Graceful exit?

Hey John, St.Peter ain’t the New York Times. He doesn’t even read it! Your phony righteousness and grandstanding isn’t going to work up there.

Just try to say a graceful goodbye.
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John McCain calls on Senate to reject CIA nominee Gina Haspel*

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called on the Senate to reject Gina Haspel’s nomination to become CIA director Wednesday, charging that she was unable to address concerns with her role in the use of enhanced interrogation techniques during the Bush administration.

“Today, Gina Haspel testified before the Senate and to the country about her qualifications to lead the CIA. This occasion provided an opportunity to provide details about her experience in the CIA, explain her involvement in the so-called enhanced interrogation program during the Bush Administration, and account for the mistakes the country made in torturing detainees held in U.S. custody after the September 11th attacks,” McCain said in a statement, referring to Haspel’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Unfortunately, the testimony the American people heard from Ms. Haspel today failed to address these concerns.”

If ever a “hero”, John McCain has been anything but, for the last 40 years or so.  Consider the admission in his final exit book, this by he, a supposedly discerning foreign affairs sophisticate and Senate Intelligence Committee analyst who ought to be able to smell a rat and at least say so.

“I reviewed its contents. The allegations were disturbing, but I had no idea which if any were true. I could not independently verify any of it, and so I did what any American who cares about our nation’s security should have done.”
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“Duty”, as McCain defines it can take curious shapes. This excerpt seems to omit any reference to McCain’s unseemly dispatching of an aide to the UK to get his hands on a copy of a document he was probably aware of, even alerted to, was a Hillary campaign oppo research project and known to be extremely salacious. Factual? McCain’s hope springs eternal!

McCain Confirms He Gave Trump Dossier to Comey: ‘Duty Demanded I Do’ It 

The senator describes that fateful decision in his upcoming book, ‘The Restless Wave.’

In his new book, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) confirms that he gave a controversial dossier about President Trump to former FBI chief James Comey.

“I agreed to receive a copy of what is now referred to as ‘the dossier,’” McCain writes in the upcoming book, titled The Restless Wave, referencing information compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. “I reviewed its contents. The allegations were disturbing, but I had no idea which if any were true. I could not independently verify any of it, and so I did what any American who cares about our nation’s security should have done.”

DLH

Questions and ironies:

Regarding McCain’s opposition to Gina Haspel and whatever the extent of her involvement with the then sanctioned interrogation techniques used to fight terrorism — Yes Senator, torture is wrong and real torture by any other name is still torture but then again even confinement arguably becomes torture does it not?  Should we outlaw confinement of terrorists and prisoners of war, etc., and not offer them the reward of release to lessen the torture of confinement in exchange for information? Both confinement and waterboarding are considered psychological, not physical, interrogation or torture techniques (pick your descriptive).

If North Vietnam had used only the authorized US interrogation techniques Haspel is alleged to have had some role in, which included waterboarding, McCain’s arm would not be crippled but he still might have signed various propaganda statements.** He just perhaps would not have become a U.S. Senator.       R Mall

* McCain, due to his illness, the article mentions,  is not likely to cast a vote in opposition, his was a statement in opposition.

**which I do not condemn, indeed a strategy could be for a well publicized national policy that all American personnel undergoing interrogation to, other than betray secrets, admit to everything that will stop torture in order to nullify propaganda value.

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