CHICAGO, IL -(Effingham Radio)- In an op-ed in today’s Chicago Tribune, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced her opposition to the nomination of Gina Haspel to serve as CIA Director.
Citing Ms. Haspel’s central role in the CIA’s shameful torture program – which Haspel refused to apologize for during her Senate confirmation hearing – Duckworth urged her colleagues to defeat Haspel’s nomination to send a message to the rest of the world about our nation’s commitment to condemning torture and promoting human rights around the globe.
Key Points:
- “When you find yourself wounded in enemy territory, as I did after my Blackhawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq, you develop an elevated understanding of the threat of torture by those who may capture and hold you prisoner. How you are treated is affected by how brutally your own nation treats individuals in its custody, which is why it’s so important that the United States leads in recognizing that torture is illegal.
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- “The torture program not only compromised our nation’s values, it helped recruit terrorists and put a much larger target on the backs of U.S. troops and diplomats working in the world’s most dangerous places. As Sen. McCain frequently says, torture is not about our enemies — it’s about us. We are a nation of laws. We believe that all people, no matter how hateful or harmful, are entitled to human dignity.
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- “Haspel did not simply participate in torture, she supported brutal interrogations and ran a CIA black site in Thailand where at least one detainee was waterboarded. She then attempted to obstruct justice by eliminating evidence of this torture.
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- “Her defenders suggest ‘she was just following orders’ … That defense wouldn’t have protected me on the battlefield if the orders were illegal, and it shouldn’t protect a nominee to be CIA director. Haspel’s reprehensible actions should disqualify her from becoming the next CIA director.”