By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The Justice Department said on Saturday it had opened a preliminary investigation into the CIA's destruction of videotapes that showed terrorism suspects being subjected to severe interrogation techniques. "The Department of Justice and the CIA announced today that the Justice Department's National Security Division initiated a preliminary inquiry in conjunction with the CIA's Office of Inspector General regarding the destruction of the interrogation tapes," Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said in a statement. A preliminary inquiry is aimed at gathering initial facts to decide whether there is enough reason to launch a full investigation. "I welcome this inquiry and the CIA will cooperate fully," CIA Director Michael Hayden said in a statement. "I welcome it as an opportunity to address questions that have arisen over the destruction back in 2005 of videotapes." The probe comes just days after Hayden acknowledged that the CIA had made and destroyed videotapes documenting interrogations of terrorist suspects that used techniques critics have denounced as torture. The United States has been widely criticized by European allies and human rights groups for methods like "waterboarding" in which prisoners are made to fear that they are drowning. Hayden told employees in a letter that the videotapes were made in 2002 as part of a secret detention and interrogation program that began with the arrest of suspected al Qaeda lieutenant Abu Zubaydah. The taping was discontinued later that year and the tapes -- which showed interrogations of two people using harsh techniques -- were destroyed in 2005. Hayden said in the letter the tapes were destroyed because they could pose a security risk because interrogators might be identified. Democrats in control of the U.S. Congress charged cover-up and demanded investigations into the destruction of the tapes. President George W. Bush, who has repeatedly said the United States does not torture, does not recall being told about the tapes or their destruction, the White House said. The New York Times reported on Saturday that White House and Justice Department officials, as well as some senior members of Congress, advised the CIA in 2003 not to destroy the hundreds of hours of videotapes. Citing unnamed government officials, the Times reported that Jose Rodriguez Jr., the chief of the agency's clandestine service who retired this year, nonetheless ordered their destruction in November 2005 without even informing the CIA's top lawyer, John Rizzo, who was angry about the decision. (Editing by Xavier Briand)
