In case that verbiage is too obfuscatory for you, let the CIA, via McClatchy Newspapers, come clean in its own cogent way:
Findings of the investigation by the CIA Inspector General’s Office “include a judgment that some CIA employees acted in a manner inconsistent with the common understanding reached between SSCI (Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) and the CIA in 2009,” CIA spokesman Dean Boyd said in a statement.In case that verbiage is still too murky for the comprehension of the average intelligent person, let us be super-duper crystal clear:
The spooks broke the law and domestically spied on Congress. They got caught in the act. They denied it at first. And like any abusive spook worth his salt, CIA Chief John Brennan proceeded to publicly impugn the mental health ("beyond the scope of sanity") of his chief accuser, pictured below
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| Senate Moll Dianne Feinstein |
Star-crossed bureaucrats that they are, they soon kissed and made up behind closed doors. Therefore, hapless Attorney General Eric Holder decided not to be a third wheel. He didn't want to spoil the rapprochement by airing the squabbling pair's dirty laundry. But since other dirty laundry (the Senate's CIA torture report) is going to get aired anyway after a thorough whitewashing by the Obama White House, Brennan decided to manfully admit to just a teensy little bit of jealous cheating (hacking his moll) to deflect attention from the felony physical assault already perpetrated upon hundreds of CIA torture victims -- not to mention the criminal propaganda assault soon to be perpetrated on the report-reading public.
Just to make sure that he is completely forgiven, Brennan this week held yet another makeout session with Feinstein, which was really a three-way involving Republican heartthrob Saxby Chambliss. (Is there a more seductively evocative name than Saxby Chambliss?) This guarantees that the ultimate whitewashing of torture will be completely and unimpeachably bipartisan. And to further prove what a peachy abuser he is, Brennan will also submit his apology for the high level review of Fox News contributor and former senator Evan Bayh of Indiana. Thrilling disciplinary measures have not been ruled out! So stay tuned for evocative yardsticks upon brass knuckles.... and plenty of lash-ready wet noodles.
If there is one thing that the CIA (Criminal Idiots of America) know how to do, it's covering all their bases as well as covering their own asses.
Here's my (partly) tongue in cheek NYT comment on this topic:
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea! They should spy on Congress more often and report regularly to We the People. They should publish reports online on a weekly basis and even more often when Congress is on one of its spurious month-long 'vacations'. That's when they really do the damage to our country.
We need to know what our public servants are up to, who they're taking money from, who they're doing favors for, which favorite foreign countries they pass legislation to fund weapons and missile defense shields (ok, some things are more obvious than others), what insider trading their families are engaging in, etc. They put our nation at serious risk for attack by their actions - take their support for bloody massacres in Gaza. Why are they putting us at such risk with overt support for the slaughter? Why are they increasing funding and not stopping it? M O N E Y
Yes, yes, yes! Spy on the President too while you're at it. He has regular contacts with the biggest economic terrorists on earth - the banksters. We want to know why he hasn't indicted them. Open up those secret files - to us. We're supposed to know everything they do, and not vice versa. If they don't like it, they can get out of government.
We need to start digging out secrets if we're going to get to the bottom of this stinking pile of a government. Spying on Diane Feinstein is a darn good start!
“There's another reason I value John so much. And that is his integrity and his commitment to the values that define us as Americans. He has worked to embed our efforts in a strong legal framework. He understands we are a nation of laws. In moments of debate and decision, he asks the tough question and he insists on high and rigorous standards." – President Barack Obama
ReplyDelete“As far as the allegations of the CIA hacking into Senate computers, nothing could be further from the truth. We wouldn't do that. I mean, that's just beyond the scope of reason,” lies the most talented liar in Washington, John Brennan.
The CIA that tortured, kidnapped, rendered, and destroyed evidence wouldn’t hack Senate computers and then lie!
Too obfuscatory CIA verbiage, i.e., weaselspeak for the CIA did hack into the Senate computers, thus violating the separation of powers.
Our senators express righteous indignation, “absolutely unacceptable in a democracy,” and have, just now, lost confidence in John Brennan.
Did it matter that Brennan was complicit in illegal torture and a defender of torture? Why were Americans asked to entrust our clandestine spy agency and its killing and interrogation apparatuses to a man who was complicit in illegal torture?
Torture was not the only reason to be wary of Brennan.
What about his role in Obama's secretive program of extrajudicial drone assassinations? Brennan described this "disposition matrix" as a "playbook."
What about the CIA spying on emails from whistleblower officials and Congress?
If Brennan works for the President, does he lie to him?
Brennan has decided to submit the findings for review by an accountability board chaired by noted corporate hack and lobbyist, retired Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, who served on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Crisis averted! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!!!
Why do so many Americans willingly buy the company line of our spymasters, who assure us time and again that the letter of the law is being followed, that civil liberties are respected, even as evidence accumulates suggesting the opposite?
The CIA should be eliminated. They should have been taken out after they had President Kennedy assassinated and might have been put down if they hadn't lied and destroyed all the evidence. If Obama doesn't neutralize them, someone else should lay that agency to rest forever.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Obama decided years ago to join them rather than fight them. He willingly went to the dark side. So they now do his dirty work, including assassinating at least 4 American citizens that we've found out about. That doesn't include those who've been tortured. Why quit torturing when they can just lie and say they did? Obama would approve. The thing about the CIA that makes them so valuable is not just their skill at killing civilians and government leaders, but their expertise at making their kills look like natural or accidental deaths. Priceless!
The CIA has too much on Obama for him to even try to rein them in now. As Karen said, Brennan will get a Presidential Medal of Freedom when he retires, just as Tenet the Torturer did. Obama will get Sainthood.
“We tortured some folks” [but] “I Have Full Confidence in John Brennan.” - President Barack Obama
ReplyDeleteWhy did Obama promise, after taking office, that the CIA would not be tried for what he now describes as “torturing some folks”?
Torture is a war crime. The CIA violated both federal and international law by “torturing some folks.”
A former president of the Argentine bar once told Scott Horton about his experience with torture during Argentina's "Dirty War" under military dictatorship. It was acknowledged that torture techniques produced no useful intelligence. But torture instills fear and that is useful. The military rulers wanted torture to show that they were above the law - subject to none of the restraints that marked a rule-of-law state.
Is the experience of America different? America is not governed by a military junta, of course. But how many examples of individuals, corporations, and our government being above the law have we seen under this administration?
There is no accountability. It is an arrogant avoidance of accountability. None of them is held to the same standards that we the people are, or that Obama’s American exceptionalism imposes on other nations.
Why is this administration afraid of justice the way our fathers and their fathers understood it?
Because Obama admits “we tortured some folks,” he is obligated by our laws to investigate and prosecute those responsible for torture. It will never happen of course. Pay no attention. “Look forward, not back.” But it does matter! It's about fidelity to the values on which this country was founded. It is about the rule of law and accountability. No man is above the law!
Torture and secrecy, the twin dark stars of the tyrannical state.
Yup, Mr. Folksy admits "We" tortured some folks. Apparently he couldn't just say the CIA tortured because they weren't the only ones, not by a long shot. There's the military, private contractors, agents of foreign countries like Poland and Saudi Arabia assisting us, etc. He mustn't allow that Pandora's box to be opened.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, President Peace Prize said "Hopefully" it never happens again. Hopefully? Ah shucks, I hope he's right. Frankly, I don't believe it's even stopped. It's more likely just been secretly and legally redefined and more deeply classified. (Don't forget, even Snowden couldn't get to the most highly classified stuff).
Did President Obama even mention that torture was wrong? I have a hard time listening to him, so if he did, I missed it. Anyway, does anyone still believe anything he says?
The deeply disturbing part was his excuse for it - folks were scared. Afraid. So when fear is involved, there's no need for further investigation, charges, or trial. The Magic Word list has expanded from just 'National Security' to 'Fear' Next he'll add 'The Devil Made Me Do It' That one maybe I could believe.
I bet those being tortured and bombed are plenty scared too! Does he even consider what they must be feeling and planning? Nobel Peace Prize. Make me gag.
Why his excuse bothers me so much is that it provides cover for any number of past and future atrocities - and for Israel's massacre of Palestinian children and our role in it.
So let's get this straight. When fear is involved, it's understandable, forgivable, and forgettable - as long as it's our side doing it. Is that the real appeal of religion? You can do anything because everything is forgiven. Saint Obama, standing in for God, hands out Absolution/Forgiveness cards like a Christian ATM machine. No need to even confess.
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