John Kiriakou — Trump’s Impeachable Offense

But torture isn’t just bad policy. It’s against the law.

First, the federal Torture Act stipulates that if an American soldier, CIA officer, or anybody else acting on behalf of the government waterboards a prisoner, he risks up to 20 years imprisonment. The McCain-Feinstein Amendment Congress passed last year reiterated the ban on torture, including waterboarding.

Second, our country is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Waterboarding a prisoner is against international law and could subject the torturer — or the person ordering or approving the torture — to international sanctions, including prosecution in international courts.

In the early part of the last decade, torture fans in the George W. Bush Justice Department — most infamously in a legal opinion by attorneys John Yoo and Jay Bybee — twisted the law itself into contortions to argue that certain forms of torture were permissible. Al-Qaeda, they said, was a “non-state actor,” not a country. As such, its members should receive none of the protections of international law.

That argument was specious on its face. Absolutely nothing in U.S. law says that there are two sets of rules — one for countries and one for terrorist groups. The law is the law, whether we like it or not — including international conventions adopted by the United States.

Trump is no the only candidate calling for "taking the gloves off." So have Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina.

John Kiriakou is the only person imprisoned by the US so far in the torture scandal — for blowing the whistle on torturers. 

This is a national disgrace that has cost the US dearly in credibility and soft power.

Truthdig
Trump’s Impeachable Offense
John Kiriakou

Larry C. Johnson — Carly Fiorina, Republican Warmonger

If you tuned into the Republican slugfest last night you did have the opportunity to hear most of the candidates weigh in on foreign policy and national security. The message that most conveyed was frightening and demonstrated gross ignorance. The worst offenders in this area were Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio. Tough talking, saber rattling and dead-ass wrong in their proposed prescriptions. I am particularly shocked by what Carly Fiorina said. I had already sent her some money and considered her a legitimate contender. After her performance last night, I would not let her run a high school car wash.…

Marco Rubio was not much better. Here is his proposal for starting a new Cold War….

We need some wisdom informed by history and culture. Judging from the public reaction to last night’s debate, Americans have no interest in wisdom and are enamored of those proposing policies that will lead to war.

No Quarter
Carly Fiorina, Republican Warmonger
Larry C. Johnson

Larry C. Johnson is a former analyst at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, who moved subsequently in 1989 to the U.S. Department of State, where he served four years as the deputy director for transportation security, antiterrorism assistance training, and special operations in the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism. He left government service in October 1993 and set up a consulting business. He currently is the co-owner and CEO of BERG Associates, LLC (Business Exposure Reduction Group) and is an expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, and crisis and risk management, and money laundering investigations. Johnson is the founder and main author of No Quarter, a weblog that addresses issues of terrorism and intelligence and politics. NoQuarterUSA was nominated as Best Political Blog of 2008.

I stand with Trump for calling out Carly Fiorina and I don't care how he did it

Carly Fiorina is a joke. She nearly destroyed Hewlett-Packard when she was CEO. Her positions are more of the same, neoliberal policies (privatization, trade, deregulation, austerity) that have been a disaster for most Americans. A Carly Fiorina presidency would be horrible for all Americans other than the very wealthy. I stand with Trump for calling her out and I really don't mind the manner in which he did it. She can be insulted in a far worse fashion in my opinion, given her attitude toward less fortunate Americans.