Just when I think that maybe I have awakened from the nightmare we have all been living through for the past eight years - another evil secret appears.
In the New York Times today, more of the Cheney lies surface:
"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." [www.nytimes.com, 7/11/2009]
Leon Panetta, CIA Director, has been talking about this since June 23. "The question of how completely the C.I.A. informed Congress about sensitive programs has been hotly disputed by Democrats and Republicans since May, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the agency of failing to reveal in 2002 that it was waterboarding a terrorism suspect, a claim Mr. Panetta rejected." [www.nytimes.com, 7/11/2009]
Nancy Pelosi was subjected to much criticism when she made the remarks against the C.I.A., even thought to misrepresent the historical circumstances surrounding her claims.
"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." [www.nytimes.com, 7/11/2009]
Isn't it time for President Obama to declassify some of the documents surrounding the Bush Administration and call for an inquiry into the legality of policies and procedures?
Where is the transparency we all heard so much about during the campaign and following the election of Barack Obama? Let's find out what else took place during the Bush/Cheney reign and vow to never let this abuse of power occur again.