John Kiriakou is a former CIA analyst and counterterrorism operations officer and one of America’s most widely recognized national security whistleblowers. Following the September 11 attacks, he served as the CIA’s chief of counterterrorism operations in Pakistan, where he led teams involved in early raids against al-Qaeda leadership. He later became Executive Assistant to the CIA’s Deputy Director for Operations and served as the Director of Central Intelligence’s principal briefer on Iraq.

In 2007, Kiriakou became the first former CIA officer to publicly confirm that the agency used waterboarding and other forms of torture against detainees, and that these practices were official U.S. policy approved at the highest levels of government. His disclosure triggered a multi-year federal investigation that culminated in his prosecution. To avoid a trial that could have resulted in decades of imprisonment and permanent separation from his family, Kiriakou accepted a plea agreement and served 30 months in federal prison. He remains the only CIA officer to go to prison in connection with the U.S. torture program, despite never having tortured anyone himself.

Since his release, Kiriakou has continued to write and speak about national security, government secrecy, civil liberties, and the personal cost of conscience. He has received numerous awards for integrity and civic courage, including the PEN First Amendment Award, the Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence, and the Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage. His story has become part of the historical record, with portraits held by the Smithsonian Institution, the Tate Modern, and the Museum of Peace.

Kiriakou is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reluctant Spy, Doing Time Like a Spy, and The Convenient Terrorist. He writes regularly for Consortium News and Covert Action Magazine and continues to be a leading voice on the realities and consequences of America’s national security state.