09.05.2009
I'm Sick of Pelosi, Her Sanctimony and Her
as Speaker; Maybe She Should Hand the Gavel Over to Jane Harman
Read in Saturday's Washington Post the devastating report by Paul
Kane about
what she did and did not know about waterboarding. Well, my
reading is that what she did not know was nothing.
Nancy
Pelosi is one of those Democrats who is trying to keep the ghost of
George Bush alive so that his dishonesty and bumptioun continue to
deflect from what's going on in Washington now.
You see, it
turns out that the C.I.A. did hold a briefing at which the
waterboarding of Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein (Abu Zubaida) was
discussed. This was in September 2002. Of course, Pelosi was invited
but sent a top aide instead. Was she too busy to attend? We are to
believe that Michael Sheehy told her nothing of any importance. But
Jane Harman, whom left-wing Democrats often characterize as a patsy of
the intelligence apparatus, did attend. What's more she wrote to the
C.I.A. legal counsel protesting the use of waterboarding as being
against American and constitutional norms. And Pelosi herself has
admitted knowing that Harman had objected to such procedures.
Every
top Democrat is trying to cover her or his ass. Now that they are
making such a fuss about the Bush administration having held everything
in secret the news that it hadn't is mortifying to the Democrats now in
power.
Comments
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thejauntyboulevardier said:
Oh good lord, what a bunch of rot. Granted, Pelosi's leadership style is certainly open to debate, but if peretz can't see that this effort to focus the discussion on what Pelosi did nor did not know is nothing more than a desperate attempt to deflect, yet again, the real issue, which is what the Bush Administration said and did, then I don't know what.
And the suggestion that of all people, Jane Harman should replace Pelosi as speaker really suggests that peretz may be going senile or insane. What an incredibly head up the ass idea.
basman said:
...A top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended a CIA briefing in early 2003 in which it was made clear that waterboarding and other harsh techniques were being used in the interrogation of an alleged al-Qaeda operative, according to documents the CIA released to Congress on Thursday...
Lead sentence to Kane's article: I don't understand how, reading that, it is reasonable to conclude that "..Well, my reading is that what she did not know was nothing....", which I take to mean that she knew nothing, ie nothing about waterboarding. That position in the face of what her top aide was briefed sounds like horsehit to me. Not P.'s--he's just venturing a speculation, but, rather, Pelosi's. Could she be so crass and cynical to argue "she was never briefed" because her top aide was? If her top aide did not brief as her what he was briefed, then, briefly, I'm a monkey's uncle.
iambiguous said:
Here are a few possible combinations:
Pelosi was told about the waterboarding and forgot that she was
Pelosi was not told about the waterboarding and forgot that she wasn't
Pelosi was told about the waterboarding but thought it was used only on talk radio conservatives and Jane Harman
Pelosi was not told about waterboarding because, well, she insisted herself it be used against talk radio conservatives and Jane Harman
And, for all I know, Marty Peretz too
But Marty hit the nail on the head with his suggestion that the Bush administration and the Democrats are basically fused from head to toe when it comes to "national security". The Democrats can't point fingers at Republicans because they know full well the Republicans can point fingers back at them.
It's the same with campaign contributions, K Street and Wall Street. The stuff of crony capitalism. The Democrats and the Republicans are both firmly committed to keeping this legal fraud hidden behind the curtain.
On the other hand, Marty himself will be reluctant to point fingers at lobbyists, right?
george walton
teplukhin2you said:
Don't discount the alternate explanation, that she's merely stupid and scatterbrained.