Brennan: CIA won't waterboard again

CIA Director John Brennan said Sunday the intelligence agency will not engage in "enhanced interrogation" practices, including waterboarding — even if a future president demands it.

Speaking to NBC News, Brennan said he “absolutely” would not agree to having “any CIA officer carrying out waterboarding again.”

The CIA used waterboarding and other techniques on suspected terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But in January 2009, early in his first term, President Obama signed an executive order banning the CIA from using the harsh techniques. The CIA has said it stopped waterboarding in 2003.

Two of the top Republican presidential candidates have signaled they would support using waterboarding to combat terrorism.

"I would bring back waterboarding," GOP front-runner Donald Trump said during a Feb. 6  debate in New Hampshire. "And I would bring back a hell of a lot worse."

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, also known for his hawkish language on the campaign trail, said during the debate that he didn't think waterboarding was, by definition, torture. He added that he wouldn't bring it back in any "widespread" fashion.

On Sunday, NBC News reported that Brennan, a longtime Obama security adviser, took an unequivocal stance against "enhanced interrogation" techniques: "I will not agree to carry out some of these tactics and techniques I've heard bandied about because this institution needs to endure."

Contributing: Cooper Allen