Now Gina Haspel has been sworn in as the CIA's first female director, it is time the government speak out on a matter in which it has kept silent for over a decade.

President Donald Trump's pick of the 61-year-old Russian specialist who spent her career in the Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine service, to take over the top position of the agency sparked a fierce debate ahead of Senate voting over Ms Haspel's role involving torture techniques she used for the interrogation of terror suspects in the post-9/11 era.

She was confirmed by the Senate recently in a 54-45 vote, despite the deep reservations of some lawmakers about her past involvement in the torture.