It would seem to be a fairly safe assumption to say that if presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump wins the election, CIA Director John Brennan will not be continuing in his role in the new administration.
Brennan, who has already expressed his distaste for Trump, doubled down on his opposition to the candidate‘s suggestions that he would bring back interrogation techniques like waterboarding to use against captured terrorists in the fight against radical Islamic jihadism.
According to The Hill, in remarks delivered to the Brookings Institute on Wednesday, Brennan declared, “I’m not going to be the director of CIA that gives that order. I think they’re going to need to find another director.”
Despite the director’s adamant refusal to follow hypothetical orders from the next president relating to the use of waterboarding, he nevertheless defended the effectiveness of the practice when it was used during the Bush administration.
“The agencies’ detention and interrogation program, I believe, was instrumental in keeping this country safe in the aftermath of 9/11,” he said, according to The Hill. “There were individuals that were subjected to these (enhanced interrogation techniques) that subsequent to that provided information that was in fact, credible and worthwhile for pursuit.”
It is worth noting that President Barack Obama classified waterboarding as “torture” in a 2009 executive order that was subsequently included into the following year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which bans the U.S. government from using torture on prisoners or detained enemy combatants.