Congressional Dems Briefed On Waterboarding In 2002
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Law, The War On Terrorism, TortureThe Washington Post reports that four members of Congress, including Pelosi, were told about this interrogation method and their were no objections.
In fact…
[...] on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.
Push harder? The gall of these people is amazing. To at one point know about this and ask if we can get tougher and then change positions when it becomes politically convenient?
But honestly, is anybody surprised?
Me neither.
Captain Ed says it best when it comes to culpability:
Given that the CIA ended the practice at about the time that one member of Congress in 30 briefings complained about it, I’d call this a wash in terms of responsibility. The reason the CIA briefs the selected few on highly classified covert matters is not to get a rubber stamp on their activities, but to allow oversight and get approval for their covert activities. If Congress couldn’t find it objectionable when waterboarding was employed, they have little to complain about years afterward.
Agreed.
That doesn’t mean this still isn’t torture. In my book it absolutely is. Making somebody think they’re going to drown? Are you kidding me?
But some will say that we still need to look into this and try to see who approved this. Well, everybody knew about it. They’re ALL responsible. Should everybody go on trial? Not a chance.
Done and done.
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