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Biden's pick for Director of National Intelligence (Avril Haines) destroyed evidence of CIA torture and more

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Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
From her Wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avril_Haines

- she overruled the CIA inspector General and chose not to discipline the CIA agents responsible for hacking Senate staffer's computers who were involved in the torture report
- she was one of the main architects behind Obama's disastrous drone program with a ton of civilian casualties that the ACLU said violated human rights even after her intervening to reform it
- She endorsed Trump's director of the CIA Gina Haspel who destroyed video evidence of torture at CIA blacksites

More links that aren't wikipedia:

accuracy.org

Biden Advisor an "Apologist for Torture," an Architect of "Kill Lists"

Avril Haines, appointee for the Biden administration's national security and foreign policy team, is an apologist for American torture operations overseas.
accuracy.org
"The problems with Haines don't stop with her shady connections to torture. It's known that Avril Haines was Obama's CIA deputy director. But most of the public doesn't know she was also Obama's direct advisor in constructing his targeted assassination 'Kill List' policy.

"Haines supposedly made Obama's drone assassination program more transparent and less liable to kill innocents. But a 2016 ACLU examination of the policy Haines helped construct concluded it fell 'far short of the standards for transparency and accountability needed to ensure that the government's targeted killing program is lawful under domestic and international law.' In particular, the Haines-influenced policy relied on 'looser, law-of-war standards that govern conduct in war, rather than the more protective rules that apply under international human rights law.'

"Avril Haines is presented as a humane, intelligent and compassionate alternative to the typical white male elite that run the CIA and other such agencies. But her record is clear. She is an apologist for torture operations. She helped create kill lists for the CIA and U.S. Special Forces. She is not an alternative to the barbarism of the Trump administration, but a dire predictor of Biden's obeisance as president to an out-of-control national security establishment."
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(This one is from the Trump administration lol)
www.whitehouse.gov

Gina Haspel Has Defended Our National Security | The White House

By opposing CIA Acting Director Gina Haspel, a distinguished intelligence professional, some Senators are putting their political interests ahead of our national security.
www.whitehouse.gov www.whitehouse.gov
  • Former CIA Deputy Director and Former White House Deputy National Security Advisor Avril Haines: "Gina Haspel is intelligent, compassionate, and fair."
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To activists, security experts, congressional aides who are more left than liberal—as well as mainstream human rights campaigners and at least one ex-senator—Haines' elevation is worrisome or unacceptable. She approved an "accountability board" that spared CIA personnel reprisal for spying on the Senate's torture investigators, and was part of the team that redacted their landmark report. After the administration ended, Haines supported Gina Haspel for CIA director, someone directly implicated in CIA torture, a decision that remains raw amongst progressive activists. Until late June, she consulted for the Trump-favorite data firm Palantir, which emerged from the CIA.
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www.commondreams.org

#FeminismNotMilitarism: Peace Groups Blast Biden's DNI Pick Over Links to Drones, Torture, and Mass Surveillance

CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies recently noted that Avril Haines "provided legal cover" for CIA torture and "worked closely" on the Obama administration's expanded drone policy.
www.commondreams.org www.commondreams.org

Peace and digital rights advocates—Haines also worked as a consultant for the surveillance state- and deportation-enabling tech firm Palantir Technologies—had a decidedly different take on her selection. Under the hashtag #FeminismNotMilitarism, the women-led peace group CodePink tweeted that "appointing a woman to be the director of national intelligence DOES NOT justify, atone, or excuse the U.S. intelligence community's murderous drone strikes and violent counterterrorism strategies."
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She seems to be decent on refugees (except for when she worked at Palantir to develop tech innvolved in deportations) and some people said she lowered casualties for the drone program though so yay?
 
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LewieP

LewieP

Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,099
Utterly shocked that a war criminal would surround himself with other war criminals.
 

LudicrousSpeed

Member
Nov 2, 2017
2,243
Sign My Guestbook! said:
I figure this is done in mind that Republicans must vote on these candidates. Georgia is extremely far from a sure thing.
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No, this is done because this is who Joe Biden is and what he stands for. This is 100% a "MORE 👏 FEMALE 👏 PRISON 👏 GUARDS 👏" decision. More people ready to stand to promote torture, war crimes, and imperialism, but this time they're a woman.
 

Deleted member 8257

Oct 26, 2017
24,586
These cabinet picks are pretty godaamned disappointing, save for John Kerry.
 
Blader

Blader

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Oct 27, 2017
26,620
I think you are misreading one line in there. It was Haspel who destroyed the CIA torture tapes, not Haines. This also came up during Haspel's confirmation.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Blader said:
I think you are misreading one line in there. It was Haspel who destroyed the CIA torture tapes, not Haines. This also came up during Haspel's confirmation.
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Ah yeah oopsie, got a fever, she just supported Haspel and was involved with covering up other Bush torture shit along with the aforementioned Palantir tech and torture report nonsense. Would like to edit the thread title but I can't.
 
Volimar

Volimar

volunteer forum janitor
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Oct 25, 2017
38,515
Obama already had a drone program, but she was one of the people in charge of reforming his "playbook", the circumstances in which he authorized the use of drones. I'm not saying this to absolve her of her responsibility, the drone program was still used too often. Just clarifying the point.
 

Deleted member 34169

User requested account closure
Member
Nov 23, 2017
694
Probably helps to actually read the stuff you're bashing someone on correctly when you put that (incorrect) information in the actual title. Just another let's crucify Biden's picks thread even though your "research" is reading (incorrectly) a wikipedia entry.
 
Mcfrank

Mcfrank

Member
Oct 28, 2017
15,219
This is the 2nd ERA thread where the title about a Biden appointee does not match the facts/content of the thread. Can we stop making headlines like this? Or at least be right if people are gonna try to make pile on threads? Cool, thanks.
 
gogosox82

gogosox82

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,385
Volimar said:
Obama already had a drone program, but she was one of the people in charge of reforming his "playbook", the circumstances in which he authorized the use of drones. I'm not saying this to absolve her of her responsibility, the drone program was still used too often. Just clarifying the point.
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Your point is mentioned in the op.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
firenskill2000 said:
Probably helps to actually read the stuff you're bashing someone on correctly when you put that (incorrect) information in the actual title. Just another let's crucify Biden's picks thread even though your "research" is reading (incorrectly) a wikipedia entry.
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I already requested a title change. I had other links too, she absolutely deserves to be crucified (metaphorically).
 

madstarr12

Member
Jan 25, 2018
2,567
As expected, she's not a clean pick.

I'm curious tho, who would y'all pick that will meet your standards that will also get through a McConnell controlled senate?
 
Volimar

Volimar

volunteer forum janitor
Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,515
For reference, a few other would-have-been presidents on drone strikes:

Bernie Sanders said that they were important for assassinating "important terrorists" and refused to rule out using them though he would have taken the decision out of the CIA's hands and solely into the military's.

Elizabeth Warren said, "we must also dramatically curtail their use, institute protections to prevent civilian casualties; and provide maximum transparency when they do occur."

Mayor Pete wouldn't forbid the CIA from doing strikes because, "it is imprudent to be unflinchingly categorical when it comes to dynamic national security challenges."

Every modern president is a war criminal.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
madstarr12 said:
As expected, she's not a clean pick.

I'm curious tho, who would y'all pick that will meet your standards that will also get through a McConnell controlled senate?
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I'm operating on the assumption that none of these nominations are even gonna be brought up for a vote on the Senate floor unless Dems win both Georgia seats. I expect them to all be acting.
 

LudicrousSpeed

Member
Nov 2, 2017
2,243
Volimar said:
For reference, a few other would-have-been presidents on drone strikes:

Bernie Sanders said that they were important for assassinating "important terrorists" and refused to rule out using them though he would have taken the decision out of the CIA's hands and solely into the military's.

Elizabeth Warren said, "we must also dramatically curtail their use, institute protections to prevent civilian casualties; and provide maximum transparency when they do occur."

Mayor Pete wouldn't forbid the CIA from doing strikes because, "it is imprudent to be unflinchingly categorical when it comes to dynamic national security challenges."

Every modern president is a war criminal.
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It's almost as if the entire system was and remains rotten at it's core.
 
Akira86

Akira86

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,589
i'm sure he didn't hand pick her
who ever the people are who pick these cabinet prospects, who the fuck are they?
 

EAUA

Banned
Nov 8, 2019
211
Is someone really trying to make the case that Bernie is a war criminal???

ONE THE FIRST PAGE??!?!
 
Chikor

Chikor

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
14,239
madstarr12 said:
As expected, she's not a clean pick.

I'm curious tho, who would y'all pick that will meet your standards that will also get through a McConnell controlled senate?
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I have no idea what McConnel gonna do, I don't even know if the GOP will have the senate, but I'm pretty damn sure that if he decides to start blocking cabinet appointments it will not be principled, it will be scorched earth obstructionism just like the last time.

And really, Democrats just can't allow Mitch McConnel to be able to pick cabinet seats for a Democratic administration, this is insane escalation of partisanship and something that you have to resist with every tool in your disposal, you can't have a functioning government if you fold on this.

I also am really not sure Republicans like her, she worked for for Susan "the terror of Benghazi" Rice, and Republicans really hate her guts because, something something, murdered Navy seals with bare hands in Libya.
 
Transistor

Transistor

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Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,168
Washington, D.C.
Seeing that we have multiple threads for Biden's cabinet picks, let's consolidate the conversation to this one:

www.resetera.com

[NYT] Biden Will Nominate First Woman to Lead Intelligence, First Latino to Run Homeland Security [See OP for all picks] News

This is shaping up to be a pretty diverse administration. Liking the hires so far. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/us/politics/biden-nominees.html Chief of Staff: Ron Klain Sec State: A Blinken NSA: Jake Sullivan Sec Def: Michelle Flournoy *unconfirmed UN Ambassador: Linda...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com
 
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