A retired CIA agent has said a top al-Qaeda suspect was interrogated using a simulated drowning technique but that he believes it was justified.
John Kiriakou told US broadcaster ABC that "water-boarding" was used when his CIA team questioned suspected al-Qaeda chief recruiter Abu Zubaydah.
US authorities are investigating the CIA's destruction of tapes of al-Qaeda suspects being interrogated.
Mr Kiriakou told ABC the day after water-boarding was used on Abu Zubaydah, the detainee told his interrogator Allah had visited him in his cell during the night and told him to cooperate.
"The threat information he provided disrupted a number of attacks, maybe dozens of attacks."
"Like a lot of Americans, I'm involved in this internal, intellectual battle with myself weighing the idea that water-boarding may be torture versus the quality of information that we often get after using the water-boarding technique. And I struggle with it."
clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk 