Gina Haspel, Congress, the CIA, and deliberately failing memories

Al Qaeda ruthlessly slaughtered 3,000 men, women, and children on 9/11.

Terrified and screaming, eight kids aboard the planes were slammed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Seen among the 200 forced by searing heat to leap to their deaths from the Towers was an eight-months pregnant woman whose last act was to wrap her arms around her stomach. As FDNY Engine 216 set up near the South Tower, a falling body struck and killed Danny Suhr, who had been a firefighter since 1983. Most remember the numerous acts of courage, humanity, and self-sacrifice that day.

The American people – including every Member of Congress – said, “Never again.” It was mandate to every soldier, law enforcement officer, intelligence officer, and official charged with the responsibility of defending our nation. We knew the enemy was still coming and had to be stopped. Our best and brightest had to step up and they did.

Gina Haspel was among the patriots who answered the call.

The intelligence gained by the CIA using EITs was enormous. On June 23, 2013, then CIA Director John Brennan predicated the CIA’s response to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report on the Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation Program. In part, Brennan wrote:

“In particular, the Agency disagrees with the Study’s unqualified assertions that the overall detention and interrogation program did not produce unique intelligence that led terrorist plots to be disrupted, terrorists to be captured, or lives to be saved. The Study’s claims on this score are inconsistent with the factual record, and we provide detailed comments in TAB C on where and why the Study’s assertions and representations are wrong.”

The implementation of the Enhanced Interrogation Program was not Gina Haspel’s decision; it was the President’s decision after her seniors at the CIA recommended its approval. It had been cleared by the Office of Legal Counsel and briefed to Majority and Minority Leaders of Congress, to include the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee Nancy Pelosi. The moral high ground was to deny unlawful enemy combatants the protections of the Geneva Conventions, to not allow those who acted outside of the Rules of War, who slaughtered civilians and soldiers alike, to remain silent.

Gina Haspel has served our nation with honor for thirty years. The EIT Program saved American lives. She deserves our thanks and far better than to be smeared by those with short memories.

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