John Kiriakou
The Reformer
Changing the system from inside it, principle turned into change.
John Kiriakou is The Reformer in its most literal form, a leader whose authority derives from confronting the institution that made him. As a former CIA officer and whistleblower, his leadership was an act of dissent from the inside, accepting personal cost to force accountability. His conversation on The Diary of a CEO carried that same weight, principle asserted against power, which is the Reformer's defining signature.
“I blew the whistle on the CIA's torture program because my superiors kept repeating that torture worked — but besides being illegal, immoral, unethical, it just wasn't true.”
“I would let them send me to prison again because it was the right thing to do. I'm not remorseful, I'm not contrite.”
“Either we're going to be the good guys or we're not — either we're going to be what Ronald Reagan called a shining city on a hill, or we're not. The law never changed. We changed.”
The Diary of a CEO: “CIA Whistleblower: They Can See All Your Messages! I Was Under Surveillance In Pakistan!”
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