Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

So, CIA Director Brennan says he wouldn't waterboard. And if the President told him to do it, he would say: 

"No, Mr. President. I refuse."

Wow. That's gutsy. However, if it applies theoretically, then it also applies in real life, right? And the fact is: we had a President who was waterboarding: George W. Bush. And Brennan was around.

He wasn't CIA director, but he was around. So, why didn't Brennan publicly condemn it? Why didn't he publicly announce that the current CIA director should refuse to do the waterboarding- no matter what the President ordered and threatened. That's because it's illegal; it's unConstitutional; and it's torture. 

Brennan has never criticized George W. Bush. He actually said that he did a good job of controlling ISIS. And recently, he praised his father: left, right, and down the middle.

In welcoming former President Bush, Director John O. Brennan said, “Your legacy resonates deeply, even to this day. From your name on the signs marking CIA headquarters, to your advocacy for CIA’s value in an increasingly complex world, to your vision of this Agency as one unit and one family, your tenure left a deep impression. This is your CIA in more than just name.  Welcome home.”

President Barack Obama sent a warm congratulation in honor of the occasion: “President George H.W. Bush is an extraordinary public servant who truly represents the best of our character as a Nation. I wholeheartedly join Director Brennan in welcoming President Bush back to CIA Headquarters and in thanking him for his decades of wise and selfless service to our country.”

What Brennan's statement was really about was reacting to Trump, who said that, as President, he would waterboard. But, that's all in the future- maybe. Wouldn't it be better to respond to waterboarding that actually happened? If it 's bad enough to warrant defying a sitting President, then isn't it bad enough to condemn a President who actually used it?