can deploy both power and the `` power of our values , including the rule of law . '' `` What makes the United States special ... is precisely the fact that we are willing to uphold our values and our ideals even when it 's hard , not just when it 's easy , even when we are afraid and under threat , not just when it 's expedient to do so , '' he said . Watch Obama talk about the importance of values '' Although abiding by the rule of law can make battling groups such as al Qaeda more difficult , he added , it is ultimately why `` we 'll defeat our enemies . We 're on the better side of history . '' Panetta , while introducing the president , promised that the CIA would abide by the president 's order barring controversial enhanced interrogation techniques . He also agreed that it was possible to protect the country and its values at the same time . Obama 's visit to the CIA 's Langley , Virginia , headquarters came a day after former CIA Director Michael Hayden said the decision to release the four
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Obama , visiting CIA headquarters Monday , defended his decision to release Bush-era memos on interrogation tactics , saying the country will ultimately be stronger as a result . President Obama met with CIA workers and Director Leon Panetta , left , in Virginia on Monday . The president 's remarks came in the wake of criticism from a former CIA chief and others that his decision compromised national security and encouraged terrorist groups such as al Qaeda . Obama also met with CIA Director Leon Panetta , Deputy Director Stephen Kappes and other officials , and talked to employees about the importance of the agency 's mission to national security . The president asserted that he had released the documents primarily because of the `` exceptional circumstances that surrounded these memos , particularly the fact that so much of the information was -LSB- already -RSB- public . ... The covert nature of the information had been compromised . '' Watch Obama talk about `` exceptional circumstances '' '' Obama added that he ended the controversial interrogation techniques mentioned in the memos because the United States `` is stronger and more secure '' when it