Kiriakou, who was released from prison in the last year, recounts what led him to reveal to ABC News in 2007 that the United States was torturing prisoners. He explains how the CIA, under the direction of the Bush Administration, systematically engaged in torture of suspects. He says that the program was ineffective and that the CIA ultimately “tortured for torture's sake.”
Kiriakou recalls his time in Pakistan post-9/11 when he led raids on the safe houses of al-Qaeda suspects including his role in the arrest of Abu Zubaydah, then thought to be the third highest ranking member of the organization. He explains what turned him into an outspoken critic of the CIA, the war in Iraq and explains why he was singled out for prosecution and imprisonment. Kiriakou explains what it was like to spend nearly two years behind bars, and how this experience shaped his views about the need for prison reform in the US.
