Cheney Linked to Concealment of CIA Project

Politics • Views: 3,286

The news today on that increasingly weird CIA scandal is that the agency withheld information about a secret program from Congress for years on direct orders from Dick Cheney.

The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.

Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.

Efforts to reach Mr. Cheney through relatives and associates were unsuccessful.

My take on this kerfuffle: it’s about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this “secret” program (which, by the way, was never actually implemented) have known about it for years. They’re pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi’s claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

Jump to bottom

176 comments
1 dmandman  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:50:04am

We are in for a replay of the Stalin years....just sub Trotsky with Cheney in all future news stories. Distract and deflect, lie whenever possible.

2 Killgore Trout  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:51:38am

Seekrit program kept seekrit? Shocka!

3 Racer X  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:52:06am

President Obama's first 167 days

They Love him so much!

... and despise the previous administration with all their heart and soul.

- MSM

4 little boomer  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:53:27am

“Because this program never went fully operational..."
End of story.

5 Irish Rose  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:53:38am

Good morning, Charles!

6 zombie  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:54:32am

As many people suspected, Leon Panetta -- who is completely unqualified for this particular position -- has been put in place for the specific purpose of dismantling the CIA. It'd be better to call him the anti-Director. As the guy in charge, he will spend the next 4 years publicly exposing all secrets and publicly humiliting the CIA as much as possible, to ruin any effectivenss it might have.

The Left has a deep deep loathing of the CIA -- it is their ultimate bete noire. And this is their chance to destroy it. Panetta is point man on that.

7 gman  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:54:47am

The Dems are conjuring up more smoke and mirrors to cover for Pelosi's humiliating spell of amnesia earlier this year.

8 JarHeadLifer  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:54:56am

Good, let's have Cheney vs. Barry, RD II. I'm sure that this one will end the same, with Obama cowering and taking another foreign trip - although, he's running out of continents to visit. I hear Antarctica is really inviting this time of year.

9 Killgore Trout  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:54:57am
The law requires the president to make sure the intelligence committees “are kept fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States, including any significant anticipated intelligence activity.” But the language of the statute, the amended National Security Act of 1947, leaves some leeway for judgment, saying such briefings should be done “to the extent consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters.”


I don't think this is going to end up being a big deal.

10 Racer X  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:55:10am

How many resumes just recently showed up on Monster dot com from people with intelligence gathering expertise?

Thanks Leon.

11 debutaunt  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:55:39am

It wasn't leaked? How did that happen?

12 jaunte  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:55:46am

re: #9 Killgore Trout

I don't think this is going to end up being a big deal.

A secret not-fully-operational program now closed.

One intelligence official, who would speak about the classified program only on condition of anonymity, said there was no resistance inside the C.I.A. to Mr. Panetta’s decision to end the program last month.

“Because this program never went fully operational and hadn’t been briefed as Panetta thought it should have been, his decision to kill it was neither difficult nor controversial,” the official said. “That’s worth remembering amid all the drama.”

13 huckfunn  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:55:49am

Typical banana republic operation. First order of business for the new top bananas is to try and publicly hang the outgoing regime.

14 Racer X  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:56:31am

re: #6 zombie

As many people suspected, Leon Panetta -- who is completely unqualified for this particular position -- has been put in place for the specific purpose of dismantling the CIA. It'd be better to call him the anti-Director. As the guy in charge, he will spend the next 4 years publicly exposing all secrets and publicly humiliting the CIA as much as possible, to ruin any effectivenss it might have.

The Left has a deep deep loathing of the CIA -- it is their ultimate bete noire. And this is their chance to destroy it. Panetta is point man on that.

Spot on!

This is not good at all.

15 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:57:27am

So, I am reading it like this...

"The Dark Lord succeeded."

16 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:58:53am

re: #6 zombie

As many people suspected, Leon Panetta -- who is completely unqualified for this particular position -- has been put in place for the specific purpose of dismantling the CIA. It'd be better to call him the anti-Director. As the guy in charge, he will spend the next 4 years publicly exposing all secrets and publicly humiliting the CIA as much as possible, to ruin any effectivenss it might have.

The Left has a deep deep loathing of the CIA -- it is their ultimate bete noire. And this is their chance to destroy it. Panetta is point man on that.

Sounds so much like what happened under Carter and Clinton, the dismantling of our Intelligence Services for partisan and petty political reasons.

17 zombie  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:59:28am

Excuse me for asking, but:

Is every single thing the CIA and NSA does ALWAYS required to be revealed in full to every member of Congress? I always thought there were many many such secret intelligence operations going on all the time, and Congress knows little about them.

Considering that in every Congressional session there are America-hating loudmouths in Congress (people like Cynthia McKinney, Barbara Lee, etc.), who would just love to leak information like this, I can understand the urge to keep some of these people out of the loop on certain top-secret programs. Just because someone is a Congressperson doesn't mean they are wise or know how to keep a secret.

Anyway, help me here: Hasn't the CIA, NSA and other agencies always had ultra-to-secret programs?

18 jaunte  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:59:40am

That's a weird bit of editorializing:
"...suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy."

That must be why the program wasn't made operational.

19 tradewind  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:00:30am

Good for Dick.
Since when was the CIA renamed the Central Information Agency?

20 Charles Johnson  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:00:35am

Just read Robert Spencer's latest slobbering, raving attack on me. His keyboard must have been covered with spittle when he was finished with that one.

It's amazing that he seems to think he's increasing his credibiity with those insult-filled, ranting hit pieces.

I'm trying to decide whether to answer his ugly attack. There are so many distortions and lies in his post, I don't even know where to start.

I also notice that "Yid with Lid" is now joining in, after using LGF's spinoff links to promote his blog for years. He had no problem with me when he was benefitting from using the tools I made available - but when I blocked his account for promoting Pamela Geller's hate speech, he turned on me in a heartbeat.

21 wahabicorridor  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:00:49am
National Security Agency’s program of eavesdropping without warrants, a degree of secrecy that the report concluded had hurt the effectiveness of the counterterrorism surveillance effort

The NYT has no fucking shame. Powerline nails their asses.

Back to the NYT

They have said the program was started by the counterterrorism center at the C.I.A. shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but never became fully operational, involving planning and some training that took place off and on from 2001 until this year.

So there is a legal requirement to inform Congress about a program that isn't operational?

Bite. Me.

22 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:00:50am

I think thjis is another handful of mud thrown against the wall to help Pelosi.

as if we need any more proof that Obama and his suckerfish have zero desire to fight terror.

23 Racer X  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:01:11am

re: #17 zombie

Anyway, help me here: Hasn't the CIA, NSA and other agencies always had ultra-to-secret programs?

Not sure if they always had, but I'm completely OK if they do. Even under Obama.

24 gman  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:01:18am

re: #6 zombie

As many people suspected, Leon Panetta -- who is completely unqualified for this particular position -- has been put in place for the specific purpose of dismantling the CIA. It'd be better to call him the anti-Director. As the guy in charge, he will spend the next 4 years publicly exposing all secrets and publicly humiliting the CIA as much as possible, to ruin any effectivenss it might have.

The Left has a deep deep loathing of the CIA -- it is their ultimate bete noire. And this is their chance to destroy it. Panetta is point man on that.

Panetta is going to be doling out these so- called "secrets" at a carefully planned pace over the next 4 years.

25 Killgore Trout  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:01:26am

re: #17 zombie

Anyway, help me here: Hasn't the CIA, NSA and other agencies always had ultra-to-secret programs?


Yup, see #9.

26 wahabicorridor  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:02:32am

re: #20 Charles

Charles, I'd let it go. All any response would do is make him feel important - or that you give a rat's ass or something.

27 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:02:41am

IF Cheney didnt want congree to know about something..chances are that he knew he couldnt trust them any her than he could spit out a rat

28 tradewind  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:02:54am

re: #23 Racer X

Even under Obama

..
make that ' especially under Obama '. We're going to need them more than ever.

29 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:03:37am

I missed "fur" there

30 swamprat  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:03:52am

Something must be amiss. A secret program that never was put in operation was kept from Pannetta

Whole lotta drama going on.

What are we being distracted from today?

31 zombie  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:04:19am

re: #9 Killgore Trout

I don't think this is going to end up being a big deal.

Thanks for that citation. I think you're right -- this is nothing more than "red meat" for the leftist mobs to feel satisfied that Obama is sufficiently dismantling the intelligence arms of the US.

32 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:04:20am

re: #23 Racer X

Not sure if they always had, but I'm completely OK if they do. Even under Obama.

Yes, they have always had ultra-secret projects since the CIA was created in 1947 and the NSA in 1952, and even before when the OSS was operative.

33 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:04:42am

re: #30 swamprat
That is the proper response anymore

what is behind this particular smokescreen?

34 nyc redneck  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:04:56am

this will make dick cheney's poll numbers go up.

35 tradewind  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:05:02am

re: #30 swamprat

Looks like No Drama Obama was one big act.

36 jaunte  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:05:14am

re: #21 wahabicorridor

So there is a legal requirement to inform Congress about a program that isn't operational?

Bite. Me.

From your link:

From the ODNI assessment (pages 35-36):

[Former DNI Michael] Hayden said the PSP information allowed IC leaders to make valuable judgments regarding the allocation of scarce national security resources. Hayden described the PSP as an "early warning system" for terrorist threats. Hayden told the ODNI OIG that the PSP was extremely valuable in protecting the United States from an al-Qaida attack. He cited several examples of where he said the PSP information was used to disrupt al-Qaida operatives or assist in terrorism investigations.

37 brookly red  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:05:21am

so is this supposed to take the heat off Pelosie or something?

38 Killgore Trout  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:05:52am

Instapundit links to this one.....
The Neo-Nazi Boogyman

....as a revenue-seeking corporation, the Southern Poverty Law Center has every incentive to fabricate an attention generating “crisis” whenever possible. This “discovery” will no doubt generate a lot of money for them. More importantly, this story feeds into a deeply held fantasy of leftists in which fascism is a major factor in American life.
....
The need of leftists to inflate their own sense of self-righteousness and self-importance leads them to magnify a tiny, highly marginalized, wacky subculture of racist socialists into this great threat to the republic which only the noble Left can stop. They also like to stigmatize the military whenever possible, so they absolutely believe that such people are common in the military.
...
The obsession with neo-Nazis et al is the leftist’s version of Dungeons and Dragons, wher they imagine themselves as heroes fighting some monstrous evil instead of deluded geeks obsessing over another group of pathetic, powerless, losers on the margins of society.

39 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:05:55am

re: #31 zombie
You know the left requires internal enemies to keep their wackos in line..

Palin, Cheney, Haliburton...they cant live without someone to demonize

40 nyc redneck  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:05:56am

re: #27 quiet man

IF Cheney didnt want congree to know about something..chances are that he knew he couldnt trust them any her than he could spit out a rat

yes, and the nyt would know everything and the whole world would see it on the front page.

41 Last Mohican  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:06:54am

re: #9 Killgore Trout

I don't think this is going to end up being a big deal.

I was about to quote exactly that paragraph, but you beat me to it.

As far as I can tell, nobody's even alleging that Cheney did something wrong. Panetta is just saying "there was a certain thing that the CIA was doing before I got here, which was a perfectly fine thing to be doing, but that evil bastard Cheney wouldn't let Congress know about it! That may or may not have been a perfectly legal and appropriate thing too, but I just want to take this opportunity to say that Cheney is evil."

I see no scandal here. Panetta has an extremely important job defending the security of all Americans. And not only does he not know a damned thing about intelligence (his areas of expertise are in civil rights and environmental issues), but he's sacrificing the CIA's mission in order to attack a prominent Republican politician for purely political reasons. It's disgusting, and it should be deeply concerning to all of us.

42 swamprat  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:07:04am

re: #20 Charles

Spencer is losing credibility. There are worse things than being considered the enemy of a loon.

43 tradewind  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:07:19am

re: #37 brookly red

Totally. No limit to what her buddies will do to misdirect the public's dislike for her.
It's gong to back fire big time... as will Eric Holder's call for a SP.
Come on, Dems...... throw us in that briar patch.

44 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:07:38am

re: #30 swamprat

Something must be amiss. A secret program that never was put in operation was kept from Pannetta

Whole lotta drama going on.

What are we being distracted from today?

Partly, I believe, that Attorney General Holder wants to prosecute Bush Torture 'Crimes' despite Our Man Obama's already stated objections.

45 nyc redneck  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:07:42am

what perfect timing for pelosi who couldn't get her story straight eight (8) times.

46 tradewind  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:08:10am

PIMF, cringe. ' Going ' not ' gong '.

47 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:08:34am

re: #37 brookly red
That is what I think..consider that the GOP has been trying to get Pelosi to own up to her idiocy over signing oin to CIA ETT and that it had enough effect that now the left are just seething for some payback to defend her and bring their lie all the way back around again.
See, if Pelosi is in the middle, they cant go after bush's "crimes" in protecting the country

48 Truck Monkey  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:08:38am

Church Commision redux? I have a feeling that by the time The teleprompter Jesus' term is over that we will be longing for the days of Jimmah Carter. They are f*cking with the very people whose job it is to keep us safe. I don't see a good outcome here.

49 itellu3times  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:08:40am

Heard some yammering about this on the morning Stephanopoulis show.

Congressional neo-Stalinist dems like Durbin and Pelosi want to have star chamber trials of everything republican, but Obama, to his credit, is resisting. Probably thank Gates for that.

50 gman  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:09:19am

re: #20 Charles

I don't know how you deal with it Charles. Every time you turn a corner, there's another asshole to deal with.

51 SixDegrees  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:09:34am

re: #8 JarHeadLifer

Good, let's have Cheney vs. Barry, RD II. I'm sure that this one will end the same, with Obama cowering and taking another foreign trip - although, he's running out of continents to visit. I hear Antarctica is really inviting this time of year.

It may not come to that. In what's sure to be the first of many jolts to Leon's pursuit of...whatever, former directory Hayden was quoted on NPR this morning categorically denying that anything was ever withheld from Congress, that he personally briefed Congressional leaders on exactly this program and the details of it's operation (still unknown - classified, and being kept that way, which itself is kind of odd under the circumstances) not once, by many times.

Given Hayden's statement, the whole thing begins to look a lot like Pelosi being "shocked - shocked to hear that waterboarding was being conducted!" when she, herself, had been fully informed both prior to and during the use of such techniques.

One thing that's become obvious about the Bush White House - they were scrupulous about dotting their 'i's and crossing their 't's on legal matters. I would be very surprised to learn that Cheney had done anything illegal, or had even failed to brief anyone he was required to brief.

It ought to be easy to sort this out. As in the Pelosi case, if briefings were held there will be minutes and records of who was in attendance, along with copies of the materials presented. The circuitous manner in which the "offenses" are being couched suggests that they aren't going to stand up to scrutiny. But time will tell.

Meanwhile, it's a good smokescreen to divert attention from the dismal results 0's economic policies have produced.

52 wahabicorridor  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:09:39am

re: #40 nyc redneck

yes, and the nyt would know everything and the whole world would see it on the front page.

Exactly. Which is why PowerLine is asking how much damage did the NYT do?

53 gwillie  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:10:08am

re: #11 debutaunt

It wasn't leaked? How did that happen?


Because it wasn't reported to congress, funny isn't it.

54 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:11:02am

re: #40 nyc redneck
So true..like Reid and Pelosi, the NYTs did not care what damage the country would suffer so long as they got their short term poltical bump.

Can you imagine if reid and Obama had actually gotten the US to pull out of Iraq 2 or 3 years ago?

55 Kronocide  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:11:23am

Pelosi owes Panetta now. This just reeks of covering for Pelosi to progate the narrative that the CIA lied to her.

This reeks of partisanship and ideology and the CIA is getting the short end.

56 brookly red  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:11:32am

re: #43 tradewind

Totally. No limit to what her buddies will do to misdirect the public's dislike for her.
It's gong to back fire big time... as will Eric Holder's call for a SP.
Come on, Dems...... throw us in that briar patch.

hmmm, I think you are right here... I can see how this could back fire, but I don't think they would dare go the SP route.

57 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:11:40am

Will the NYTimes be as willing to blow the whistle on the secrets the Obama administration is perpetrating on the American people?

58 SixDegrees  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:11:52am

re: #17 zombie

Excuse me for asking, but:

Is every single thing the CIA and NSA does ALWAYS required to be revealed in full to every member of Congress?

Absolutely not.

In fact, a proposal just last week to expand the number of Congressmen briefed on CIA matters from (I think) 8 to 40 was soundly rejected - at the request of the White House, claiming that eight is enough, and the more who are granted access to such briefings, the more likely it is that damaging leaks will spring forth.

59 pat  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:12:18am

So far this is more about headlines than story. Most telling is the Dems implication that the secret program was about "torture", yet no one will say that is in fact the case. This appears to be about saving the idiot and liar Pelosi. It is not even clear that the program rose to the level of requiring a briefing of Congress.

60 tradewind  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:12:26am

re: #21 wahabicorridor

Wonder what Powerline's link means when it refers to the ' then-sober Joe Klein'?

61 jaunte  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:12:33am

Maybe it's part of this story:

Attorney General Eric Holder is considering whether to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's interrogation practices, a controversial move that would run counter to President Obama's wishes to leave the issue in the past.
...
Holder has discussed with his staff the possibility of a prosecutor, saying he needed someone with "gravitas and grit," the magazine reported. In the end, the attorney general asked for a list of 10 candidates, five from within the Justice Department and five from outside.

"I hope that whatever decision I make would not have a negative impact on the president's agenda," Holder told Newsweek. "But that can't be a part of my decision."
[Link: www.usatoday.com...]


He's such a maverick!

62 wahabicorridor  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:12:49am

re: #49 itellu3times

but Obama, to his credit, is resisting

And you believe him? HA! He knows the American people won't support this. Pelosi and her minions get to be the bad cop to his good cop.

63 kynna  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:12:54am

This kind of thing will continue to come out every time 0 experiences a dip in his poll numbers. He embarrassed himself in Russia and suddenly we hear this distortion about Dick Cheney. Look forward to more of this pattern for the next few years.

But Zombie's right, as well. The goal is to either kill the CIA or manipulate its mission to support their ends rather than protect the populace. They've done it before.

64 tradewind  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:13:29am

re: #56 brookly red

They're going there... Holder has already been asked. If he doesn't appoint one, it will have to be direct intervention from O, but I don't think even TOTUS can do that.

65 brookly red  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:13:36am

re: #47 quiet man

That is what I think..consider that the GOP has been trying to get Pelosi to own up to her idiocy over signing oin to CIA ETT and that it had enough effect that now the left are just seething for some payback to defend her and bring their lie all the way back around again.
See, if Pelosi is in the middle, they cant go after bush's "crimes" in protecting the country

I think she is in too deep.

66 swamprat  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:13:46am

a SECRET PROGRAM run by THE C.I.A. was KEPT SECRET by DICK CHENEY who ran HALIBURTON

slober drool pant

67 wahabicorridor  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:13:59am

re: #60 tradewind

Wonder what Powerline's link means when it refers to the ' then-sober Joe Klein'?

heh.

68 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:14:24am

re: #56 brookly red

hmmm, I think you are right here... I can see how this could back fire, but I don't think they would dare go the SP route.

Holder's already stepped on that path.

69 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:14:41am

re: #65 brookly red
Not for the hard core left..for them she is fine..maybe not working hard enough to destroy the country would be moveons only complaint.

70 jaunte  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:14:44am

re: #66 swamprat

a SECRET PROGRAM run by THE C.I.A. was KEPT SECRET by DICK CHENEY who ran HALIBURTON

slober drool pant

'Paging Jason Bourne to the white courtesy phone...'

71 Render  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:14:51am

re: #17 zombie

In a word, "No."

There are and were intelligence programs that Roosevelt ordered kept secret, that remained secret, even from congress, for many decades. Enigma being the first that comes to mind.

For the record, it was the George HW Bush administration that began the Rendition Program. The Clinton administration not only kept it running, but expanded it greatly. And now the Great Zero's admin is keeping running as well. What's that tell you?

IT
WORKS,
R

72 Walter L. Newton  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:14:54am

re: #7 gman

The Dems are conjuring up more smoke and mirrors to cover for Pelosi's humiliating spell of amnesia earlier this year.

This has a bigger reason for happening right now, It's also designed to get the publics mind off of the "wonderful" recovery that is happening.

73 nyc redneck  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:14:55am

i love dick cheney.

74 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:15:10am

re: #66 swamprat

SDP would be cool initials to use...

75 SasquatchOnSteroids  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:15:12am

re: #45 nyc redneck

what perfect timing for pelosi who couldn't get her story straight eight (8) times.

That press conference the week after She accused the Cia of lying was pathetic.
She is completely full of shit.

76 brookly red  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:15:40am

re: #64 tradewind

They're going there... Holder has already been asked. If he doesn't appoint one, it will have to be direct intervention from O, but I don't think even TOTUS can do that.

Oh well, she was getting in the way anyhow...

77 SteveC  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:16:11am

re: #50 gman

I don't know how you deal with it Charles. Every time you turn a corner, there's another asshole to deal with.

Corks. Lots and lots of corks.

78 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:16:13am

re: #72 Walter L. Newton

This has a bigger reason for happening right now, It's also designed to get the publics mind off of the "wonderful" recovery that is happening.

FDR's charm certainly isn't rubbing off onto Our Man Obama, more akin to Nixon's likability is.

79 The Other Les  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:16:20am

re: #6 zombie

The Left has a deep deep loathing of the CIA -- it is their ultimate bete noire. And this is their chance to destroy it. Panetta is point man on that.


Why don't we stop pretending that the Left represents any kind of legitimate political interest. The fact of the matter is that the Left as it is presently composed is little more than a band of brigands, parasites, and outright moral nihilists.

Unfortunately, the Country Club Conservatives are too busy jamming their noses into each others terminal orifices to notice this and do something about it.

80 JarHeadLifer  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:16:23am

re: #51 SixDegrees

Meanwhile, it's a good smokescreen to divert attention from the dismal results 0's economic policies have produced.>

Winner, winner - Chicken dinner. To me, this seems the most likely explanation for why this came out and when it came out. I also think that Holder's recent revelation (through leaks no less) that he's thinking seriously about prosecuting or at least investigating Bush et. al. is more diversionary than substantive.

Even if they think this is a politically advantageous avenue to travel, if we get hit again (God forbid) while this hand-wringing and these witch hunts are going on, it will be Obama's Katrina - only much more damaging.

81 kynna  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:17:05am

re: #62 wahabicorridor

And you believe him? HA! He knows the American people won't support this. Pelosi and her minions get to be the bad cop to his good cop.

Actually, I think Obama sees the need for most of the programs he vilified as a senator. If they prosecute the Bush administration, it might make it difficult for him to use those same methods.

82 nyc redneck  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:17:16am

re: #75 SasquatchOnSteroids

That press conference the week after She accused the Cia of lying was pathetic.
She is completely full of shit.

and very vindictive. this is what we have in power now, vengeful thugs who don't give a shite abt this country, from o on down the line.

83 gman  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:17:40am

re: #66 swamprat

a SECRET PROGRAM run by THE C.I.A. was KEPT SECRET by DICK CHENEY who ran HALIBURTON

slober drool pant

lol- now just imagine Gollum's voice saying it over and over.

84 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:17:48am

re: #73 nyc redneck

i love miss dick cheney.

85 Ol Yaler  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:17:55am

It is nonsense to believe that the Bush-Chaney enemies in the CIA would not have leaked such a program to Congress if there was a program that Congress should have been briefed on. This is a manufactured scandal to provide cover for Panetta and Pelosi and to pile further blame on Chaney. This is orchestrated damage control.

86 Vicious Babushka  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:18:13am

re: #20 Charles

Just read Robert Spencer's latest slobbering, raving attack on me. His keyboard must have been covered with spittle when he was finished with that one.

It's amazing that he seems to think he's increasing his credibiity with those insult-filled, ranting hit pieces.

I'm trying to decide whether to answer his ugly attack. There are so many distortions and lies in his post, I don't even know where to start.

I also notice that "Yid with Lid" is now joining in, after using LGF's spinoff links to promote his blog for years. He had no problem with me when he was benefitting from using the tools I made available - but when I blocked his account for promoting Pamela Geller's hate speech, he turned on me in a heartbeat.

He pimps his blog on Free Republic now

87 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:18:14am

re: #81 kynna

Actually, I think Obama sees the need for most of the programs he vilified as a senator. If they prosecute the Bush administration, it might make it difficult for him to use those same methods.

But he still has to appease his more rabid worshipers or he risks losing his base AND the middle he is in the process of losing.

88 gman  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:18:22am

re: #72 Walter L. Newton

This has a bigger reason for happening right now, It's also designed to get the publics mind off of the "wonderful" recovery that is happening.

kill 2 birds with one stone. why not?

89 Charles Johnson  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:18:28am

This whole thing is about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this "secret" program have known about it for years. They're pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi's claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

90 nyc redneck  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:18:55am

re: #84 Fat Bastard Vegetarian


that too.

91 Fat Bastard Vegetarian  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:19:02am

re: #89 Charles

yup.

92 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:20:04am

re: #88 gman

kill 2 birds with one stone. why not?

If they can use an already on-going crisis to pull out the shiny object to distract the American people, then manufacturing one is the next best step.

93 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:20:38am

re: #92 FurryOldGuyJeans

If they can can't use an already on-going crisis to pull out the shiny object to distract the American people, then manufacturing one is the next best step.

*sigh* PIMF!

94 kynna  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:20:40am

re: #87 FurryOldGuyJeans

But he still has to appease his more rabid worshipers or he risks losing his base AND the middle he is in the process of losing.

Agreed, but I don't think he'll do more than saber rattle. It would take those methods off the table and, the further we get from the Bush admin, the more it looks like political persecution. The GOP is too dumb to use it against Obama and the dems, but there are other groups that aren't.

95 debutaunt  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:21:35am

re: #70 jaunte

'Paging Jason Bourne to the white courtesy phone...'

Treadstone!

96 sattv4u2  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:21:42am

With all the bad actors on todays stage, with all the rogue gov't and terrorist organizations, I WANT "my" CIA to have secret programs tharting them and protecting us.

There is ABSOLUTLY nothing new here. I don't recall the New York Times advertising the plots to kill Castro in the 60's!

97 Walter L. Newton  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:21:56am

re: #89 Charles

This whole thing is about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this "secret" program have known about it for years. They're pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi's claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

Why now? There hasn't been any current dust up about Pelosi and the CIA stuff. Yes, I will say it certainly can help her, but I wonder if it is not geared more to getting people's minds off the failing stimulus. After all, Holder weighed in this week too!

98 Macker  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:22:22am

re: #8 JarHeadLifer

Good, let's have Cheney vs. Barry, RD II. I'm sure that this one will end the same, with Obama cowering and taking another foreign trip - although, he's running out of continents to visit. I hear Antarctica is really inviting this time of year.

What, he can't go to Butt Fuck Egypt? Oh wait a minute, he's already been to Africa hasn't he.

Pinheada = BASTARD
Оба́ма = Same

99 Walter L. Newton  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:22:34am

re: #96 sattv4u2

With all the bad actors on todays stage, with all the rogue gov't and terrorist organizations, I WANT "my" CIA to have secret programs tharting them and protecting us.

There is ABSOLUTLY nothing new here. I don't recall the New York Times advertising the plots to kill Castro in the 60's!

It was in the classifieds.
/

100 nyc redneck  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:22:40am

the scoundrels in office now are totally disgraceful.
such petty deceitful bastards.
it is not possible they can run this country effectively..
pelosi is a loathsome creature.

101 Killgore Trout  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:22:42am

Sing along, y'all....


Blakk Rasta's Obama "Theme Song" In Ghana

The theme song of the last stop may have been provided by a Reggae singer named Blakk Rasta, whose song, "Barack Obama," was played constantly during an arrival breakfast in Accra, Ghana, and had a way of staying in the head long after the travelers left.


The main refrain of the song was just a lyrical rendition of the president's name, over and over: "Barack, Barack, Barack Obama." The rest was a proud celebration of the first African-American president -- "As you keep the fire burning, black president..." -- flavored with some in

102 Macker  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:23:11am

re: #89 Charles

10,000 updings!

103 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:23:31am

re: #94 kynna

Agreed, but I don't think he'll do more than saber rattle. It would take those methods off the table and, the further we get from the Bush admin, the more it looks like political persecution. The GOP is too dumb to use it against Obama and the dems, but there are other groups that aren't.

Our Man Obama doesn't need to do more than rattle the saber. The FMSM and Dem-controlled Congress will do the heavy lifting of distraction, and it will appease the base while they figure out the right talking point to mesmerize the masses into seeing the policy is good only when OMO is implementing it.

104 kynna  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:23:31am

re: #97 Walter L. Newton

Why now? There hasn't been any current dust up about Pelosi and the CIA stuff. Yes, I will say it certainly can help her, but I wonder if it is not geared more to getting people's minds off the failing stimulus. After all, Holder weighed in this week too!

This is how I see it. With the side benefit (for them) of covering Nancy's lies and having her owe Panetta a favor.

105 Kronocide  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:24:30am

Members of Congress have differed on the significance of the program, whose details remained secret and which even some Democrats have said was properly classified. Most of those interviewed, however, have said that it was an important activity that should have been disclosed to the intelligence committees.

Intelligence and Congressional officials have said the unidentified program did not involve the C.I.A. interrogation program and did not involve domestic intelligence activities. They have said the program was started by the counterterrorism center at the C.I.A. shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but never became fully operational, involving planning and some training that took place off and on from 2001 until this year.

I think they finally Got Dick!

106 zombie  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:24:41am

re: #89 Charles

This whole thing is about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this "secret" program have known about it for years. They're pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi's claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

I think you are 100% correct.

107 quiet man  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:25:18am

I think all of this shows just how little control the left has on our darker foreign policies...with the CIA at odds with the administration and the congress, their effectiveness has to be at an all time low.

couple this with the rank and file CIA knowing they could be jailed for doing their jobs and duty to the country; this is a weakness that could truely damage us.

108 Wyatt Earp  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:26:33am

Cheney/Palin, 2012!

Imagine all of the exploding Democrat heads . . .

109 Walter L. Newton  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:27:06am

re: #106 zombie

I think you are 100% correct.

I don't. I think it will help her, but I think this has more to do with keeping the media and the public busy with something so we don't harp on the failed stimulus project.

110 SixDegrees  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:27:41am

re: #89 Charles

This whole thing is about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this "secret" program have known about it for years. They're pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi's claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

According to Hayden, this morning on NPR, he briefed Congress on the program several times; nothing was withheld, and everyone who was supposed to know anything knew everything about it.

Hayden's statement was definitive, and it's real easy to verify. Just pull up the minutes of the meetings in question, and note who was recorded on the roll in attendance.

It's the same bullshit Pelosi tried to pull, and it's looking like it may have the same outcome. Although Pancetta (or whatever his name is) probably took a few more pains to rap some staff knuckles over divulging their own knowledge that such briefings took place and that they were thorough.

111 horse  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:27:54am

"What about the economy and unemployment!" a citizen yells at them.

"What? We can't hear you over our very important drum beating about the evils of Cheney!" replies the scared democratic leaders and their media underlings.

112 Killgore Trout  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:28:32am

re: #20 Charles

Crazy Pam sez it's worse than a terrorist attack.....

They have intimidated and threatened the American Library Association, and have succeeded in silencing Robert Spencer to speak in Chicago.The ALA caved, the panel canceled. This is a terror attack. This is just as destructive as a bomb going off somewhere, perhaps worse.
113 alegrias  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:28:37am

re: #89 Charles

This whole thing is about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this "secret" program have known about it for years. They're pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi's claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

* * * *
Pelosi's Pinnocchio face looks more pinched than ever, despite her millions.

Meanwhile California is in freefall and many of us are unemployed.
Pres. Obama's popularity is falling.

Thank Heaven Dick Cheney put our country's security first for 8 years, because these jokers don't.

114 DEZes  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:29:01am

Cheney, you magnificent bastard....

115 Kronocide  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:29:14am

This story is all headline and no story.

“Because this program never went fully operational and hadn’t been briefed as Panetta thought it should have been, his decision to kill it was neither difficult nor controversial,” the official said. “That’s worth remembering amid all the drama.”

The louder they crow the guiltier they are. Pelosi is going to play this up huge. We can now call her Mrs Straw Man of The House.

116 Wyatt Earp  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:29:17am

re: #112 Killgore Trout

Crazy Pam sez it's worse than a terrorist attack.....



Aaannnddd . . .
lunatic!

117 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:29:30am

re: #109 Walter L. Newton

I don't. I think it will help her, but I think this has more to do with keeping the media and the public busy with something so we don't harp on the failed stimulus project.

No matter what the reasons are, the American people are ill-served by the mendacity this administration and Congress insist on employing.

118 Syrah  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:29:51am

re: #89 Charles

This whole thing is about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this "secret" program have known about it for years. They're pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi's claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

The Dems are embarked upon a very dangerous path.

If they engage in political show trials of their opposition, they risk making transitions from one party to another near to impossible.

At the very least, the outgoing party will have to destroy huge amounts of data just to make spurious political prosecutions that much more difficult.

Banana republics are no fun.

119 Wyatt Earp  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:30:03am

re: #114 DEZes

Cheney, you magnificent bastard....

BIG CIA IS RIPPING US OFF!

120 FurryOldGuyJeans  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:30:46am

re: #118 Syrah

The Dems are embarked upon a very dangerous path.

If they engage in political show trials of their opposition, they risk making transitions from one party to another near to impossible.

At the very least, the outgoing party will have to destroy huge amounts of data just to make spurious political prosecutions that much more difficult.

Banana republics are no fun.

Keeping the Dems in total control is Job One.

121 Kronocide  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:31:06am

re: #112 Killgore Trout

Crazy Pam sez it's worse than a terrorist attack.....

'gaze'

122 itellu3times  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:31:45am

re: #62 wahabicorridor

And you believe him? HA! He knows the American people won't support this. Pelosi and her minions get to be the bad cop to his good cop.

Yes, but even so. Come on, we all feared it might be much worse.

And it still may, but sufficient unto the moment.

123 westman  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:35:03am

So Panetta briefed the intelligence committees about a secret program on June 24. And on June 26 seven Democratic Congressmen wrote a public letter to Panetta criticizing the CIA over this.

True, they apparently didn't reveal details of the program. But from everything I'm now reading it's hard to see that letter as anything other than a political stunt -- why didn't they just tell Panetta directly of their concerns?

It seems to me that this reaction by those Democrats only justifies concerns about releasing this type of information to too many members of Congress.

124 solomonpanting  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:37:55am

Cheney Linked to Concealment of CIA Project

BFD

125 Gus  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:38:09am

Cheney Is Linked to Concealment of C.I.A. Project.

Seems perfectly reasonable to me. He is "linked" to a project that would have taken place immediately following the attacks on 911.

How soon they forget.

126 [deleted]  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:38:49am
127 koedo  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:38:53am

Imho, it will be a big mistake for Holder to after Cheney unless he's looked way down the paper trail.
Almost certainly, some Senate/Congressional Dems will be implicated, possibly disastrously . Remember the more stunned than usual look on Nancy Pelosi's face a while back?

Obama wants to push through Health Care Reform, green policies, bullet trains (lets no worry about the costs because Obama isn't),...still has Afghanistan/N.Korea/Iraq/Iran and will need some Reps to make it all go smoothly either publicly or privately. In fact, I'm almost certain the investigation won't happen; it doesn't make sense when viewed through Obama's political prism.

128 rightymouse  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:39:02am
"The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday."

Two people (sources) with direct knowledge blabbed to the NYT. Charming. I'm presuming that this was a classified meeting with the committee members?

129 rightside  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:43:49am

re: #97 Walter L. Newton

The media has been covering her ass on it. Real journalists would get to the bottom of it quickly.

130 Charles Johnson  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:44:31am

re: #112 Killgore Trout

Crazy Pam sez it's worse than a terrorist attack.....

Nobody intimidated the American Library Association. The panelists who were supposed to appear with Spencer decided, en masse, that they would not show up if he did. They were not told in advance that Spencer was a panelist.

131 [deleted]  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:45:28am
132 shortshrift  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:46:25am

This is typical of The New York Times. Its scandal-mongering headline is undermined by facts buried in the article.
- program not operational
- the relevant statute provides "leeway for judgment" on briefings, which should be done "consistent with due regard from protection from unauthorised disclosure..." (i.e. no need to pour water into a sieve, even though the Times is the prime beneficiary of leaks in a Republican administration.)
This one aborts itself.

133 wahabicorridor  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:50:10am

re: #122 itellu3times

Come on, we all feared it might be much worse.

Ok, you lost me there. We feared what would be much worse?

134 rightymouse  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:50:24am

re: #131 Iron Fist

The Bush White House had good reason to distrust congress.

You betcha.

135 Render  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:50:32am

It might have something to do with this...

[Link: www.time.com...]

...nonsense from Robert Baer.

Who doesn't seem to realize that he is now part of the very problem that caused his early retirement from the Agency, so he claimed in "See No Evil." Almost 300 pages of rightly complaining that the CIA doesn't (or didn't) use enough human based intelligence sources and the amount of damage done to the Agency by the Bill Clinton administration as well as the earlier Church Commission. And here Baer is seven years later complaining about those very same human based intelligence sources and calling for more of the same kind of damage to the Agency.

I do still recommend "See No Evil" as well as Steve Coll's "Ghost Wars."

THE
HORROR,
R

136 wahabicorridor  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:53:12am

re: #135 Render

Ghost Wars is excellent.

138 DEZes  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:55:27am

re: #131 Iron Fist

I was just thinking about the secret wiretaps that someone (likely either Dick Durbin (D-al Qaeda) or Jay Rockefeller) leaked a couple of years ago. The Bush White House had good reason to distrust congress.

The American people have a good reason to distrust Congress.

139 poteen  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:56:24am

re: #44 FurryOldGuyJeans

Partly, I believe, that Attorney General Holder wants to prosecute Bush Torture 'Crimes' despite Our Man Obama's already stated objections.

Compare that fawning piece of creative writing with this report from someone who may have read a definition of journalism. A whole lot less ink.

[Link: www.usatoday.com...]

140 soxfan4life  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:12:20am

re: #19 tradewind

Good for Dick.
Since when was the CIA renamed the Central Information Agency?

I think Congress has pretty much proved they don't know what to do with intelligence.

141 Irish Rose  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:14:34am

re: #20 Charles

You have a right to defend yourself against false accusations, Charles.
Dont' let anyone tell you otherwise or suggest that you shouldn't because it will rock the boat.

People who do that are only thinking of themselves.

142 rollingdivision  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:14:43am

"During the second half of the Bush administration, CIA officials did not consult with the administration about the program or take orders from Cheney to keep it secret, according to former agency officials who held senior posts at the time.

"We never briefed the vice president, the president or the Cabinet," said a former senior intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the program remains highly secret. He said the program remained in the planning stages and never crossed the agency's threshold for reporting to the administration and congressional overseers."" Washington Post

143 Irish Rose  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:19:23am

re: #112 Killgore Trout

Crazy Pam sez it's worse than a terrorist attack.....

Pam is an idiot.

144 koedo  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:25:48am

Gus,

#137

I don't typically like to comment of a person's physical appearance but he looks exactly like the sniveling, post-60's, America bad, Reps bad, NYT columnist that I had conjured up in my mind.

He really has nailed that generic, I know I'm smarter than you, super pussy look about himself that squares perfectly with my mental image of the editorial staff of the NYT.

145 UncleSam  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:27:10am

The Dems are nothing but a bunch of power-mad despots.
They will do anything for power, including destroying this country.
They would rather rule over a wasteland than share power in a secure and prosperous nation.

146 Irish Rose  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:27:28am

Personally Charles, I think you should do more than "respond" to Spencers' bullshit.

I think you should sue the fucker.

147 koedo  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:28:38am

Irish Rose gets right to the point.

148 shortshrift  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:37:31am

re: #130 Charles

Once again, I am very sorry to see this "hate-speech" war. Spencer is no doubt irritated that he has been boycotted, and furious that CAIR used lgf to provide ammunition against him to the ALA. He claims that his fellow panelists must have known of his presence from the timetable materials.
Be that as it may, the only surprise in this ALA/Spencer controversy is that he was invited in the first place. The ALA, like the teachers' unions, are tending leftward, and are easily persuaded to uphold free speech selectively. (The very subject of the panel - stereotyping - suggests that it is all about Islamophobia. In a recent book on being Muslim in America, an example of Islamophobic stereotyping is offered with great indignation: Walt Disney's Aladdin - in which scimitar-wielding soldiers chased the heroine for stealing an apple threatening to cut off her hand.)
Spencer is a zealot. He is so intent on selling his product (that the doctrine of Islam is poison) that he does not care who is buying it and for what purposes. But then, nobody in politics can be sure that what they say is not being abused by the opposition.

149 aRedPhishHead  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:42:19am
My take on this kerfuffle: it’s about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this “secret” program have known about it for years. They’re pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi’s claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

That, and the economy's not doing a damn thing (it's getting worse) and the Obama 'stimulus' has been shown to be more or less a failure and nothing but a political payback fest for their special interest groups. It's disgusting, really.

Their poll numbers have been drifting down and so the Democrats need 'a distraction.'

So now the pretend they're still living in the Bush Administration and act like they have no control over what they're doing. Bush, you see, is making them "investigate" things they knew about as well.

Business as usual. Not very hopey or changey.

150 Charles Johnson  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:48:53am

re: #148 shortshrift

Once again, I am very sorry to see this "hate-speech" war.

I need to point out that all the nasty ad hominem rhetoric is coming from Robert Spencer. He's written thousands and thousands of words attacking me in increasingly personal terms - I challenge you to find one equivalent insult-laced post from me about Spencer. I've focused on facts in every single post I've made about these issues.

And I still find it exceedingly odd that Spencer would vehemently defend the pro-Koln group, even as he tries to say they LIED about him accepting the invitation to Germany. Why would he defend people who (according to him) dishonestly claimed he had confirmed his appearance at the event?

151 wiffersnapper  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:59:47am

Since when has there been a news piece that's ever applauded Dick Cheney? This just makes me sigh at the state of "news" today.

152 shortshrift  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 12:09:30pm

re: #150 Charles

I agree that you have been insulted (unfairly).
But it is not odd for a zealot to defend people who want to give him a public platform. Your pointing out that Spenser has been prepared to associate himself with bigots on this platform puts him in a very awkward position. He wants to deny that the ostensible associates are bigots to legitimize the association, and simultaneously wants to deny that he is a bigot and so claims he did not accept the association in the first place. It is a face-saver. I am embarrassed for him. And I do not think he is actually a bigot.
Clearly he infers ad hominem attacks in what you say about his associations.
The issue of association - from mere propinquity to allegiance - is an interesting one, best debated away from the battlefield.

153 Sharmuta  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 12:12:51pm

re: #130 Charles

Nobody intimidated the American Library Association. The panelists who were supposed to appear with Spencer decided, en masse, that they would not show up if he did. They were not told in advance that Spencer was a panelist.

People should know the facts. Then they can decide for themselves who has credibility.

154 pre-Boomer Marine brat  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 12:23:00pm

In late ... a fly-by two-cents post:

IMHO, Charles is likely right on target. The circumstances positively reek!

/this will blow up in the Democrats' faces when it's learned that the program involved exposing terrorists under interrogation to sexually explicit LOLcats.

155 hazzyday  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 12:35:01pm

When Pelosi looks in the mirror in the morning does she think "Buffoon"?

156 Capitalistincharge  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 12:47:46pm

The Democrats are, once again, showing their true colors. This is clearly a move designed to prove Pelosi right...they lied to her and they lied to Congress. What I am praying is that the Intelligence community has a very powerful way to prove all of this is a political breech of trust and jeopardizes our National Security. I gotta say folks, watching Obama and Congress:
1. Side with Chavez over anything, let alone, wrongly label the Honduran situation as a Coup
2. Already bankrupting America and now suggesting that a second stimulus is in the works
3. Appologizing all over the world for any position of righteousness and freedom America has ever stood for
4. This administrations ability to say anything regardless of the facts, and keep saying it until it becomes fact while we sit in dumbfounded awe of their collective audacity
5. The Nationalizing of our financial and manufacturing base
and so, so much more
Just leaves me sick over what is being allowed to happen to our country.

157 paint-right  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 12:57:35pm

re: #129 rightside

The media has been covering her ass on it. Real journalists would get to the bottom of it quickly.

Funny...intentional?

158 paint-right  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 1:00:34pm

For the generation that gets its news from Hollywood movies, is it not the plot of every nailbiting spy -type movie that there is a rogue CIA operating behind the scenes? By golly, they've known it all along and soon we'll have the proof!

/

159 pingjockey  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 1:01:51pm

So a secret program, that was never implemented. OMG! The horror! If I hear one more lefty say anything about how they support this country, they will end up with a busted nose.

160 sngnsgt  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 1:18:43pm

Pelosi is a pathological liar. I'm surprised she can run that yap of hers with her terminal case of foot in mouth disease.

161 really grumpy big dog Johnson  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 1:29:36pm

The whole kerfluffle is puzzling to me. It seems to late for Pelosi to "save face" (as if there was face left TO save...), Something much bigger would be needed to deflect the news of the obviously growing ranks of the unemployed and homeless...

I think something else is brewing. Keep watching... closely.

162 Oldbluesboy  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 1:36:55pm

Rahm and his boys just love to see us bickering about a distraction (crisis). That's his primary goal.

Look at the real crisis.
Clowerd Piven Alinsky ACORN

163 RightMinded  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 2:19:26pm

Late to the thread here, but I have to agree with the consensus that it's "much ado about nothing". The left is trying to accomplish many objectives with this "information" from Panetta.

In one fail swoop they are trying to cover for Pelosi (i.e. the CIA "lies") and they are trying to draw attention away from their ongoing policies which people are now beginning to notice. The economy is NOT any better, like they promised it would be 6 months ago, employment is still growing and they are just continuing to spend our country into backbreaking debt. And when people start seeing what they're trying to do to this country, their poll numbers are gonna dive and their policies won't be implemented.

So what do they do? Why they bring out the left's favorite whipping boy, Dick Cheney. They proclaim he's been hiding information from Congress for the last 8 years. He's been running secret programs! He's still evil like they've been preaching since his first term in office! The left just eats that up with a spoon, any reason to hate Cheney.

That, they think, will draw attention away from them and their current plans to socialize our country, AND they get to use Cheney as the punching bag. I'm sure they think it's a "win-win"!

I'm so tired of the left! The minute I heard them blaming Cheney, I almost laughed! They are so predictable!

164 Crimsonfisted  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 2:43:14pm

This just stinks on ice. Somewhere, some how, somebody must have something on HER.

165 jet2nc  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 4:52:23pm

The real proof that this was no secret program kept from Congress, was the fact that The New York Times, you know their motto, "All the leaks that’s fit to print", didn't print any leaks of this secret program. If the Times didn't leak it, and later the MSM didn't propagate the leaks to all, then it could not have been a secret program.

166 ibmkeyboard  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 7:37:37pm

Obamas polls are tanking - go take a look at dreary KOS.

They are afraid to post his job approval rating-
29 percent for- and 38 percent against.

Peloski has been in the tank for some time.

When in the tank blame Cheney and Bush.

My fellow Americans it is unraveling faster than they can put bandages on it.

167 ladycatnip  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 7:46:20pm
My take on this kerfuffle: it’s about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this “secret” program (which, by the way, was never actually implemented) have known about it for years. They’re pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi’s claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

Bingo! Waiting for ABC's Jake Tapper to "tell us the truth" about Pelosi and the CIA...any minute now...

168 Optimizer  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 9:52:37pm

Seems like somebody ought to at least be starting some wild rumors about the nature of the program. May I be the first to suggest something involving UFOs! (heh)

But, seriously, Charles is likely right. They're probably either making a mountain out of a molehill, or it's just outright total B.S. altogether. It's being fed to the media to try to a hype conspiracy regarding a program that never even did anything. Without a compliant media, this story could not possibly be useful to anybody.

At this point, I have to wonder whether the mainstream public is very interested in the demonization of a former President or VP who is no longer in the limelight. This is a bit like bad-mouthing somebody who has just died. It just comes off as mean-spirited and pointless. People are NOT going to get distracted from the most stressing unemployment situation in a generation - not over that crap, anyway. Only the far-left crazies still want to hear about Dick Cheney.

169 Fluffster  Sun, Jul 12, 2009 11:50:23pm

Lying is bad, lying for Nancy Pelosi a hundred times that!

170 leftover54  Mon, Jul 13, 2009 12:45:00am

"Only the far-left crazies still want to hear about Dick Cheney."

Ever watch John Stewart or Steven Colbert ?? They can't get enough !!
---
#816 leftover54 7/11/09 2:00:32 am
"I don't see black helicopters piloted by Haliburton tech bots (operated by remote control by Dick Cheney from his underground bunker of evil)..." and:
"...this stands out like Pelosis' eyes":
Report: Bush Surveillance Program Was Massive
---
What ? No cigar ??

171 FrogMarch  Mon, Jul 13, 2009 1:53:20am
My take on this kerfuffle: it’s about saving face for Nancy Pelosi. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the Democrats yelling about this “secret” program (which, by the way, was never actually implemented) have known about it for years. They’re pulling it out now because they need to back up Pelosi’s claims that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding.

Sounds right.

Also, with Obama's poll numbers sinking...

172 FrogMarch  Mon, Jul 13, 2009 2:01:47am
173 Salamantis  Mon, Jul 13, 2009 12:07:21pm

CIA Had Secret Al Qaeda Plan
Initiative at Heart of Spat With Congress Examined Ways to Seize, Kill Terror Chiefs
By SIOBHAN GORMAN
[Link: online.wsj.com...]

A secret Central Intelligence Agency initiative terminated by Director Leon Panetta was an attempt to carry out a 2001 presidential authorization to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives, according to former intelligence officials familiar with the matter.

The precise nature of the highly classified effort isn't clear, and the CIA won't comment on its substance.

According to current and former government officials, the agency spent money on planning and possibly some training. It was acting on a 2001 presidential legal pronouncement, known as a finding, which authorized the CIA to pursue such efforts. The initiative hadn't become fully operational at the time Mr. Panetta ended it.

In 2001, the CIA also examined the subject of targeted assassinations of al Qaeda leaders, according to three former intelligence officials. It appears that those discussions tapered off within six months. It isn't clear whether they were an early part of the CIA initiative that Mr. Panetta stopped.

The revelations about the CIA and its post-9/11 activities have emerged amid a renewed fight between the agency and congressional Democrats. Last week, seven Democratic lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee released a letter that talked about the CIA effort, which they said Mr. Panetta acknowledged hadn't been properly vetted with Congress. CIA officials had brought the matter to Mr. Panetta's attention and had recommended he inform Congress.

Neither Mr. Panetta nor the lawmakers provided details. Mr. Panetta quashed the CIA effort after learning about it June 23.

RTWT

174 Seattle Rep  Mon, Jul 13, 2009 12:08:45pm

I'm still waiting for the Gov't to come clean about the funding that went to Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems...

175 Ty85719  Mon, Jul 13, 2009 12:21:43pm

Being that nearly every claim being perpetuated by rabid Democrats regarding supposed secret CIA programs has been contradicted or proven to be an outright lie, I am calling shenanigans on this witch hunt --- the Democrats are playing a very dirty and dangerous game

176 sacred plants  Tue, Jul 14, 2009 9:43:43am

It took eight years to scrap an entitlement that did not work!

Just wondering, how long did it take Cheney to abandon a bore that did not gush?


This article has been archived.
Comments are closed.

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal
Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh