Former President George W. Bush recalled, after the capture of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on March 1, 2003, CIA Director “George Tenet asked if he had permission to use enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. I thought about my meeting with [slain journalist] Danny Pearl’s widow, who was pregnant with his son when he was murdered. I thought about the 2,973 people stolen from their families by al Qaeda on 9/11. And I thought about my duty to protect the country from another act of terror. ‘Damn right,’ I said.”
– George W. Bush, Decision Points, Page 170