Cheney and factions within the CIA are invested in a campaign to smear Nancy Pelosi and other congressional Democrats in order to detract from their role in DESIGNING, IMPLEMENTING, and HIDING the Torture-by-contractor program that was designed to manufacture "intelligence" to justify the Iraq war.
Some here have been focused upon pointing out "inconsistencies" in Pelosi's prior statements about her briefing by the CIA on the "enhanced interrogation (EIT)" program.
I feel compelled to post because this effort does not present the full story, and the focus on Pelosi, IMHO, is a distraction. It is exactly what the CIA and Cheney want you to be putting on the Rec List and talking about.
Here are the statements by Pelosi that are described as "shifting accounts":
December 12, 2007 statement:
On one occasion, [On September 24,] 2002, I was briefed on interrogation techniques the administration was considering using in the future. The administration advised that legal counsel for both the CIA and the Department of Justice had concluded that the techniques were legal . . .I had no further briefings on the techniques. Several months later . . . Jane Harman was briefed more extensively and advised the techniques had in fact been employed.
February 25, 2009 on the Rachel Maddow show:
The fact is, they did not brief--well, first of all, we're not allowed to talk about what happens there, but I can say they did not brief us with these enhanced interrogations that were taking place. They did not brief us. They were talking about an array of interrogations that they might have at their disposal . . . But I can say flat out, they never told us that these enhancement interrrogations were being used.
So far she has said she was briefed one time [TRUE] and that she was told of EIT, but not that it had been used already.
April 23, 2009 news conference:
At that or any other briefing, and that was the only briefing that I was briefed on in that regard, we were not--I repeat--were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used.
May 14, 2009 statement:
The CIA briefed me only once on some enhanced interrogation techniques . . . The only mention of waterboarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed . . . Those briefing me in September 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information . . .[O]n February [5,] 2003, a member of my staff [Michael Sheehy] informed me that [other legislators] had been briefed that these techniques were now being used.
So in Summary:
- Pelosi admits being briefed as part of the "Gang of Four" (which, as an aside is illegal and incomplete fulfillment of the executive requirement to inform congress)
- She consistently says that EIT were described as being in the arsenal, but not that she was briefed by the CIA they had been used.
- She also notes that the description of their future use was to be within the confines of the OLC approval. A description that we know was a lie: EIT and waterboarding in particular was not "harmless" as the CIA claimed and the Torture Memos parroted.
Another statement you need to evaluate Pelosi's credibility is that of Porter Goss, who was briefed with Pelosi in 2002, and is a hardcore pro-torture boy and later CIA director:
In the fall of 2002, while I was chairman of the House intelligence committee, senior members of Congress were briefed on the CIA's "High Value Terrorist Program," including the development of "enhanced interrogation techniques" and what those techniques were.
[snip]
Today, I am slack-jawed to read that members claim to have not understood that the techniques on which they were briefed were to actually be employed; or that specific techniques such as "waterboarding" were never mentioned.
Goss and Pelosi were told the techniques were "to be used", not that they were used. Believe me, if the CIA had really told Porter Goss and Pelosi that they were drowning Zubaydah, Goss would be letting you know right now.
In short, Pelosi was misled by the CIA, they covered up that they had actually already waterboarded Zubaydah, and other than the CIA memo produced for Republican Pete Hoekstra and for which the CIA does not even hold as accurate, there is NO EVIDENCE that Pelosi has said anything untrue.
BEFORE YOU FREAK OUT
- I am not "calling out anyone"
- I am all for accountability in the Torture Regime, and Democrats who failed to exercise proper oversight need to be held accountable for their actions or inactions. But DON"T TRY TO MAKE YOUR CASE WITH BULLSHIT GOP TALKING POINTS.
- Here is a tip. If in doubt about torture issues, go visit emptywheel and see what she has already posted on the issue.
And while you are there consider contributing to the fund that will continue her excellent reporting.