gang you join. Michael Hayden Read Quote
The CIA held about a hundred detainees from 2002 to 2008; about a third of them underwent interrogations that have been variously described as enhanced, tough or torture. The toughest technique was water boarding, used on three detainees, the last in early 2003. Michael Hayden Read Quote
Intelligence collection is not confined to the communications of adversaries or of the guilty. Rather, it’s about gaining information otherwise unavailable that would help keep Americans safe and free. Michael Hayden Read Quote
Presidents get to decide how their intelligence is served up to them, and it’s the job of intelligence to adjust. Michael Hayden Read Quote
When the intelligence is making a policymaker too happy, he ought to challenge it, and even if he doesn’t, the intelligence briefer needs to launch a red team against his own conclusions to see if he can hold his ground. Michael Hayden Read Quote
A person seeking to be the President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way. Michael Hayden Read Quote
It’s good to remind intelligence producers and consumers alike about the need to ‘warn of emerging conditions, trends, threats and opportunities’ and the potential for discontinuities. Michael Hayden Read Quote
There’s a bigger difference between the first and second Bush administrations than there is between Bush and Obama. That’s really true. Michael Hayden Read Quote
I believe we do have a great intelligence service. Is it good enough in all circumstances? Of course not. We live in the human condition. We try to make it better each day. Michael Hayden Read Quote
There is no worse place for an intelligence service like CIA to be than on Page 1, above the fold in your daily newspaper. Michael Hayden Read Quote
