Cheney: 'Can't Claim Perfection' on No-Torture Policy

Saudi national Mohammed al-Qahtani is seen behind the bars during the first hearing in their trial...

Saudi national Mohammed al-Qahtani is seen behind the bars during the first hearing in their trial at a court in Sanaa. A Pentagon official acknowledged in an interview published Wednesday that the United States tortured al-Qahtani, a Saudi man who allegedly had hoped to become the "20th hijacker" in the Sept. 11 attacks.

(AP Photo/Getty Images)

Crawford: 'I Was Embarrassed'

Crawford told the Washington Post that when she reviewed Qahtani's interrogation file she was shocked by what she found.

"I was upset by it," she told the Washington Post. "I was embarrassed by it. If we tolerate this and allow it, then how can we object when our servicemen and women or others in foreign service are captured and subjected to the same techniques? How can we complain?"

Crawford's statements come in sharp contrast to previous comments by senior administration officials, who have steadfastly maintained that the U.S. was not using torture.

Related

DOJ Official Describes 'Abusive' Interrogation

WATCH: Obama on gitmo

Closing Gitmo May Be Just the Beginning

As recently as last month, Cheney told ABC's Jonathan Karl, "On the question of so-called torture, we don't do torture. We never have. It's not something that this administration subscribes to. Again, we proceeded very cautiously. We checked. We had the Justice Department issue the requisite opinions in order to know where the bright lines were that you could not cross."

A Defense Department spokeswoman said that Crawford is not doing any more interviews at this time and released a statement on behalf of the Pentagon. The statement said that some techniques are no longer in use, but does not directly address Crawford's broader allegation regarding the combination of techniques.