3 Monday heresies (Obama's military commissions, Panetta didn't deny Pelosi's allegations...)

[mod mom]

May 18, 2009
Categories: Interrogations

3 Monday heresies
Here are three counter-conventional-wisdom heresies to mull over this Monday:

VIA TPM:

1. President Barack Obama didn't reverse himself on military commissions.

He was clear before the campaign that he'd favor them under different rules. On Jan. 22, a senior administration official briefed reporters that keeping the military panels alive with new rules was a real possibility. Obama's campaign trail rhetoric was a bit murky, probably deliberately so, but if reporters didn't nail him down is that Obama's fault? Did anyone ask him if he was ruling out commissions?

2. Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta didn't reject or deny House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's allegations that she was falsely briefed by the CIA about interrogations.

Look carefully at Panetta's statement from Friday, especially the verb tense used. "Let me be clear: It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress." First, "let me be clear" always precedes an ambiguous statement. Without fail. Panetta isn't opining on past acts. He's referring to the current policy. He's also not saying it never happens or happened that someone lied to or misled Congress. He's saying the agency as a whole doesn't intend to.

Panetta was at his Monterey, Calif. think tank when this all happened in 2002 and 2003. He doesn't know if Pelosi was lied to. He also doesn't say he talked to the briefers and is convinced they're telling the truth. He just says the paper records say she was briefed about the techniques. We knew that already from agency statements. So he's adding his voice to the mix and sending a signal that he'll stand by his agency, but to say he sided with the briefers on the specifics is just wrong.

Again, I'm not saying Pelosi was lied to or even misled. It would seem rather brazen to do that. But Panetta's statement says less than people are claiming.

3. There's a substantial chance that the CIA's written record of what Pelosi was told at that briefing in 2002 isn't accurate or complete.

-snip

http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0509/3_Monday_heresies.html

[CTyankee]

1. I was unsure about the military commissions but I sure agree about Panetta's statement.

He carefully phrased it in the present tense. To which I might add "Amen!" and "I would hope so!"

[old mark]

2. Re: Panetta: That is exactly what he said - he said NOTHING about

Pelosi's statement, true or false. There has been a lot of lies about what he said by twisting his statement to be used against Pelosi.

For a while, I thought there had been more to his statement than what I read, but you are correct - it's all bullshit, what a shock!!!!

mark