In this video acTVism Munich interviews former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst, Ray McGovern, who talks about his experience in the agency and the reasons that led him to become an activist and outspoken critic of the US government. The interview surfaces a number of issues that include: “Enhanced interrogation techniques“ a euphemism for the US government’s program of systematic torture, the role that European governments played in supporting this program, Edward Snowden and the NSA affair, the significance of activism in todays day and age, etc.
Why did President Obama, despite his campaign promises, not pursue meaningful change within the CIA?
Who is Edward Snowden? Is he a traitor or a hero?
What is the role of activism in all of this and what consequences will the European and US population face if they fail to organize and mobilize for change?
These questions and more are addressed in the video below:
TRANSCRIPT:
This transcript may not be 100 percent accurate.
Zain Raza: Ray McGovern is a retired CIA officer, turned political activist. McGovern was a CIA analyst from 1963 to 1990 and in the 1980s chaired National Intelligence Estimates and prepared the presidents daily briefing. Mr. Ray McGovern, thank you for joining us.
Zain Raza: In 2006, you returned your Intelligence Commendation Medal. Could you describe your experience and why you made this decision?
Ray McGovern: Yes. It was a time when the director of the CIA was openly pleading for an exception of legislation being drafted by Senator John McCain, prohibiting US government officials from torturing people. And, you know, I was not naïve. I knew about some experience on the operational part of the CIA with Latin American services and so forth having to do with torture. But this was the first time that the CIA was openly advocating for permission to be able to torture. And that seemed to me so abhorrent that I wanted to disassociate myself from the CIA for the first time since 1963, because I…