Trump goes to war with CIA director over waterboarding ban as he says refusal to bring back torture is 'ridiculous'

  • On 'Fox & Friends,' Trump hammered John Brennan for saying the CIA would never again waterboard suspected terrorists
  • Outraged at 'ISIS people sitting around, eating, and talking about how this country won't allow waterboarding – and they just chopped off 50 heads'
  • Brennan told NBC News: 'I would not agree to having any CIA officer carrying out waterboarding again'
  • Trump boasted during a March 4 debate: 'They're not going to refuse me ... If I say, "Do it," they're going to do it'
  • See more news on Donald Trump at www.dailymail.co.uk/trump 

By David Martosko, U.S. Political Editor For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

Donald Trump escalated his war of words with CIA director John Brennan on Monday, castigating the spymaster for saying he would never bring back waterboarding – even under a future president's orders.

'I think his comments are ridiculous,' Trump said during a phone-in interview with 'Fox & Friends' on Monday morning.

'I mean, they chop off heads and they drown people in cages with 50 in [a] cage – in big steel, heavy cages – drop 'em right into the water, drown people!' Trump exclaimed, referring to the ISIS terror army.

'And we can't waterboard and we can't do anything!'

'RIDICULOUS': Donald Trump hammered CIA Director John Brennan for ruling out the use of waterboarding in  the future, even if a U.S. president ordered it

'RIDICULOUS': Donald Trump hammered CIA Director John Brennan for ruling out the use of waterboarding in  the future, even if a U.S. president ordered it

NOT ON MY WATCH: Brennan told NBC that CIA agents won't be waterboarding terror suspects while he's at the helm

NOT ON MY WATCH: Brennan told NBC that CIA agents won't be waterboarding terror suspects while he's at the helm

Brennan laid down a marker in an NBC News interview conducted Sunday and set to air Monday, saying his agency would not go along with a President Trump's order to waterboard suspected terrorists. 

'I will not agree to carry out some of these tactics and techniques I've heard bandied about,' Brennan said, 'because this institution needs to endure.'

Brennan was unequivocal, saying he would continue to ban the enhanced interrogation technique agency-wide, regardless of what the White House might want.

'Absolutely, I would not agree to having any CIA officer carrying out waterboarding again,' he said.

Trump framed Brennan as a weak relic and a recipe for defeat.

'We're playing on different fields, and we have a huge problem with ISIS, which we can't beat,' the Republican presidential front-runner said.

'And the reason we can't beat them is because we can't use strong tactics, whether it's this or other thing.'

'So I think his comments are ridiculous,' he continued.

'Can you imagine these ISIS people sitting around, eating, and talking about how this country won't allow waterboarding – and they just chopped off 50 heads?'

WHAT IS WATERBOARDING? The torture technique makes interrogation subjects feel as if they are drowning

WHAT IS WATERBOARDING? The torture technique makes interrogation subjects feel as if they are drowning

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump's main GOP White House rival, has also signaled a desire to end President Barack Obama's ban on waterboarding, saying it falls short of 'torture.'

Trump has pledged to return 'a hell of a lot worse' than waterboarding to the toolboxes of America's military and intelligence forces.

During a March 4 debate, Trump practically dared military commanders to risk their careers by standing up to him in the face of a waterboarding order.

'They won't refuse. They're not going to refuse me,' he told Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier in one televised exchange that night.

'I've never had any problem leading people,' he added later. 'If I say, "Do it," they're going to do it. That's what leadership is all about.'

 

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