Controversial comments by CIA director nominee John Brennan

President Obama nominated White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan Monday to be the next CIA director.

Brennan, though, has faced criticism on both sides of the aisle for his past positions on interrogation tactics as well as comments on a string of Middle East issues.

The following are some of Brennan's more memorable quotes.

May 26, 2010:
During a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, called jihad a "legitimate tenet of Islam."

Brennan argued that it would be "counterproductive" for the United States to use the term, as it would "play into the false perception" that the "murderers" leading war against the West are doing so in the name of a "holy cause."

He said: "Nor do we describe our enemy as 'jihadists' or 'Islamists' because jihad is a holy struggle, a legitimate tenet of Islam, meaning to purify oneself or one's community, and there is nothing holy or legitimate or Islamic about murdering innocent men, women and children."

Feb. 13, 2010:
During a speech in New York, Brennan referred to Jerusalem by its Arabic name, Al-Quds.

"In all my travels the city I have come to love most is al-Quds, Jerusalem, where three great faiths come together," he said.

Feb. 13, 2010:
In the same speech, Brennan defended a 20 percent recidivism rate among Guantanamo detainees.

"People sometimes use that figure, 20 percent, say 'Oh my goodness, one out of five detainees returned to some type of extremist activity,'" Brennan said. "You know, the American penal system, the recidivism rate is up to something about 50 percent or so, as far as return to crime. Twenty percent isn't that bad."

July 2008:
Brennan called for a stop to "Iran bashing."

"A critical step toward improved U.S.-Iranian relations would be for U.S. officials to cease public Iran-bashing, a tactic that may have served short-term domestic political interests but that has heretofore been wholly counterproductive to U.S. strategic interests," he wrote.