Thursday, May 14, 2009

So She Lied.

Because we expect our politicians to tell us the truth?

Madame Speaker, it is clear that one of two things happen. First, you attended a briefing, stayed awake, and were made fully aware of what was going as it pertained to the treatment of captured terrorists. Second, you attended a briefing but were too busy to pay attention because you were thinking about how to undercut the Bush Administration and therefore misheard everything that was said about it.

Not looking too good for Nancy Pelosi is it?

What should she do about it is the real question? The documents, so far, are pretty damning when it comes to what happened. The CIA has her down at the meeting when the leadership of the parties in Congress were briefed about what was going on with captured terrorists (aka enemy combtants aka outlaws). Yes, she is saying that the "Bush Administration lied to me!" However, do we really believe that?

Anytime an official gets caught with knowledge that is politically embarrassing, that is the first thing they say. JFK claims he was mislead over the Bay of Pigs. Regan maintained he didn't know about Iran-Contra.

However, the question is what is Pelosi to do now? She can keep with the Big Lie defense. She probably will. There are enough die-hard Democrats in San Francisco who will accept this. Because, after all, we "know" that the only people that Bush Administration never lied to was its own supporters (i.e. corporations it was protecting).

But is this the right decision? Is it serving Ms. Pelosi's constituents? Is it serving the needs of the American people? Or is it simply preserving her own power?

Let's try something radical here Madame Speaker. Tell the truth. Admit that you heard everything. Admit that you were aware of what was going on.

Of course, what she is going to do is claim that is a plot by conservative elements of the CIA and Defense Department to disparage her and bring her down. She will, most likely, be an eager advocate of further restraints on the military and the intelligence agencies. She will probably also enthusiastically vote to cut their budgets.

Because as we all "know" it their fault for being evil underhanded agencies of the former Bush Administration.

Because as well all "know" the Democratic leadership in Congress would never do things like that.

2 comments:

Reaganite Republican Resistance said...

Apparently Pelosi and Obama forgot something: the CIA KILLS people… it’s in their job description.

Did those two really think that these killers were going to just meekly take-one-for-the-team… when the team captain is a lying, incompetent, arrogant nebbish who has basically told them they need to kiss his ring? -please

Obama really kicked an ant hill with his ill-advised and politically motivated release of Bush Administration memos regarding EITs- I’m sure he already regrets it.

Let’s have a hearing and get it all out there, shall we? Then watch the rats scatter who attacked Bush for protecting the country from terrorist attack… but who clearly knew what was going on five years before we heard a peep from them.

http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/

Ray said...

Reaganite Republican Resistance: Also in the CIA's job description: lying and deception. Personally, I don't care who goes down in this, anyone who knew that the CIA was torturing, has engaged in a criminal conspiracy and should go to jail.

If that includes Pelosi, it doesn't bother me, but Wandering Bell, you must have slept through most of your classes in law school.

The is no evidence in that LA Times article that you linked to that supports your contention the Pelosi is lying. The salient quote, 'A chart compiled by the CIA indicates that Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was briefed on Sept. 4, 2002, on the agency's interrogation of alleged Al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah, and that the session covered "the particular [enhanced interrogation techniques] that had been employed." '

Well there isn't any question that the meeting happened, so the only relevant part of the quote is that 'the session covered the particular [enhanced interrogation techniques] that had been employed."' Ignoring for a second the parenthetical, that is exactly what Pelosi is saying that they are lying about.

Did the CIA briefers tell Pelosi that they were waterboarding Abu Zubaydah?

Pelosi says no, the CIA says yes. There is no evidence presented here that would allow on to make a decision.

On thing that I willing to go out on a limb on though, is that whatever the CIA briefers did not tell Congress that they had waterboarded Abu Zubaydah 83 times in the previous month. Any sane person would have realized that needing to waterboard anyone that many times is a sure sign that 1) waterboarding doesn't work and 2) whoever order that treatment is a deranged sadist.

Oh and by the way, Reaganite Republican Resistance, September 11, 2001 was during the Bush administration, so I wouldn't get so high and mighty about how Bush protected the country from terrorist attack.