The Democrat majority on the Select Committee on Intelligence has released its “torture” report – hurriedly released before the Republicans take control of the panel. There is little “new” in the report – but like most reports, what it leaves out would make a good report. For instance, it left out all the interviews with the CIA Directors, other top CIA officials, the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States. . . ooops - they weren’t left out – those people were not interviewed at all! We repeat – this extensive report interviewed none – not even one – of the principals involved in the enhanced interrogation sessions.
Authored by John Shaffer, Editor The Democrat majority on the Select Committee on Intelligence has released its “torture” report – hurriedly released before the Republicans take control of the panel. There is little “new” in the report – but like most reports, what it leaves out would make a good report. For instance, it left out all the interviews with the CIA Directors, other top CIA officials, the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States. . . ooops - they weren’t left out – those people were not interviewed at all! We repeat – this extensive report interviewed none – not even one – of the principals involved in the enhanced interrogation sessions. The program was used on a handful of captured terrorists, and the CIA directors under President Bush and President Obama, all say that (claims of Senator Feinstein and Senator McCain to the contrary) that valuable and “actionable” intelligence was obtained from the program. Furthermore, President Bush himself authorized the program; the Attorney General also signed off on it – by definition it was not a "rogue" program. And, for what it's worth, President Bush stopped the enhanced interrogation program well before the Obama administration took office. It was not an ongoing program. Reasonable people can disagree as to many of the conclusions of the report; or its effectiveness. We can also have varying definitions of what constitutes “torture.” Some define “torture” in different ways – but the important thing to remember is the motivation. The methods used in the program were not the “movie-villain” type of torture, which were done out of sadistic pleasure or as means of punishment. The enhanced methods used by the CIA, and authorized by the President, were done under extreme circumstances as a means of obtaining information about possible impending attacks. Perhaps they were not necessary – perhaps they were; perhaps they went too far – perhaps they did not; perhaps it is vital to publicize this episode – perhaps it is not; but one thing should be clear to everyone (if not to Senator Feinstein) the program was limited, the program was controlled, the program was authorized, and the program had a purpose – to prevent future attacks. Oh – one more thing – the leaders of Congress were informed of the program and what it entailed. Senators Feinstein and McCain are correct: America must have a higher standard than our enemies. Nazis, Communists or Jihadis do not “rein in” their “rogue” adherents. The very thought is ludicrous. America does rein in its rogues, but – to repeat – this was not a rogue operation. Attorney General Eric Holder investigated the program with an eye toward indicting rogue CIA agents, and guess what? He found no one to indict. The false moral equivalency of the report – that infers that the CIA under President Bush was no better than the Nazis under Hitler or the Communists under Stalin – is appalling. We know that Senators Feinstein and McCain are patriotic Americans, but they can’t be unaware that their rhetoric will be used (or distorted) by America’s enemies. And for what? To expose something that already had been exposed? To find fault with a previous group of officeholders? To end a program that already has been ended? To satisfy some personal pique of Senator Feinstein? Our enemies behead innocent, non-combatant, prisoners and fly hijacked planes into buildings. Meanwhile, we dissect our national policies in public, sometimes without regard for the harm that it may do to our intelligence agencies and personnel. The Obama administration has placed our military and intelligence services on alert, out of concern over the reaction to the report –yet it favored having the report (which covered events dating back eight years) released. It is hard to see how releasing this report enhances our security or makes America a better place. America is strong enough to withstand the fallout from this report. Let's use the occasion to rebuild our institutions, not to destroy them.
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