CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper: Jailed CIA Officer – ‘Crimes Were Committed,’ Officers Should Be ‘Prosecuted’
In response to the Senate’s Torture Report, CIA whistleblower and GAP client John Kiriakou spoke with CNN’s Jake Tapper about the use of torture techniques that he says are immoral and ineffective. He explained that CIA officers engaged in techniques not authorized by the Justice Department or the White House, and that those officers should be prosecuted. Kiriakou is currently serving time in federal prison after he publicly acknowledged that torture was official policy under President George W. Bush’s administration.
On a recent episode of The View that highlighted the report, Rosie O’Donnell mentioned Kiriakou’s case, stating: “the one man who actually blew the whistle on the torture techniques is in prison, but none of the men who orchestrated the torture or who implemented it are in prison.” She called on Americans to take a stand for Kiriakou and hopes that he will be released from jail now that the report has revealed many of the concerns he raised.
Key Quote (CNN): “I think it’s clear from the Senate torture report and also from [CIA] Director [John] Brennan’s comments that crimes were committed, and I think that the officers who committed those crimes ought to be prosecuted.
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It’s my experience that they do not provide actionable intelligence. It’s my experience that prisoners will tell you essentially anything you want to know just so that the torture will stop. But there’s a deeper issue here. I think that we shouldn’t be asking ourselves whether or not the techniques worked. We should be asking ourselves whether or not the techniques were right or were moral.”
Associated Press: Hanford Tanks Still Deteriorating
According to a new report, underground storage tanks at the Hanford nuclear waste treatment plant continue to deteriorate. Some of the tanks, built in the 1940s, have been in use “long past their designed lifespans.” Meanwhile, the case of GAP client Donna Busche, the Hanford whistleblower who raised serious safety concerns at the plant, remains ongoing.
Key Quote: But “DOE’s current schedule for managing the tank waste does not consider the worsening conditions of the tanks,” the GAO report said.
The current schedule also does not consider the delays in building a $13 billion plant to turn the tank wastes into glass-like logs for eventual burial. Construction of the Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford has been halted by design and safety concerns.