While most of Washington, D.C. spat out its second cup of coffee at the news that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was getting the boot, the more interesting story might have been a few paragraphs down. The coming nomination battle over Gina Haspel as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency would mean the first female to head the CIA in history, if she were confirmed. She would also become one of the first CIA directors who oversaw torture at her overseas station.
The first overseas detention site after the 9/11 attacks was in Thailand, and Haspel ran the camp. She oversaw the torture of two terrorist suspects and, according to declassified CIA cables, one had his head repeatedly slammed against a wall and was waterboarded more than 83 times before interrogators decided he didn’t have any valuable information. Then she participated in the order to destroy the tapes.
Republicans won’t have a problem with Haspel. Taking their cues from President Trump, the GOP mostly ignored CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s position on enhanced interrogation — he doesn’t consider waterboarding a form of torture. As he prepares for confirmation to replace Tillerson, Republicans aren’t likely to bat an eye at Haspel and will focus instead on female empowerment. Democrats will probably be less receptive.
