John Kiriakou
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
So they don't have any U.S.
legal rights there.
Why don't we just keep them there forever?
And then that became the policy.
And that's where the big split came for me.
I did not yet know that there was a formal torture program.
I learned that in May of 2002.
Torture actually began on August the 2nd, 2002.
But I remember saying to my boss, this is illegal.
This is clearly a violation of the Geneva Convention.
And it's a violation of U.S.
law as well.
We shouldn't be doing this.
And he said...
Listen to me, because I'm only going to say it once, he said.
This has already been worked out at a pay grade far above yours or mine.
We're not here to make these decisions.
We're here to do as we're told.
And that didn't sit right with me.
So I went back to headquarters at the end of my tour in Pakistan and