CIA Director Leon Panetta: Pelosi Was Told the Truth
New CIA Director Leon Panetta, who was appointed by President Obama earlier this year, wrote in a memo yesterday that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi lies when she says the CIA did not fully and honestly inform her about Enhanced Interrogation Techniques (EIT).
Panetta, President Obama’s pick to run the clandestine agency and President Clinton’s former chief of staff, wrote in a memo to CIA employees Friday that “CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing ‘the enhanced techniques that had been employed,’” according to CIA records.
“We are an agency of high integrity, professionalism and dedication,” Panetta said in the memo. “Our task is to tell it like it is — even if that’s not what people always want to hear. Keep it up. Our national security depends on it.”
He added: “My advice — indeed, my direction — to you is straightforward: Ignore the noise and stay focused on your mission. We have too much work to do to be distracted from our job of protecting this country.”
TheHill.com rightfully calls the memo a ‘pep-talk,’ which is actually quite sad. The CIA director feels forced to send his agents a memo to encourage them to “focus on their mission” because the speaker of the House of Representatives – who happens to be an extremely partisan and ideological hack – lied about the agency in order to save her own sorry butt. Pelosi’s conduct really is unacceptable. This memo should suffice to force her to step down.
Meanwhile, Pelosi continues to change her story. She admitted earlier this week that she knew back in 2003 that the CIA waterboarded terrorists.
As said, Pelosi’s conduct is unacceptable. She should step down immediately. Not only is she lying, she is also endangering national security by forcing the CIA to focus on political survival rather than on protecting the country.
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But isn’t it important that Panetta isn’t promising that the agency’s account is perfectly reliable as to who was told about what and when? Is that the usual MO for a CIA director – to say something quite adamantly but leave a corner open to baseline skepticism? I ask because I have no idea. Panetta himself says that it is ultimately up to congress to investigate – to determine the truth about what different people of congress were actually told.
Even the most important figure heading the strongest counter to Pelosi is saying that it’s up to congress. Asking for Pelosi to be the only member to stand down before an actual investigation has taken place seems like wishful thinking – Panetta himself isn’t willing to promise that Pelosi is lying to save her regretful posterior, so why should she step down before an investigation takes place even when she is saying that she would hold up in front of a commission?
I think Gingrich and the like don’t realize that they could inadvertently make a commission more likely in their attempts to nail their hated enemy.
Yeah they are all lying. I propose the USA shut down. Bring all their troops home. Stop buying anything from overseas….especially from Sweeden and let China have the world.
Yeah thats the ticket. Then we wont need a cia or a military and we can depend upon Mexico and Canada to defend us.
With a house and senate full of liars for power and money whats the point anymore. It just keeps getting worse instead of better. We can build battery cars so we dont need to buy oil. We can build solar and windmills so we dont need gas or coal on windy days.
Yeah I think that because America is so full of liars that its time to just pull the plug on us and call it quits. We are a worthless piece of art who is like styrofoam. We just won’t decompose.
Panetta and Obama are in the unevciable position of needing to hold up marale at the CIA, regardless of what happened in that agency during the Bush-Cheney years.
The US needs the CIA just like it needs the banks,and both institutions have to be protected, regardless of past practices.
If the GOP, the party of personal responsibility, doesn’t stop hiding behind Pelosi’s skirts (the old ‘Nancy did it , too’ excuse), we may get the Truth Commisssion she wants, and to which she is prepared to testify under oath. That could unavel the CIA as an institution at a time when inteliggence ganthering is desperately needed.
If that’s what you want, just keep spinning these Pelosi stories. Just be prepared for more dirty laundy to come out than we, as a nation, can cope with without threaening the basic instituions that hold us together.
Oh we want the truth meitene.
We want all those democrats to pay for their lies. You know. They didnt know nothing about Bush and the NSA. Nothing about torture, even though everyone except the press has reported they were routinely briefed and kept well informed of those events.
But no the Left wants its witch hunt. They want to try Bush and Cheney. So fine. Lets just take about 50 senators and representatives with them though.
I believe in term limits. Perhaps this is the only way to get them.
Doomed,
If the Democrats are liars, then the Truth Cmmossion would unover that.
If you are so sure of facts, why not go go for the truth?
But then, ‘getting them’ is your aim, isn’t it?: the very thing you accuse the Democrats of.
BTW, I readily agree that there are Democrats who lie just like there are Republicans who lie. There are Evangelicals who lie, just like atheists sometimes lie and cheat. We are all subject to the follies of human nature. But group on group warfare doesn’t produce the truth.
Pelosi isn’t afaid of the truth, even it it hurts her personally. Why should you be? Are right wingers afraid of Pelosi? Is that what this is about?
The problem is, no matter what comes out, it will damage people in both political parties,and wit will hurt the ability of either party to govern. As I said some time ago, there is a time to bring all this out, and to make amends. But the time is not while the debate is still going on – its probably ten or twenty years from now. Much like the Japanese Americans who sued and received token compensation. Franklin D. Roosevelt and General Witt were long dead, and out of the reach of the courts. The nation could admit that it had wronged its citizens, apologize, and make a monetary payment to people who had actually been hurt, and move on. Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen with a truth commission or congressional hearing or hearings and prosecution.
Like it or not, the decisions to use very forceful questioning methodology was promoted by a real sense of immediate threat of major attacks and death tolls. Over reaction is not surprising. These folks were responsible for the lives of citizens, and there had been actual attacks which had killed thousands. It is easy from the comfortable position of nearly eight years later to claim that we should not abuse prisoners, under any circumstances. at the time, it seemed like the only way to get answers and prevent another strike. Much as FDR believed he had o prevent another raid on the West Cost, or sabotage by persons sympathetic to Japan. “making an example” out of the Bush administration is not going to prevent the Obama administration, or whatever follows it from making similar decisions. If anything, it simply encourages the security apparatus to be even more secretive and more vicious, because they will believe that they are going to have to do this to protect the nation in spite of itself.
For those who think Obama was wrong to sell out and adopt Bush administration policies for military tribunals, and long term military prisons, all I can say is, “Welcome to reality.” The candidate is growing up, and discovering that now that HE, President Obama is responsible for the lives of citizens, some of the practices of his predecessor look a lot less objectionable. They may be unsavory, but they may be the best choice from a selection of very ugly options. Welcome to the reality of fighting an enemy who thinks that beheading journalists and film makers, or making guided missiles out of commercial airliners is acceptable. I suspect that if you asked most of the family members of the victims of any of these attacks about it, they would do something that is a lot nastier than waterboarding if they had any of the suspected al Qaida folks in their hands. I don’t want my government to use torture. But I am also aware that sometimes, very ugly things will appear to be the least bad choice in times of war. I want to be able to believe that if that decision is made, be it by George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, or Barack Obama or Joe Biden, it will be as deliberate and thoughtful a decision as possible, and it will be supported by the leaders of the government, who will support each other. It is clear that this is not going to be the case in any investigation into the previous administration’s practices. Barack Obama was correct to agree early on to not get into an investigation. Too bad he waffled, and too bad the Speaker decided to change her views of torture. It looks more like partisan politics than principled behavior from this perspective.
I don’t break the laws. Which is good because I often feel like surrendering to nihilism and doing whatever I want. If every person reasoned like you, Orson, we would all die. It’s actually that simple. All your words lie on a sandbank that can be washed away in an instant.
OH say it aint true.
Democrats lie? Oh no! We know thats not true. They are pompous, self righteous, self indulgent multimillionaires who claim they are all for the little guy.
You know. Those guys that are going to solve poverty. You know those guys that are going to give you health care and all that good stuff.
No they dont lie. They are now in control. They are in total control. Cloture proof. Whatever they want they get.
So are they solving poverty? Stop crime? Passing laws to legalize Gay Marriage?
Huh?
Are they passing welfare reform. Raising taxes on the rich? Cutting taxes on the poor? ARe they doing one thing they promised?
What about Amnesty for the Illegals? One thing they are doing?
No not a thing. What they are doing is screaming for George W. Bush’s head. They want truth commissions. They want the Republicans to pay.
When is anyone ever gonnna realize that the Democrats are the biggest liars in the world….well besides Republicans.
They are just stirring the pot, making you and me argue over Truth Commissions so we forget all their broken promises so that in 2 years they can run on the same tired lies they have run on the last 200 years.
Truth commission? Try this one.. A democrat went to congress and he Lied. He was taught how to by his Republican buddy and then they both somehow convinced us that its the other side whose at fault.
Yeah name one thing the Democrats have done besides spend money on the RICH banks and AIG. One thing?
“They are just stirring the pot, making you and me argue over Truth Commissions so we forget all their broken promises so that in 2 years they can run on the same tired lies they have run on the last 200 years.”
I want those guilty of betraying the trust of their voters to be indicted no matter their party, unlike the people who are nodding at what Cheney (the guy who got the US stuck with two wars and oversaw and decline of republicanism to one in five voters?) is saying without considering the possible illegality of his acts, while then turning around and laying all the ills of the world on Pelosi.
A proper truth commission designed and enforced to not cave in front of democrat obfuscation and republican media spin is the essence of government accountability, which is a value America really needs right now.
“Yeah name one thing the Democrats have done besides spend money on the RICH banks and AIG. One thing?”
Made it impossible to subject people to what is arguably torture, shifted the war effort to a region that matters, lifted the ban on stem cell research funding…
Made it impossible to subject people to what is arguably torture, shifted the war effort to a region that matters, lifted the ban on stem cell research funding?
Okay now there you go. Arguably.
Lets see were still in Iraq even though Obama for the longest claimed the day he took office he would start pulling troops out in 16 months.
Yeah Afghanistan. Lets see we are going to take over pakistans nukes….yeah and Im the pope.
ban on stem cell research…….what a crooked web we weave. There was no ban on stem cell research. There was only the government saying they would not fund it. Rich Sweedes could pour their money into stem cell research all they wanted too.
In America we are kind of like this……..if its not promising…we dont pay for it. If its most likely gonna cost a whole lot more then its worth…we dont pay for it and if there simply is no money to be made we wont fund it.
But the Democrats have a plan…”I know…lets pour money into stem cell research….you know that stuff that no company, pharmaceutical or endowment will touch because its all absolutely “spin” by the left to find something to criticize the right with.
Your right. He did lift the ban on stem cell research.. That really helped the poor, Gay and Illegals didnt it??
You mean you pay lip service to this. If you indeed believed what you spew you would be equally rabid on the Democrats.
Instead of oh so quiet. Or like that one paragraph – turning around and blaming the GOP instead.
Fact – the US would not be in Iraq if it were not for the Democrat’s involvement.
Deal with it.
Swede’s care about what the US doesn’t spend money on – not what they do.
So essentially Obama takes over the USA and the first thing that happens in the war on terror is that a rag tag band of nomads takes over a Nuclear nation and becomes Nuclear armed, all the while the us claims a team of a couple dozen black ops…oh im impressed…is going to go secure Pakistans nukes.
Yeah right.
Gotta love how the democrats manage a war.
This incidently is why I keep saying we need to just leave Afghanistan and not look silly with Obama leading us at war. He has to check with Michael Moore and moveon.org every night for instructions. Why waste another life in Afghanistan for Michael Moore and moveon.org??
“Instead of oh so quiet. Or like that one paragraph – turning around and blaming the GOP instead.”
I’m blaming both here and that is apparent. I’m just pointing out that the sudden focus on Pelosi is a transparent demand to force a right-wing narrative. The fact that republicans have an ambiguous relationship with one of the most problematic and partisan VPs ever is a bit frightening. But as long as he’s good at memetic babble they can’t let go off him – barring an actual change in strategy rancorous tacticians are their only hope.
“Fact – the US would not be in Iraq if it were not for the Democrat’s involvement.
Deal with it.”
They didn’t design the stupidly flawed and therefore dearly problematic war effort. Also, the current democrat president voted against the war and still got more approval than an ex-POW. Deal with that.
“Swede’s care about what the US doesn’t spend money on – not what they do.”
More armchair wisdom, I see.
“He has to check with Michael Moore and moveon.org every night for instructions. Why waste another life in Afghanistan for Michael Moore and moveon.org??”
At times I am given the impression that you are trying to amuse me.