CIA Chief Who Did Nothing to Stop Waterboarding Now Says He'd Quit if Agency Asked to Resume
'It'll be up to the director of CIA and others within CIA to decide whether or not that, that direction and order is something that they can carry out in good conscience'
CIA director John Brennan on Wednesday vowed to resign if he was ordered by the next president to have the CIA resume waterboarding detainees--but the agency could still take up the practice.
"If a president were to order, order the agency to carry out waterboarding or something else, it'll be up to the director of CIA and others within CIA to decide whether or not that, that direction and order is something that they can carry out in good conscience," Brennan said, according to The Intercept.
"I can say that as long as I'm director of CIA, irrespective of what the president says, I'm not going to be the director of CIA that gives that order. They'll have to find another director," he added, according to Reuters.
The remarks were presumably a response to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's past declarations of support for the torture method condemned by rights groups. They came at the end of a speech the CIA chief gave at the Brookings Institution.
The Intercept observed that Brennan "did not acknowledge that Congress last year turned Obama's anti-torture executive order into law, explicitly banning waterboarding and other forms of torture--and restricting the CIA in particular to interrogation methods listed in the Army Field Manual."
Moreover, Reuters notes, "Brennan told his confirmation hearing in 2013 he had not tried to stop harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding when he was at the spy agency earlier in his career, but had objected to them privately."
Damning first-person reports of the torture tactic, among other so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" put into practice under President George W. Bush, continue to emerge from those subjected to them.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly affirmed his support for torture. "I would bring back waterboarding, and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding," he said two weeks ago, as Common Dreams reported.
"What do you think about waterboarding?" he asked the crowd at a rally. "I like it a lot," he said to cheers. "I don't think it's tough enough."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
CIA director John Brennan on Wednesday vowed to resign if he was ordered by the next president to have the CIA resume waterboarding detainees--but the agency could still take up the practice.
"If a president were to order, order the agency to carry out waterboarding or something else, it'll be up to the director of CIA and others within CIA to decide whether or not that, that direction and order is something that they can carry out in good conscience," Brennan said, according to The Intercept.
"I can say that as long as I'm director of CIA, irrespective of what the president says, I'm not going to be the director of CIA that gives that order. They'll have to find another director," he added, according to Reuters.
The remarks were presumably a response to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's past declarations of support for the torture method condemned by rights groups. They came at the end of a speech the CIA chief gave at the Brookings Institution.
The Intercept observed that Brennan "did not acknowledge that Congress last year turned Obama's anti-torture executive order into law, explicitly banning waterboarding and other forms of torture--and restricting the CIA in particular to interrogation methods listed in the Army Field Manual."
Moreover, Reuters notes, "Brennan told his confirmation hearing in 2013 he had not tried to stop harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding when he was at the spy agency earlier in his career, but had objected to them privately."
Damning first-person reports of the torture tactic, among other so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" put into practice under President George W. Bush, continue to emerge from those subjected to them.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly affirmed his support for torture. "I would bring back waterboarding, and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding," he said two weeks ago, as Common Dreams reported.
"What do you think about waterboarding?" he asked the crowd at a rally. "I like it a lot," he said to cheers. "I don't think it's tough enough."
CIA director John Brennan on Wednesday vowed to resign if he was ordered by the next president to have the CIA resume waterboarding detainees--but the agency could still take up the practice.
"If a president were to order, order the agency to carry out waterboarding or something else, it'll be up to the director of CIA and others within CIA to decide whether or not that, that direction and order is something that they can carry out in good conscience," Brennan said, according to The Intercept.
"I can say that as long as I'm director of CIA, irrespective of what the president says, I'm not going to be the director of CIA that gives that order. They'll have to find another director," he added, according to Reuters.
The remarks were presumably a response to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's past declarations of support for the torture method condemned by rights groups. They came at the end of a speech the CIA chief gave at the Brookings Institution.
The Intercept observed that Brennan "did not acknowledge that Congress last year turned Obama's anti-torture executive order into law, explicitly banning waterboarding and other forms of torture--and restricting the CIA in particular to interrogation methods listed in the Army Field Manual."
Moreover, Reuters notes, "Brennan told his confirmation hearing in 2013 he had not tried to stop harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding when he was at the spy agency earlier in his career, but had objected to them privately."
Damning first-person reports of the torture tactic, among other so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" put into practice under President George W. Bush, continue to emerge from those subjected to them.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly affirmed his support for torture. "I would bring back waterboarding, and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding," he said two weeks ago, as Common Dreams reported.
"What do you think about waterboarding?" he asked the crowd at a rally. "I like it a lot," he said to cheers. "I don't think it's tough enough."