Gina Haspel, alleged water-boarder, could be the next CIA director

REASONABLE people can disagree about Gina Haspel’s fitness to lead the CIA. On the one hand, Ms Haspel, who has been nominated for the position by President Donald Trump and was grilled by the Senate Intelligence Committee on May 9th, has been a highly regarded member of the agency for 33 years. She would also be the first women to lead it. On the other hand, her post-9/11 role managing a secret prison in Thailand where “enhanced interrogation” techniques such as waterboarding were used on an al-Qaeda prisoner recalls a bleak episode. She was also controversially involved in destroying evidence of those interrogations. Yet Ms Haspel’s confirmation hearing was less an honest airing of this dilemma than a partisan mud-wrestle.

In her opening remarks, she sought to head off the coming Democratic assault on her interrogation record. “Having served in that tumultuous time,” she said, “I can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership, CIA will not restart such a detention and interrogation programme.” Yet, under questioning from Kamala Harris of California, she refused to say whether she considered that programme “immoral”. How could she? If it was not immoral, it would probably still be legal. Yet to admit its immorality would be a damning indictment of her record and deeply unpopular at the CIA. Democratic senators, most of whom will vote against Ms Haspel, may cite this as a decisive moment.