Democrats knew


Outrage or political posturing? You judge
Remember this when you hear the Congressional Democrats protesting about the destroyed CIA tapes.

Yet long before "waterboarding" entered the public discourse, the CIA gave key legislative overseers about 30 private briefings, some of which included descriptions of that technique and other harsh interrogation methods, according to interviews with multiple U.S. officials with firsthand knowledge.

With one known exception, no formal objections were raised by the lawmakers briefed about the harsh methods during the two years in which waterboarding was employed, from 2002 to 2003, said Democrats and Republicans with direct knowledge of the matter. The lawmakers who held oversight roles during the period included Pelosi and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Sens. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), as well as Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.) and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan).

Individual lawmakers' recollections of the early briefings varied dramatically, but officials present during the meetings described the reaction as mostly quiet acquiescence, if not outright support. "Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing," said Goss, who chaired the House intelligence committee from 1997 to 2004 and then served as CIA director from 2004 to 2006. "And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement."

Unfortunately this illustrates the Democrat attitude towards the Bush Administration's abuse of power. They aren't outraged about what has happened as much as they are that it's a Republican president doing it. Their objections are carefully timed for the best political impact.

Which doesn't give me reason to trust their objections.

Government is not your friend.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sun - December 9, 2007 at 07:33 PM  Tag


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