Today, Diane Feinstein tried to throw the CIA under the bus so that she and other top Democrats could avoid personal accountability for the CIA enhanced interrogations. It is a shameless attempt to rewrite history. I doubt that it will do much for Diane Feinstein’s legacy. One can only hope that the damage from this pathetic display of self-righteousness can be minimalized.
After 9-11 there were rumors that al Qaeda already had a “suitcase nuclear” bomb in the U.S. That rumor turned out to be nonsense. But ask yourself a question. What would you want a President of the United States to do if there was any risk of a nuclear bomb getting set off in the U.S? What do you think Democratic leaders in Washington wanted Bush to do? Would you expect him to order the CIA to question terrorists according to the Army Field manual to avoid being unfair? Or would you want him to do whatever it took to end the threat? Remember all those Democrats joining arms with Republicans on the steps of the Capital singing God Bless America? Obviously, the Democrats don’t.
It is well documented that Democrats were briefed on the CIA enhanced interrogation techniques and they supported them. There is nothing new here. There is at least one report that when Nancy Pelosi was briefed about this she asked whether or not we could do more. Democrats are trying to claim the CIA misled Bush too, because then the CIA takes all the blame. But George W. Bush is not a Democratic politician, he is a man of honor and he refused to play the game:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/us/politics/bush-and-cia-ex-officials-rebut-torture-report.html
“We’re fortunate to have men and women who work hard at the C.I.A. serving on our behalf,” he told CNN’s Candy Crowley. “These are patriots and whatever the report says, if it diminishes their contributions to our country, it is way off base.”
These are “really good people and we’re lucky as a nation to have them,” he said.
Bush is an example of what we should expect from a President of the United States. He made the decision and he is not about to let someone else take the blame. It is, however, not what one can hope to expect from Democratic leaders in congress and certainly not from the current occupant of the Oval office.
TDM