The CIA's New Nominee Director Gina Haspel Once Ran a Torture Site and Destroyed Evidence

[James48]

Source: Government Executive Magazine

As CIA director Mike Pompeo moves to become the United States’ Secretary of State, deputy director Gina Haspel has been nominated to lead the agency. If confirmed by the Senate, she will become the first woman to run the CIA.

Haspel’s nomination will be controversial; she played a leading role (paywall) in running a U.S. torture site abroad and later destroyed the evidence of it.

In 2002, she oversaw a secret prison in Thailand that tortured two terrorism suspects. That torture took place within the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” program, in which suspected terrorists are sent to US allies, and interrogated in “black sites” on their soil.

One of the men, known as Abu Zubayda, was waterboarded 83 times in one month and was slammed into walls by the head. He was deprived of sleep and kept in a coffin-like box. Interrogators later decided he didn’t have any useful information.

Read more: http://www.govexec.com/defense/2018/03/cias-new-nominee-director-gina-haspel-once-ran-torture-site-and-destroyed-evidence/146618/?oref=river

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I'm speechless.

""She had one man waterboarded 83 times in a single month in a Thai "black site".

[First Speaker]

1. Well, of course she did...

...this is a prerequisite for any post under this "administration"...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Torture worse than useless. People say anything to get out of it. Despicable, evil, disgusting. . nt

[SergeStorms]

11. Yes, but.....

Shitler likes it. He thinks we should use more and tougher torture techniques. Of course he does! Don't all Dictators?

[Blues Heron]

3. Arrest warrant out for this monster in europe

And rightly so.

[Solly Mack]

4. I'm shocked.

Not.

Sick country keeps rolling along.

[Marthe48]

5. Can't scrape the bottom of the barrel

we're through the bottom and digging in a sewer

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Exactly my thought.

We are now down to the slimy pit of muck that lies under the barrel.

[Marthe48]

23. well said

Thanks for your posts this week!

[malthaussen]

6. Unanimous confirmation. n/t

[harun]

18. Pretty much what I expect from the Senate of the 1%.

[IronLionZion]

7. That's only the stuff we know about

I hope our Dems in congress have access to her long classified operations career and have insight into her judgment and leadership.

Our choices seem to be either the experienced torturer or some unqualified Trump crony

[LudwigPastorius]

8. Oh, hell no.

The widespread criticism from Democrats ensures that GOP leaders will have difficulty confirming Pompeo and Haspel as expeditiously as Republican leaders hope to do. But the backlash is not expected to upset their eventual chances of confirmation — especially because Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday he has no plans to ask Democrats to oppose their nominations.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the author of the report that exposed the extent of the CIA’s interrogation programs, appeared to defend her.

“She has been, I believe, a good deputy director,” Feinstein said, stressing that the interrogation techniques employed on Haspel’s watch were not, at the time, explicitly illegal.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/secretary-of-state-and-cia-director-nominees-face-probable-backlash-in-senate/2018/03/13/70b5d2a4-26cf-11e8-b79d-f3d931db7f68_story.html?utm_term=.e33c1b6ef590
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

We need to let every Democratic Senator know that Haspel is unacceptable as CIA Director.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-new-c-i-a-deputy-chiefs-black-site-past

[Volaris]

14. '...not...explicitly illegal.'

Morally reprehensible is apparently OK, tho...
SMDH.
THIS is why you don't open Pandoras box in the first damn place. The power of the Patriot Act should NEVER have been issued to the Executive Branch, because who the next Executive will be, is never certain. Yes, Obama was better than BushCo., but now we're back to having a CNA director that thinks torture and destruction of evidence are acceptable, because we have a pResidebt who (again) ALSO believes these things.

[Duppers]

15. +100

Thank you for this info.

I'm adding to the list of things when I call.

[George II]

17. ANDDDDD.....let's dump on Dianne Feinstein some more.

[George II]

20. Who would YOU nominate for the job?

[LudwigPastorius]

21. Send me your resume and I'll consider you.

If you didn't run a secret prison that tortured detainees, you've got a leg up on Dep. Director Haspel.

[Abu Pepe]

25. This nt

[lunatica]

24. And some DUers think Diane Feinstein is a great Democrat

She was also all for the Iraq war, claiming that if we knew what she knew we’d all want to go to war. She’s disgusting. Her husband conveniently got a government contract supplying for the troop over there. Made themselves much richer during that war.

[George II]

10. Philip Mudd said a little while ago that she's the best for the job. I trust his judgement.

[IronLionZion]

13. The argument is that anyone Trump chooses would be much worse

rather than Haspel being good. Our choices are someone who is qualified but evil, or some incompetent crony who promotes Trump's agenda.

[George II]

16. James Clapper also said she'd be very good. She has those human right issues, but....

....just about everyone that has more than 10 years in the CIA will have issues of one kind or another.

It's another situation where if we're looking for someone 100% "perfect", the position will remain empty.

[nocalflea]

26. Yep. Better a career professional then a Tom Cotton.

Beggars can't be choosers.

[BadgerMom]

12. She'll fit right in with the other criminals in this administration.

[chelsea0011]

22. Destroying evidence automatically should disqualify her.

But she will get all or most republican votes to confirm. Dems need full court pressure to stop her.

[nocalflea]

27. Lot of disinformation here.

https://www.propublica.org/article/cia-cables-detail-its-new-deputy-directors-role-in-torture

Why hasn't this post been corrected ?

' "It is important to note that she has spent nearly her entire CIA career undercover,” Boyd said. “Much of what is in the public domain about her is inaccurate. We are pleased that ProPublica is willing to acknowledge its mistakes and correct the record regarding its claims about Ms. Haspel.” '

[ucrdem]

28. So where are Rand Paul and Code Pink? They protested Obama's appointment

of John Brennan as head of CIA like he was Jack the Ripper incarnate. Now a bona fide torturer gets the nomination and where are they?

[pansypoo53219]

29. missinformation i think. gotta check snopes.