Below is an excerpt from the first post on my new blog at ThirdEstateTimes.com.
In the days following the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture, the CIA's defenders appeared on numerous media outlets and current CIA director John Brennan gave a widely covered speech defending the agency. Less well covered, however, have been rebuttals of virtually all of the claims made in the various defenders' media appearances.
The unequal media coverage allotted to anti-war perspectives in the run-up to and early days of the Iraq War was well documented. The title of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting's 2003 article on Iraq War coverage, "Amplifying Officials, Squelching Dissent" describes the deference shown to administration officials. Again, the media seems to be showing undue deference to current and former senior government officials.
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The media has been providing a platform for those guilty of war crimes to frame their conduct as part of a debate on the trade-off between human rights and security. However, the Senate report makes it clear and unambiguous that the horrific acts of a few miscreants at the CIA did not advance our security or national interest in the course of their conduct.
Instead of allowing a small number of former officials to frame those who would hold them to account as "throwing the CIA under the bus," the media should be giving more attention to the true heroes in government who helped keep Americans safe while seeking to live up to our values.