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True, John Kiriakou has an abundance of experience and credibility. But what are these, stacked up against seeing torture work "with your own eyes?" John can cite the following facts until he is blue in the face, but the odds remain high against him.
On Dec. 21, 2012, two days after "Zero Dark Thirty" premiered, CIA's acting director took the unusual step of formally addressing agency employees with these words:
"[T]he film takes significant artistic license, while portraying itself as being historically accurate. ... [It] creates the strong impression that the enhanced interrogation techniques that were part of our former detention and interrogation program were the key to finding Bin Laden. That impression is false. ... I want you to remember that 'Zero Dark Thirty' is not a documentary."
Sen. John McCain, who was tortured as a POW in North Vietnam, said the film left him sick -- "because it's wrong."
Historian Karen J. Greenberg, Director of Fordham University Law School's Center for National Security, wrote this about the film's director: "Bigelow has bought in, hook, line, and sinker, to the ethos of the Bush administration and its apologists." Greenberg called the film "the perfect piece of propaganda, with all the appeal that naked brutality, fear, and revenge can bring."
And Peter Maass of The Atlantic wrote that the film "represents a troubling new frontier of government-embedded filmmaking." And Maass, too, is right.
Looking Forward
I'm not sure John Kiriakou would qualify for PEN Center USA's specific program for "Emerging Voices," but I am sure that, just the same, this year's First Amendment Awardee is a very important emerging voice -- both as writer and as a consultant on films and TV shows. Of this we can also be sure; nothing John gets involved in will glorify torture or otherwise bend to prevailing winds of dishonesty.
With the support of Heather and many others, he has already bucked a powerful system arrayed against him. John Kiriakou will give no quarter in his passion for spreading truth around, no matter how many additional systemic hurdles he may be required to surmount.
Besides, he has "backing." If you don't believe me, download Silenced.
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