From the raw story-
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/House_Democrat_says_Obama_should_keep_1210.htmlA top Democrat said Tuesday that Obama should keep the intelligence chiefs of the Bush administration to ensure the United States remains "safe and secure" in a "world that is very dangerous."
Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, also suggested that some parts of the CIA's controversial interrogation program be allowed to continue, though he declined to say exactly what those parts should be.
"There's got to be some continuity, and the leadership of both the CIA and the DNI is going to be pivotal to keeping us safe and secure," Reyes said. "I made a recommendation that they stay on during the transition so that there would be a period of time that there would be overlap."
Reyes also suggested "certain options" should be available to interrogators.
"We don't want to be known for torturing people. At the same time we don't want to limit our ability to get information that's vital and critical to our national security," he added. "That's where the new administration is going to have to decide what those parameters are, what those limitations are."
Reyes argued that these aspects of U.S. intelligence are necessary, at least for awhile, to protect the stability of the intelligence programs during the transition to the new presidency.
President-elect Barack Obama would face harsh criticism if he kept Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and CIA Director Michael Hayden at their posts, as Reyes suggests.
Both men have controversial records that Democrats attacked as key failures of U.S. intelligence, and by extension, the Bush administration.
Hayden was in charge of the National Security Agency when it began conducting electronic wiretaps of U.S. citizens without warrants shortly after the 9/11 attacks.
What the hell is he smoking?
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(88 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
