Porter Goss, one of George Bush's CIA Directors (probably the least favorite one among career intelligence folks) comes out swinging in this morning's Post against the circus atmosphere gaining momentum in the nations capital over torture, non-torture, enhanced interrogations and who knew what, when and how.
His recollections are clear--those who needed to know, knew. They offered even more help. That we may now in the "bright sunshine" of an April day look back and say that this or that practice was torture, at the time, in that place, it was considered by those who were charged with making such decisions, not to be outside acceptable practice.
We're learning. We're getting better. Not a single nation on earth does this kind of thing to itself like we do. Anyone who thinks we need a truth commission needs to explain how it will make us 1) safer or 2) more free. In the meantime, the President has said what is acceptable to him, and those are the rules we live under.
I just looked at a bunch of blog posts and this one looks the most reasonable :)
ReplyDeleteIntrigue, danger, sacrifice behind a shroud of strict secrecy "shadow people" many of them who gave their lives.
ReplyDeleteEffectively prosecuting some of the most dangerous and some of the most mundane (but no less important) missions in the cause of freedom while protecting the United States and our freedom.
We cannot order good men and women to go forth to do the countries business and assure throughout the chain of command that what they are doing has been deemed to be legal and then pull the rug from beneath their feet. Mr. Goss is correct in stating that the result this time will be a hollowed-out service of diminished capabilities.
And the next time those who would do us harm are successful, these very same people who are looking for CIA blood will once again ask why we did not see it coming and why don't we have better intelligence especially human intelligence?