NEOAVATARA

I was never a complete fan of the Bush administration’s policies on detainess.  To this day, I think they would have been better served giving them Geneva Convention protections.  But past is past.

Except for Democrats.

Despite President Obama’s refusals to the contrary, it appears that Attorney General Eric Holder may go ahead with large scale investigations of the Bush-era policies.  I also am suspicious of Obama’s denials.  Sure, he doesn’t want to be politically linked to the investigations…but that does not mean he doesn’t want them to take place.

The Democrats received a small boost this week for investigations when CIA Director Leon Panetta disclosed that there was one CIA program that was apparently kept under wraps by the CIA under the Bush White House.   News reports say that Vice President Dick Cheney was responsible for the secrecy.  Intelligence and Congressional officials have said the unidentified program did not involve the C.I.A. interrogation program and did not involve domestic intelligence activities. They have said the program was started by the counterterrorism center at the C.I.A. shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but never became fully operational, involving planning and some training that took place off and on from 2001 until this year.

Whether the Executive Branch was legally obligated to release the information to Congress as a whole, itself, is highly debatable.  From the New York Times:

The law requires the president to make sure the intelligence committees “are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity.” But the language of the statute, the amended National Security Act of 1947, leaves some leeway for judgment, saying such briefings should be done “to the extent consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters.”

In addition, for covert action programs, a particularly secret category in which the role of the United States is hidden, the law says that briefings can be limited to the so-called Gang of Eight, consisting of the Republican and Democratic leaders of both houses of Congress and of their intelligence committees.

“Because this program never went fully operational and hadn’t been briefed as Panetta thought it should have been, his decision to kill it was neither difficult nor controversial,” one intelligence official, who would speak about the classified program only on condition of anonymity. “That’s worth remembering amid all the drama.”

Representative Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat of Illinois on the House committee, wrote on Friday to the chairman, Representative Silvestre Reyes, Democrat of Texas, to demand an investigation of the unidentified program and why Congress was not told of it. Aides said Mr. Reyes was reviewing the matter.

I say fine.  Bring it on.  They want to investigate a non-operational CIA program, of questionable importance, go ahead. Even the facts are up for debate.  Former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden angrily struck back Saturday at assertions the Bush administration’s post-9/11 surveillance program was more far-reaching than imagined and was largely concealed from congressional overseers.  In an interview with The Associated Press, Hayden maintained that top members of Congress were kept well-informed all along the way, notwithstanding protests from some that they were kept in the dark.

Democrats also want to investigate Vice President Dick Cheney.  Fine by me.  But let us not forget Democratic involvement.  Was Nancy Pelosi, for example, told of this program?  She, of course, knew about waterboarding and denied it for year.  And Congress wants to widen the required number of members that need to hear these top secret hearings.  Again I say fine…once they prove that they can keep their mouths shut…an almost impossible request for these peons.  Remember…this most recent bit of information from Leon Panetta?  That was TOP SECRET…and was kept that way for exactly two weeks before Democrats leaked the information.  Wonder why the CIA and President would be worried about giving them classified information…

I say let the Democrats have their hearings…but lets not exclude their side.  The War on Terror continues, whether Democrats deny it or the Obama Administratino renames it.  So secrecy will have to be part of the gameplan, regardless.  Was Cheney, Bush, and the CIA really out of order?  Who knows.  I do know this:  The last few rounds with Dick Cheney didn’t go so well for Democrats, or President Obama.  I am not sure they are wise to stir up that hornet’s nest again.

UPDATE:

This is so ridiculous, I can’t believe it is true.  You know that ‘super secret program’ that Democrats said the Bush Administration didn’t tell Congress?  It appears it was a program to assasinate Al Qaeda leaders.  No, I am no kidding.  Is our goal to kill Osama Bin Laden the worst kept secret in the world?  Are the Democrats really going to take the side of NOT killing those guys, regardless of whether it is a secret plan or not?  Even the Democrats can’t be that stupid…maybe.  Not to mention, the program apparently was reported in the New York Times in 2002…but apparently, Democratic members on Congress can’t read.