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| Home Front: Politix | ||
| Pelosi draws response from CIA, criticism from GOP, Barry punts | ||
| 2009-05-15 | ||
| WASHINGTON -- The head of the CIA defended the agency Friday against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's charge that she was misled in 2002 about the use of waterboarding, but he said it ultimately is up to Congress to decide where the truth lies. "Let me be clear. It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress," CIA Director Leon Panetta wrote in a message to agency employees that was released to the public. "That is against our laws and our values." Referring to Pelosi's remarks, he said, "The political debate over interrogation reached a new decibel level yesterday." Panetta's rebuttal was far more muted that a counterattack the Republicans unleashed against Pelosi. "I think her accusations against our terror-fighters are irresponsible and, according to the CIA's record, Speaker Pelosi was briefed on what had been done," said Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, the senior Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "It's outrageous that a member of Congress would call our terror-fighters liars." Pelosi drew the criticism a day after opening her weekly news conference with a prepared statement accusing agency briefers of misleading her in 2002 in connection with the use of waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning. In the statement, she repeated that she was not told that waterboarding had been used, even though it had been, and said an aide informed her of its use after other lawmakers had been briefed in 2003. And now...the AP spin. Pelosi has been the target of a campaign orchestrated in recent days by the House Republican leadership, which is eager to undercut her statements as well as stick Democrats with partial responsibility for the use of waterboarding in the Bush administration. Some Democrats have expressed surprise that she chose to inject herself more deeply into the controversy, especially at a time when President Barack Obama enjoys widespread public support and Republicans are suffering extremely low approval ratings. Associates of the California Democrat say she decided it was an error to allow Republican attacks to go unanswered any longer. At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs decided to stay out of the controversy. "I appreciate the invitation to get involved but I'll decline to R.S.V.P.." He said the president wanted to look forward, not back.
An unclassified chart released last month by the CIA describes a total of 40 briefings for lawmakers over a period of several years on enhanced interrogation techniques. Pelosi's name appears once, as having attended a session on Sept. 4, 2002, when she was the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. Former Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., who at the time was the chairman of the committee and later became CIA director, also was present. While Goss has scoffed at Pelosi's description of the briefing, other lawmakers have challenged the accuracy of the CIA's overall reconstruction of events. So Panetta says she's fulla crap, Barry punts, and the Republicans salivate. Looks like the only one's trying to cover her ass is the AP...
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| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #2 Bammo votes 'present' again. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2009-05-15 19:27 |
| #1 Bob "I pre-Twitter tweeted to myself" Graham is trying to defend her, but his reputation as a flake is already in from his boffo Presidential campaign run (you might have missed it if you blinked) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-05-15 18:43 |