What happens to CIA officials who expose torture vs. those who enable it

John Kiriakou

John Kiriakou is a former CIA official who blew the whistle on the agency’s torture program in 2007. For this, he was investigated multiple times by the FBI and was ultimately convicted under the Obama Justice Department and sent to prison for two years.

Gina Haspel is a CIA official who oversaw torture at the “black site” she ran in Thailand and who later destroyed recordings of these sessions to prevent them being seen by Congress. For this, she suffered no penalties whatsoever and was instead regularly promoted, and she’s now poised to become CIA Director.

Kiriakou has an op-ed in The Washington Post where he lays out some truth. You should read it. Here’s the rundown:

[W]hile I went to prison for disclosing the torture program, Haspel is about to get a promotion despite her connection to it. Trump’s move hurts morale among CIA officers who recognize that torture is wrong. It comforts people at the agency who still believe “enhanced interrogation” is somehow acceptable. I spoke with a senior officer this past week who said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” There’s an attitude of defeatism among opponents of torture.

And the message it sends to our friends and allies (and the countries we criticize in the State Department’s annual human rights reports) is this: We say we’re a shining city on a hill, a beacon of respect for human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and the rule of law. But actually, that’s nonsense. We say those things when it’s expedient. We say them to make ourselves feel good. But when push comes to shove, we do what we want, international law be damned.

The meaning of Haspel’s nomination won’t be lost on our enemies, either. The torture program and similar abuses at military-run prisons in Iraq were among the greatest recruitment tools that al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and other bad actors ever had, according to legal experts, U.S. lawmakers and even the militants themselves.

US officials and lawmakers and media talking heads like may like to pat themselves on the back for being a “nation of laws” that has “moral authority” on the world stage, but it’s impossible for anyone outside their borders to hear this and not laugh or groan.

(via Dispatches From the Culture Wars)