shockedcanadian
Diamond Member
- Aug 6, 2012
- 43,912
- 42,956
- 3,605
I listen to many former CIA agents on youtube, the odd former FBI agent from time to time. I take their stories with a grain of salt, all of them are good story tellers, John one of the best. I realize that memories are often skewed and sometimes full of holes they fill in themselves. Others might have an agenda or influencing their viewers, who knows.
John has taken the smart approach of being on every podcast, large or small to tell his story, even Tucker Carlson. It seems clear to me he's decided "I'm going to be an open book now".
He has been against torture from the beginning. This is an important stance especially at the most difficult time immediately after 9/11 where everyone, including regular citizens like myself wanted revenge and justice for what happened, by any means necessary as far as I am concerned. I won't forget the transit ride home that day from work, where I just looked around and wanted to scream at people "how in the F can we sit here quietly when so many died from these animals"!
The bottom line is that blood were in the eyes of everyone, especially intelligence agencies I'm sure and I was very supportive of Bush and America striking back to whomever was involved. I digress...
The bottom line is that John was charged, really he was overcharged until he accepted a plea for far less than they tried to unfairly push, basically for discussing the CIA torture program. Most after hearing his story would say he was treated unfairly, seemed to be a circumstance of "make an example out of him", which is not how the law should work and John was unfairly treated. This was done under the Obama administration also, so, Trump could feel he is not only protecting the Constitution, but also going against Obamas DOJ really.
Should he have been fired? Perhaps. Reprimanded within the agency? Absolutely. He should at least be able to speak about WHY he has taken a position. The entire post-9/11 actions did great harm to U.S reputation around the globe.
Torture doesn't work. Rarely has. Not only is it morally wrong and illegal but the CIA themselves know IT IS NOT EFFECTIVE. People will say whatever they must to stop the suffering. It's what lowly, unsophisticated dirty cops with shyte for brains engage in, not what are supposed to be effective agencies, be it the CIA or FBI.
If any of you know his story, the core question I ask, is should Trump pardon John?
I am in the camp that it's probably time. It would also appeal Trump once again to a broader population because support for this guy is clearly fairly high and Trump will remind everyone he is not an ideologue. You should correct a wrong. He paid a steep price, as many of us who blow the whistle have (though I'm not in the same class he is in).
John has taken the smart approach of being on every podcast, large or small to tell his story, even Tucker Carlson. It seems clear to me he's decided "I'm going to be an open book now".
He has been against torture from the beginning. This is an important stance especially at the most difficult time immediately after 9/11 where everyone, including regular citizens like myself wanted revenge and justice for what happened, by any means necessary as far as I am concerned. I won't forget the transit ride home that day from work, where I just looked around and wanted to scream at people "how in the F can we sit here quietly when so many died from these animals"!
The bottom line is that blood were in the eyes of everyone, especially intelligence agencies I'm sure and I was very supportive of Bush and America striking back to whomever was involved. I digress...
The bottom line is that John was charged, really he was overcharged until he accepted a plea for far less than they tried to unfairly push, basically for discussing the CIA torture program. Most after hearing his story would say he was treated unfairly, seemed to be a circumstance of "make an example out of him", which is not how the law should work and John was unfairly treated. This was done under the Obama administration also, so, Trump could feel he is not only protecting the Constitution, but also going against Obamas DOJ really.
Should he have been fired? Perhaps. Reprimanded within the agency? Absolutely. He should at least be able to speak about WHY he has taken a position. The entire post-9/11 actions did great harm to U.S reputation around the globe.
Torture doesn't work. Rarely has. Not only is it morally wrong and illegal but the CIA themselves know IT IS NOT EFFECTIVE. People will say whatever they must to stop the suffering. It's what lowly, unsophisticated dirty cops with shyte for brains engage in, not what are supposed to be effective agencies, be it the CIA or FBI.
If any of you know his story, the core question I ask, is should Trump pardon John?
I am in the camp that it's probably time. It would also appeal Trump once again to a broader population because support for this guy is clearly fairly high and Trump will remind everyone he is not an ideologue. You should correct a wrong. He paid a steep price, as many of us who blow the whistle have (though I'm not in the same class he is in).
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