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09 July 2009 11:00 AM
"Worst Idea Ever"
CQ reports:
Well. That's a big deal, isn't it?CIA Director Leon Panetta told the House Intelligence Committee that the agency had misled and "concealed significant actions from all members of Congress" dating back to 2001 and continuing until late June, according to a letter from seven Democrats on the panel.
The letter was dated June 26, two days after Panetta appeared before a closed door session with the committee and it asked that the CIA chief "correct" his statement from May 15 that "it is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress."
Especially because the article continues that the CIA denies saying anything of the sort. And the Republicans involved deny it too. He said, she said...
Obviously, this is an attempt to give Pelosi a defense for her earlier statements.
But (I hasten to add) the Democrats might be telling the truth! If they are, why isn't this a very big deal? Shouldn't the Democrats be screaming for the heads of the murderous villains who deceived a nation into war? Shouldn't they be demanding that the details be made public, or leaking them to the NY Times? Surely it would be good propaganda for their cause, and a complete defense for Pelosi. And, even I would feel that it is the Right Thing to Do.
So it will presumably turn out not to be true. Tentative guesstimate: Panetta admitted that they left out some stuff that they didn't consider that significant at the time. Later people wished that they had heard those things and thought them significant. Ergo, the CIA had failed to tell them significant information. And some things turned out not to be true, and people felt that the CIA should have known better. Ergo, they lied.
Or something like that. Some way to parse Panetta's words to support what these Democratic committee members are saying. But nothing that can really justify this story, or really defend Pelosi in any way.
The CIA lies to Congress. Whoop-de-doo.
Next news item: the sky is blue.