Nency Pelosi on Waterboarding | 04/24/2009 10:15 am
Nancy Pelosi: I Was Never Told Waterboarding Was Being Used on Terror Suspects
Nancy Pelosi © Getty Images
Despite what Republicans are saying, Nancy Pelosi insists that congressional leaders were never told that waterboarding was actually used on terror detainees.
The California Democrat said Thursday that though a few top lawmakers were briefed on detainees, they were not informed of specific tactics. And, The Washington Post says, she pointed the finger of blame at the Bush administration for not following through on promises to tell her when they actually would start using such "enhanced" interrogation techniques.
"Flat out, they never briefed us that this was happening," she told reporters. "In that or any other briefing … we were not, and I repeat, were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation techniques were used. What they did tell us is that they had some legislative counsel … opinions that they could be used."
Read the transcript of Pelosi’s comments by clicking here.
Earlier, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH, criticized Pelosi and other Democratic leaders for backing the idea of investigating the use of such techniques after not raising concerns about them when the threats to the country were most imminent.
"Well, yesterday I saw a partial list of the number of members of the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, who were briefed on these interrogation methods and not a word was raised at the time, not one word," Boehner told reporters. "And I think you’re going to hear more and more about the bigger picture here, that what — the war on terror after 9/11 was done in a bipartisan basis on lots of fronts. And that bigger story will be coming out."
FOX News reports that Republicans want to reveal the names of those lawmakers who were briefed on the tactics, and that there were more than 30 meetings and briefings with members of Congress on the subject since 2002. Former Rep. Porter J. Goss, R-FL, one of the four lawmakers given that 2002 tour, told The Washington Post in 2007: "Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing … And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement."
Read more about: congress, Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, News, Obama Administration, torture, U.S., war on terror, Waterboarding
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Please WOW can we talk about something else? I think everyday this week we have talked about this issue and how much more can be said or argued about?
I gave WOW a great article that can be discussed and I havent gotten a reply…
Mods already deleting posts?? Always thought she was dumb, deaf and blind too I guess!
Who is behind the Probe…
Billionaire Soros Bankrolling Calls for ‘Torture’ ProbeThursday, April 23, 2009 2:39 PM
By: David A. Patten
A fund-raising letter has revealed one of the leading figures pushing for an investigation of alleged U.S. torture of terror suspects following 9/11: leftist billionaire-financier George Soros.
Officials at the Open Society Institute, which was founded by Soros in 1993 to promote progressive causes around the globe and which bills itself as “a Soros Foundation Network,” issued an e-mail to supporters yesterday announcing the creation of a new organization called the Commission on Accountability.
On its Web site, the Commission on Accountability demands an “independent, non-partisan” investigation of “torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees.”
The Commission on Accountability asks for signatures on a petition to President Obama.
The petititon reads: “We call on the president of the United States to establish an independent, non-partisan commission to examine and report publicly on torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees in the period since September 11, 2001.
“The commission, comparable in stature to the 9/11 Commission, should look into the facts and circumstances of such abuses, report on lessons learned, and recommend measures that would prevent any future abuses.
The petition continues: “We believe that the commission is necessary to reaffirm America’s commitment to the Constitution, international treaty obligations, and human rights. The report issued by the commission will strengthen U.S. national security and help to re-establish America’s standing in the world.”
The roster of organizations supporting of The Commission on Accountability includes Amnesty International, The Carter Center, The Center for Victims of Torture, Human Rights Watch, and The Rutherford Institute.
It’s not the first time Soros’ fingerprints have been found on efforts to criminalize Bush-era decisions designed to keep America safe from terrorism.
Byron York of the D.C. Examiner reports that another Soros-funded organization, MoveOn.org, has already been credited by some with pushing “the Obama White House to change its position on an investigation of Bush-era terrorist interrogations.”
Soros has contributed at least $1.4 million to underwrite MoveOn’s activities
Pelosi could be charged too!
Graham: Lawmakers, Too, Could Be ProsecutedThursday, April 23, 2009 1:04 PM
Prosecuting former Bush administration officials for signing off on harsh interrogation techniques would be a “legal nightmare,” for the nation that could do lasting damage to national security, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News Thursday.
Moreover, members of Congress who were kept informed of the techniques at the time they were being used could, in theory, also be subject to prosecution, said Graham, R-S.C., who also is a JAG colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
“Any member of Congress who was read into this program are in the same boat as the (Bush) lawyers,’’ Graham said. “Then you’re part of it, so where does it all end.”
Graham said lawmakers have to put themselves in the mindset that Bush administration officials were in immediately following the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in 2001.
“You’ve got to remember that right after 9/11 we all believed we were going to be attacked again,” said Graham, who sits on the judiciary and armed services committees. The attorneys and other officials were trying to develop interrogation techniques that would prevent further attacks and yield intelligence on members of al-Qaida still at large.
“They gave a legal opinion,” said Graham. “They weren’t conspiring to commit a crime.
“Some of the rational I disagree with, but it’s not a crime to disagree with Lindsey Graham. Those people were trying to defend the national the best they could. We need to look forward right now, not backward. They’re not criminals
“Any member of Congress who was read into this program are in the same boat as the (Bush) lawyers,’’ Graham said. “Then you’re part of it, so where does it all end.”