Veteran Intelligence Officers on Torture

Torture is one of those accumulated evils.  Violating domestic laws like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 is another.  You were right to unceremoniously jettison former CIA director Michael Hayden, who betrayed the thousands of NSA professionals who, until he directed that domestic law could be ignored, had adhered scrupulously to the 1978 FISA law as NSA’s “First Commandment”—Thou Shalt Not Eavesdrop on Americans Without a Court Warrant.

Sadly, President Bush was not the first chief executive to find a small cabal of superpatriots, amateur thugs, and contractors to do his administration’s bidding.  But never before in this country were lawless thugs given such free rein.  The congressional “oversight” committees looked the other way.

(signatories are listed alphabetically with former intelligence affiliations) Gene Betit, US Army, DIA, Arlington, VA Ray Close, National Clandestine Service (CIA), Princeton, NJ Phil Giraldi, National Clandestine Service (CIA), Purcellville, VA Larry Johnson, CIA & Department of State, Bethesda, MD Pat Lang, US Army (Special Forces), DIA, Alexandria, VA David MacMichael, National Intelligence Council, Linden, VA Tom Maertens, Department of State, Mankato, MN Ray McGovern, US Army, CIA, Arlington, VA Sam Provance, US Army (Abu Ghraib), Greenville, SC Coleen Rowley, FBI, Apple Valley, MN Greg Theilmann, Department of State & Senate Intel. Committee staff, Arlington, VA Ann Wright, US Army, Department of State, Honolulu, HI