President Donald Trump has tapped Gina Haspel to head the...

President Donald Trump has tapped Gina Haspel to head the Central Intelligence Agency. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to lead the CIA. Credit: AFP/Getty Images / HANDOUT

Gina Haspel could become the first woman to head the Central Intelligence Agency. But is she a good choice?

I cheer for women. To see a woman break the glass ceiling is always exhilarating and welcome. But Haspel, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the CIA, has some explaining to do.

Haspel is known for having a supervisory post in Thailand in 2002, when a secret CIA prison there used so-called enhanced interrogation, which is akin to torture, and waterboarding of detainees. In addition, she was accused of ordering the destruction of videotaped evidence of the interrogation, but a Justice Department investigation cleared her of any wrongdoing.

The torture of detainees was one of the darkest chapters in American history. But should we hold that against Haspel, a 30-year veteran of the agency?

Much depends on how she addresses the issue during her confirmation hearing, scheduled for May 9, although some senators expressed concern earlier this week. Context matters. The immediate post-9/11 world was quite different from today. Back then, we were a nation in mourning and on high alert. Wisely, subsequent changes to federal law made enhanced interrogation illegal. But history has a way of not forgetting.

The Haspel hearing would give Americans an opportunity to revisit this ugly period in our history. The CIA hid and interrogated “high value” captives at secret prisons in multiple countries as part of a covert system of locations in Eastern Europe, Thailand and Afghanistan. Do we forgive and forget, or do we deny those who followed orders their opportunity to lead? Haspel will have to decide how much responsibility to take for her actions and how to demonstrate her leadership abilities.

Having a woman lead the CIA is important, both symbolically and substantively. The closest the CIA has come to having a female director was Jami Miscik, who rose from the agency’s analytic ranks to become deputy director of intelligence under President Barack Obama. She was bounced in 2015 in a shake-up under then-CIA Director Porter Goss.

At the risk of gender generalizations, an intelligent woman brings life experiences to the table and opens the way for girls and women to see national security as a viable career path. We benefit from inclusion and equality in all fields. Haspel would get my support if she can explain the context of 2002, take responsibility for her actions, and lay out how she will lead American intelligence into the future.

Tara D. Sonenshine served as U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. She advises students at The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.

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