# Lawrence Wilkerson > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "Lawrence Wilkerson," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/lawrence-wilkerson/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *Retired Army colonel, chief of staff and closest friend to Secretary of State Colin Powell; John Kiriakou counts him among the most consequential military whistleblowers, cites his count of 108 deaths in military custody, and says Wilkerson confirmed on air that Powell's UN case for the Iraq war was knowingly "sold."* - **Role:** Chief of Staff to Colin Powell - **Per Kiriakou:** Confirmed the Iraq case was "sold" - **Also per Kiriakou:** Source of the figure of 108 deaths in US military custody **Lawrence Wilkerson** is the retired U.S. Army colonel who served as chief of staff to Secretary of State [Colin Powell](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/colin-powell). In [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s account he was also Powell's best friend: the two came up through the military together and served alongside each other for years before Powell reached the State Department.[1] Kiriakou describes him as a friend of his own circle and as a man for whom he has *"incredible respect."*[1][2] ## On the Iraq case Kiriakou recounts interviewing Wilkerson on his program, where Wilkerson confirmed that the [Iraq WMD case](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iraq-wmd-intelligence) Powell presented at the UN was knowingly *"sold"* to the public. Kiriakou says the confirmation nearly knocked him off his chair: *"I was lucky I was sitting on the chair otherwise I almost fell off."*[3] Wilkerson is also Kiriakou's source for what Powell thought of himself. Powell had risen from lieutenant colonel to four-star general in four years under Ronald Reagan — faster, Kiriakou observes, than George Washington was promoted. In their private moments, Kiriakou says, Wilkerson *"will tell you"* that Powell admitted he was in over his head, that he should not have been promoted so quickly, and that he was weak in the weapons-of-mass-destruction debate; Powell told Wilkerson at the time, and wrote in his memoirs years later, that he should have resigned and had ruined his reputation by going along with what Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld wanted him to say.[4][5] ## The count of 108 Wilkerson is the authority Kiriakou defers to on how many detainees died in American custody. Asked how many prisoners were killed under torture, Kiriakou distinguishes the [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) deaths he knows of — the two he briefed in 2002, plus the three at Guantánamo documented by the former guard Joe Hickman — from the far larger military figure, and says he has always believed the true number is higher than five, having wondered whether prisoners were killed off the books at sites like the [salt pit](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/salt-pit) and simply never reported.[6][2] On the total, his position is deference: *"If Larry Wilkerson, who I have incredible respect for, is saying that the number was as high as that … I'm gonna believe Larry Wilkerson"* — a figure of 108 dead in military custody, later confirmed by the Associated Press at exactly the same number.[2][7][8] ## Among the military whistleblowers Kiriakou places Wilkerson in a lineage rather than treating him as a single source. Asked why so many of the most consequential whistleblowers in American history have come from the military, he lists Wilkerson alongside [Daniel Ellsberg](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/daniel-ellsberg) and Tony Russo, Ron Ridenhour, [Chelsea Manning](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/chelsea-manning), Joe Darby, Matthew Hoh and Danny Davis — and attributes the pattern to the oath: in the military, unlike most civilian life, you must swear to uphold and defend the Constitution, and those who swear it take it seriously.[9][10] ## On Trump and Netanyahu Kiriakou also cites Wilkerson as a source on the personal relationship between Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/benjamin-netanyahu). Puzzling over an apparent public rift between the two, Kiriakou offers Wilkerson's read as the ordinary explanation: the two men simply dislike each other, so friction between them is nothing unusual — *"Colonel Wilkerson said they do not like each other. So them fighting is normal."*[11] ## See also - [Colin Powell](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/colin-powell) - [Iraq WMD intelligence](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iraq-wmd-intelligence) - [Salt pit](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/salt-pit) ## Sources 1. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-11-04), at 12:02. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9O8Ad-nL3Y&t=722s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-04-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/ 2. Ep. 5150 – John Kiriakou on the Brutal CIA Torture of Abu (2019-12-30), at 22:08. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmUsmRQO_cQ&t=1328s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2019-12-30-scott-horton/ 3. CIA Enemy of the State, with CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou (2024-07-27), at 12:33. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSZLMPdMGFQ&t=753s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2024-07-27-saltcube-cia-enemy-of-the-state/ 4. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-11-04), at 12:33. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9O8Ad-nL3Y&t=753s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-04-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/ 5. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2025-11-04), at 13:04. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9O8Ad-nL3Y&t=784s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-11-04-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/ 6. Ep. 5150 – John Kiriakou on the Brutal CIA Torture of Abu (2019-12-30), at 21:35. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmUsmRQO_cQ&t=1295s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2019-12-30-scott-horton/ 7. Ep. 5150 – John Kiriakou on the Brutal CIA Torture of Abu (2019-12-30), at 22:39. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmUsmRQO_cQ&t=1359s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2019-12-30-scott-horton/ 8. Ep. 5150 – John Kiriakou on the Brutal CIA Torture of Abu (2019-12-30), at 20:34. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmUsmRQO_cQ&t=1234s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2019-12-30-scott-horton/ 9. War & Military · Exposing Crimes is Not a Crime · John Kiriakou, Jesselyn Radack... · (2026-03-20), at 31:02. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8HH4U7_tKo&t=1862s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-disruption-network-lab-war-military-exposing-crimes-is-not-a-crime-jo/ 10. War & Military · Exposing Crimes is Not a Crime · John Kiriakou, Jesselyn Radack... · (2026-03-20), at 31:32. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8HH4U7_tKo&t=1892s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-disruption-network-lab-war-military-exposing-crimes-is-not-a-crime-jo/ 11. John Kiriakou: The CIA Whistleblower Who Went to Prison for Telling the Truth (2026-06-08), at 33:16. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr1NKUPsP-g&t=1996s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-06-08-ddgeopolitics-prison-for-truth/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/lawrence-wilkerson/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt