What Congress Knew (about interrogations)

Wall Street Journal ^ | May 9, 2009

[reaganaut1]

On September 4, 2002, Porter Goss, then the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Nancy Pelosi, the ranking Democratic member, were given a classified briefing by the CIA on what the Agency calls "enhanced interrogation techniques," or, in persistent media parlance, "torture." In particular, the CIA briefed the members on the use of these techniques on Abu Zubaydah, a high-ranking al Qaeda operative captured in Pakistan the previous March.

Abu Zubaydah was a name the future Speaker was already familiar with. That spring, information obtained from the terrorist had the FBI and other government agencies scrambling to prevent possible attacks on the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. It wasn't clear whether Abu Zubaydah was being truthful. "He is also very skilled at avoiding interrogation," Ms. Pelosi was quoted in Time magazine. "He is an agent of disinformation." It is precisely for such reasons that the CIA resorted to its enhanced techniques later that year, after gaining legal authorization.

These days, Speaker Pelosi insists she heard and saw no evil. "We were not -- I repeat -- were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used," she told reporters late last month. "What they did tell us is that they had . . . the Office of Legal Counsel opinions [and] that they could be used, but not that they would."

That doesn't square with the memory of Mr. Goss, who has noted that "we were briefed, and we certainly understood what the CIA was doing," adding that "Not only was there no objection, there was actually concern about whether the agency was doing enough."

[FlingWingFlyer]

"Not only was there no objection, there was actually concern about whether the agency was doing enough."

Sounds like Pelosi is going to be one of the defendents if her comrades decide to carry out their "war crimes" fiasco for their Muslim terrorist buddies.

[dr_lew]

These days, Speaker Pelosi insists she heard and saw no evil.

I feel a song coming on.

[SandRat]

Pelosi = Stats Fiendishe

[unkus]

Sounds like Pelosi is going to be one of the defendents if her comrades decide to carry out their “war crimes” fiasco for their Muslim terrorist buddies.
______________________________—

Yep. Don’t ya love it. These sorry SOB’s ....

[jiggyboy]

Mr. Rockefeller disclaimed any knowledge of the opinions. "If White House documents exist that set the policy for the use of coercive techniques such as waterboarding, those documents have been kept from the committee," said Mr. Rockefeller.

Amusingly, or almost, Senator Rockefeller's denial is flatly contradicted by his own report on the subject released last month, which notes that "On May 19, 2008, the Department of Justice and the Central Intelligence Agency provided the Committee with access to all opinions and a number of other documents prepared by the Office of Legal Counsel . . . concerning the legality of the CIA's detention and interrogation program. Five of these documents provided addressed the use of waterboarding."

"Flatly contradicted" = LIAR!

[bigbob]

What did Pelosi know and when did she know it?

And when did she forget she knew it?

Stupidity, not senility...

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

If Pelosi is a liar, this leftist you must fire!

[mirkwood]

AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov o
Nancy will get this one.