109 RETIRED Military Leaders Put Down Their Golf Clubs & Sign A Letter Protesting CIA Nominee Gina Haspel
April 23, 2018
Dear Senator:
As retired general and flag officers of the United States military, we write to express our profound
concern about the nomination of Gina Haspel to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA). We urge you to examine closely the full extent of Ms. Haspel’s involvement in the rendition,
detention, and interrogation program and, should you find that she played any role in carrying out,
supervising, or directing the torture or abuse of people in U.S. custody, or the destruction of
evidence relating to these activities, we urge you to reject her nomination.
We are deeply troubled by the prospect of someone who appears to have been intimately involved
in torture being elevated to one of the most important positions of leadership in the intelligence
community. While the public record concerning Ms. Haspel is incomplete, there are multiple
uncontested reports that she ran a CIA “black site” prison, at which at least one detainee, Abd alRahim
al-Nashiri, was repeatedly tortured, including by waterboarding. In addition, former CIA
general counsel John Rizzo has stated that for some period of time a person we now know to be Ms.
Haspel oversaw the CIA’s entire interrogation program—a program that was rife with
mismanagement and abuse.
We understand that some well-respected former senior government intelligence officials have
spoken highly of Ms. Haspel’s experience and long record of service to the Agency. However, we
do not accept efforts to excuse her actions relating to torture and other unlawful abuse of detainees
by offering that she was “just following orders,” or that shock from the 9/11 terrorist attacks should
excuse illegal and unethical conduct. We did not accept the “just following orders” justification
after World War II, and we should not accept it now. Waterboarding and other forms of torture or
cruel and inhuman treatment are—and always have been—clearly unlawful. Individuals in the
service of our country, even at the lowest levels, have a duty to refuse to carry out such actions.
Moreover, Ms. Haspel appears to have been involved in inappropriate actions that went beyond
what was authorized by Congress or senior officials in the executive branch. Public reports suggest
that cases of detainee abuse she supervised or otherwise had an operational role in involved conduct
even more abusive than what the discredited legal memos supported. In addition to her role in
overseeing and implementing torture, Ms. Haspel also appears to have strongly advocated for and
played a key role in carrying out an order to destroy 92 videotapes of individuals in U.S. custody
being subjected to torture. She did so despite federal court orders requiring preservation of all
records pertaining to detainee abuse, and over the objections of congressional leaders, the Director
of National Intelligence, Director of Central Intelligence, two successive White House counsels,
Department of Justice officials, and the vice president’s top lawyer. This disregard for lawful
checks on the CIA’s power is troubling.
We devoted our lives to the defense of our country. We know that fidelity to our most cherished
ideals as a nation is the foundation of our security. The torture and cruel treatment of prisoners
undermines our national security by increasing the risks to our troops, hindering cooperation with
allies, alienating populations whose support the United States needs in the struggle against
terrorism, and providing a propaganda tool for extremists who wish to do us harm. It would send a
terrible signal to confirm as the next Director of the CIA someone who was so intimately involved
in this dark chapter of our nation’s history.
Given the serious allegations made against Ms. Haspel, we urge you to insist on full
declassification, with appropriate redactions to protect sensitive national security information, of all
information regarding her role in the rendition, detention, and interrogation program. If the record
shows that Ms. Haspel played any role in carrying out, supervising, or directing any form of torture
or detainee abuse, or the destruction of evidence relating to these activities, we urge you to reject
her nomination.
Sincerely
- General John R. “Jack” Dailey, USMC (Ret.)
- General Howell M. Estes III, USAF (Ret.)
- General Ronald H. Griffith, USA (Ret.)
- General Richard D. Hearney, USMC (Ret.)
- General Walter Kross, USAF (Ret.)
- General Charles C. Krulak, USMC (Ret.)
- General David M. Maddox, USA (Ret.)
- General Thomas A. Schwartz, USA (Ret.)
- General Hugh H. Shelton, USA (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Steven L. Arnold, USA (Ret.)
- Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, USPHS (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General John J. Cusick, USA (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Michael D. Dubie, USAF (Ret.)
- Lieutanant General Benjamin C. Freakley, USA (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr., USA (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Walter E. Gaskin, USMC (Ret.)
- Vice Admiral Kevin P. Green, USN (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Wallace C. Gregson, USMC (Ret.)
- Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, USN (Ret.)
- Vice Admiral Michael D. Haskins, USN (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Arlen D. Jameson, USAF (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Richard L. Kelly, USMC (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, USA (Ret.)
- Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr, USN (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Dennis McCarthy, USMC (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Michael D. McGinty, USAF (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Charles Otstott, USA (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Garry L. Parks, USMC (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Norman R. Seip, USAF (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Harry E. Soyster, USA (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Keith J. Stalder, USMC (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Martin R. Steele, USMC (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Mitchell H. Stevenson, USA (Ret.)
- Vice Admiral Edward M. Straw, USN (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Willie J. Williams, USMC (Ret.)
- Major General Joseph T. Anderson, USMC (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Michael C. Bachmann, USN (Ret.)
- Major General Donna Barbisch, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral David M. Boone, USN (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Paul E. Busick, USCG (Ret.)
- Major General Michael W. Davidson, USA (Ret.)
- Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA (Ret.)
- Major General Eugene Fox, USA (Ret.)
- Major General Wilton Scott Gorske, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Don Guter, JAGC, USN (Ret.)
- Major General Irving Halter, USAF (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Janice M. Hamby, USN (Ret.)
- Major General Marcelite Harris, USAF (Ret.)
- Major General Albert C. Harvey, USMCR (Ret.)
- Major General Sanford E. Holman, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, JAGC, USN (Ret.)
- Major General Michael R. Lehnert, USMC (Ret.)
- Major General Steven J. Lepper, USAF (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Steven W. Maas, USN (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Archer M. Macy, Jr., USN (Ret.)
- Major General Albert J. Madora, USA (Ret.)
- Major General Randy E. Manner, ARNG (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Donald K. Muchow, USN (Ret.)
- Major General J. Michael Myatt, USMC (Ret.)
- Major General Roger A. Nadeau, USA (Ret.)
- Major General William L. Nash, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral David R. Oliver, Jr., USN (Ret.)
- Major General Eric T. Olson, USA (Ret.)
- Major General Earl G. Peck, USAF (Ret.)
- Major General Gale Pollock, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Markham K. Rich, USN (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Stephen W. Rochon, USCG (Ret.)
- Major General Thomas J. Romig, USA (Ret.)
- Major General Orlo K. Steele, USMC (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Timothy S. Sullivan, USCG (Ret.)
- Major General Michael W. Symanski, USAR (Ret.)
- Major General Antonio M. Taguba, USA (Ret.)
- Major General William D. Razz Waff, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral James M. Walley, Jr., USNR (Ret.)
- Major General John J. Welde, USAF (Ret.)
- Major General Richard O. Wightman, Jr., USA (Ret.)
- Major General Margaret Woodward, USAF (Ret.)
- Major General David T. Zabecki, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Bruce A. Adams, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral James A. "Jamie" Barnett, USN (Ret.)
- Brigadier General David M. Brahms, USMC (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Michael J. Browne, USN (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.)
- Brigadier General John W. Douglass, USAF (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Thomas V. Draude, USMC (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Robert J. Felderman, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Evelyn P. Foote, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Gerald E. Galloway, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral F. Stephen Glass, USN (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Leif H. Hendrickson, USMC (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Dean H. Hines, USN (Ret.)
- Brigadier General David R. Irvine, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Grady L. Jackson, USN (Ret.)
- Brigadier General John H. Johns, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Carloes E. Martinez, USAF (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Jenenne P. Nelson, USAF (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Richard O’Meara, USA (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Harold L. Robinson, USN (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Edward F. Rodriguez, Jr., USAFR (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Murray G. Sagsveen, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Earl Simms, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Paul Gregory Smith, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Burdett K. Thompson, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General George H. Walls, USMC (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Terrence P. Woods, USAF (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Daniel P. Woodward, USAF (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Scott E. Wuesthoff, USAF (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, USA (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Frederick A. Zehrer III, USAF (Ret.)
Comments
Post a Comment