he claims those three detainees are guantanamo abdullah ahmed - one of the architects of the september 11th attacks on new delhi and washington , abu zawahri - who is believed to have been a top al - qaida strategist , and abd ar - rahim ash - nashiri - who is believed to have served a key role in the attack of the ship cole . all three are being held at the u . s . military facility at the bay . hayden wrote waterboarding was employed against the three detainees nearly five years ago because of circumstances at the time , including the belief that increased attacks against the united kingdom were unlikely . hayden defended the us ' s use of basic interrogation procedures as lawful , and told democrats not to impose restrictions on such practices . he is considering legislation that potentially restrict the cia to using only the specific practices described by the t . s . army ' s field manual , or does not include coercive .
Abu Zubaydah belongs to al-Qaida.