Should We Abolish The CIA?
One of the CIA’s most ardent critics and watchdogs — former CIA agent John Kiriakou — warns against hastily abolishing the CIA. That might seem like the fastest way to resolve the agency’s many abuses, but Kiriakou says such a move wouldn’t change anything.
He should know. He’s the whistleblower and author who made headlines for exposing the CIA’s use of torture during the War on Terror. With more than 15 years in the CIA specializing in counterterrorism, Kiriakou led high-profile operations, including the capture of senior al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah. He subsequently blew the whistle on human rights abuses, which led to his imprisonment under the Espionage Act.
Now, he is a prominent advocate for transparency and whistleblower protections, and hosts the program CIA Declassified on Unifyd TV. In his show, he uses declassified documents to uncover untold stories of U.S. intelligence and its impact on global events. Here, he discusses the agency with Kim Iversen.
