John Kiriakou

John Kiriakou (born August 9, 1964) is a Greek American political author, journalist, whistleblower, retired intelligence officer, and a founding member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). He was the first U.S. government official to confirm that waterboarding was used to interrogate prisoners, which he described as torture.



Quotes

 * I’ve come to realize over the past decade or so that there are a lot of phonies among the Democratic Party’s elected officials — people who purport to be progressive, only to end up in the pocket of the big banks, the big environmental exploiters, or other vested interests. Early this month I was reminded of Democratic phonies in positions of authority, this time in Colorado... Polis is a former congressman who was elected governor in 2018 as a progressive Democrat...  after campaigning on the goal of 100 percent renewable energy environmentalists have been restless for evidence of any serious commitment to that goal.  So on Jan. 9, minutes before Polis took to the lectern... pro-environment protestors at the Colorado State Capitol hoisted signs reading “NO MORE SACRIFICE ZONES” and began shouting, “Ban fracking now!”  Within minutes, state police arrested 38 protesters and charged them with multiple misdemeanors.  Most were held in jail overnight and released the next day on $750 bond.  Others... spent the entire weekend in jail... It’s the hypocrisy of politicians like Jared Polis... elected as an environmentalist.  But as soon as he won his race, he reached out to the oil and gas industry and the frackers.
 * John Kiriakou: How Do You Trust a Politician? Consortium News, (January 30, 2020)


 * So how do we trust our politicians? Consistency is probably the best test.  Of all the Democrats running for president, only Senator Bernie Sanders issued a statement of support for the Colorado protesters.  Do we trust former Vice President Joe Biden with issues of war and peace when he supported every U.S. military intervention around the world since his election to the Senate in 1972?  Do we trust Amy Klobuchar on prison reform issues when she spent so many years as a prosecutor?  I wouldn’t.
 * John Kiriakou: How Do You Trust a Politician? Consortium News, (January 30, 2020)