Gina Haspel: Punished for Loyal Service
Gina Haspel has been selected by President Trump as the new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency after serving the agency effectively for 32 years, under two Democratic and four Republican presidents.
But Democrats still oppose her confirmation because CIA policy after 9/11 called for enhanced interrogation techniques and she followed her orders in executing that policy. After Congress pressed to eliminate tactics like water-boarding, she accepted that decision too, and executed it without complaint.
For Democrats, in other words, it’s her loyal service to the agency, under both Republican and Democratic leadership, that disqualifies Haspel. If they oppose her confirmation, they are saying we can’t accept anyone with long and varied experience at the agency who has followed legal orders through the chain of command.
In fighting this patriotic, richly qualified nominee the Democrats are placing political gamesmanship ahead of national security.