Ex-CIA officer says US division on political issues reaches peak

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
5 Oct 2023 00:36

Former CIA officer, John Kiriakou tells Al Mayadeen that the ouster of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has intensified the division between Americans.

John Kiriakou accepts the First Amendment Award at the PEN Center USA's 25th Annual Literacy Awards Festival at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Monday, Nov. 16, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. (AP)

Former CIA officer John Kiriakou confirmed to Al Mayadeen that the ousted Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, "lied to both sides," referring to both Republican and Democratic parties.

Kiriakou further stated, "We have never been this divided politically in the history of our country," adding that in the absence of an official budget in the country, it will be difficult to provide support to Ukraine.

"We have never been this divided politically in the history of our country."

Former #CIA analyst John Kiriakou discusses the widening rift between the #Democrats and #Republicans in the #UnitedStates.@JohnKiriakou pic.twitter.com/A1BXF6pRb9
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 4, 2023

It is important to note that McCarthy was ousted Tuesday as speaker of the US House of Representatives in a historic rebellion by far-right Republicans furious at his cooperation with Democrats.

For the first time in its 234-year history, the House backed a resolution "to vacate the office of the speaker" with a 216-210 vote setting the stage for an unprecedented contest to replace McCarthy a year before the presidential election.

The ouster was supported by only a handful of right-wing Republican hardliners. However, the House was almost evenly divided and with Democrats joining eight rebel Republicans rather than riding to McCarthy's rescue, he had no way to survive. No other speaker has been ousted in US history.

The 58-year-old had sparked fury among conservatives when he passed a bipartisan stopgap funding measure at the weekend backed by the White House to avert a government shutdown.