Posted on 07/14/2009 9:59:53 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Via The Hill:
With their Speaker behind them, House Democrats are pushing ahead with plans to hold a series of hearings investigating instances in which intelligence officials may have misled members of Congress.
Senior Democratic aides said that a major announcement could come by the end of week, but it was already clear on Monday that House Democrats are seizing on weekend news reports that former Vice President Dick Cheney hid information from Congress.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that the CIA, under the direction of Cheney, developed a secret counterterrorism program and then was directed by the vice president to conceal it from Congress.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the program was a classified initiative to kill or capture al Qaeda operatives.
Unfortunately for Democratic witch-hunters, their pals at the national security-defying New York Times apparently blew this secret back in December 2002:
The Bush administration has prepared a list of terrorist leaders the Central Intelligence Agency is authorized to kill, if capture is impractical and civilian casualties can be minimized, senior military and intelligence officials said.
The previously undisclosed C.I.A. list includes key Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden and his chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, as well as other principal figures from Al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups, the officials said. The names of about two dozen terrorist leaders have recently been on the lethal-force list, officials said. Its the worst of the worst, an official said.
President Bush has provided written legal authority to the C.I.A. to hunt down and kill the terrorists without seeking further approval each time the agency is about to stage an operation. Some officials said the terrorist list was known as the high-value target list.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Except McCarthy was right most of the time.
Leon should have checked with the government MSM file clerks at the NYT before sticking foot in mouth.
Bush’s order would have been entirely reasonable for the following reasons:
1. We are/were at war with Al Qaeda;
2. Members of Al Qaeda are by definition “enemy combatants;”
3. The senior leadership of Al Qaeda present the most fleeting of targets. If they pop-up you don’t have time to go running to the WH to ask “pretty-please” may be kill this guy?
This is all about the WH pulling San Fran Nan’s fat out of the fire after her claim that she was not briefed about waterboarding. They are using a Plan that was never adopted as “proof” that they were not always briefed by the CIA when they should have been.
Pelosi is like a little pig. She enjoys rolling around in the mud with her accusers. Is it any coincidence that they are pinning this on former VP Cheyney when responsibility should properly go to the President?
September 26, 2001
DCI Tenet:
Mr. President.
The exceptional men and women of the Central Intelligence Agency and our entire Intelligence Community--the wonderful patriots with whom Im honored to serve--welcome you back at this turning point in the life of our nation.
On September the 11th, the forces of terror issued a brutal challenge to civilization itself. And under your leadership, the American people are responding with unity, resolve, and enormous strength.
All of us here, and at places of duty around the world, know that the present fight will neither be short nor easy.
But our shared determination to see that fight through to victory--the victory of life and freedom--could not be greater.
That is what we pledge to you today, Mr. President. Our greatest service in this greatest of causes.
[applause]
Now, it is my high honor and privilege to introduce our great Commander in Chief, the President of the United States, the Honorable George W. Bush.
[applause]
President Bush :
Thank you all very much. Well, George, thank you very much, and thanks for inviting me back.
[laughter]
There is no question that I am in the hall of patriots, and I've come to say a couple of things to you.
First, thanks for your hard work. You know, George and I have been spending a lot of quality time together.
[laughter]
There's a reason. I've got a lot of confidence in him and I've got a lot of confidence in the CIA.
[applause]
And so should America.
It's important for America to realize that there are men and women who are spending hours on the task of making sure our country remains free; men and women of the CIA who are sleeping on the floor, eating cold pizza--[laughter]--calling their kids on the phone, saying, well, I won't be able to tuck you in tonight--because they love America. And I'm here to thank everybody who loves America in this building. And I want to thank you for what you're doing.
We are on a mission to make sure that freedom is enduring. We're on a mission to say to the rest of the world, come with us--come with us, stand by our side to defeat the evil-doers who would like to rid the world of freedom as we know it. There is no better institute to be working with than the Central Intelligence Agency, which serves as our ears and our eyes all around the world.
This is a war that is unlike any other war that our nation is used to. It's a war of a series of battles that sometimes we'll see the fruits of our labors, and sometimes we won't. It's a war that's going to require cooperation with our friends. It is a war that requires the best of intelligence. You see, the enemy is sometimes hard to find; they like to hide. They think they can hide--but we know better.
This is a war that not only says to those who believe they can disrupt American lives--or, for that matter, any society that believes in freedom, lives--it's also a war that declares a new declaration, that says if you harbor a terrorist you're just as guilty as the terrorist; if you provide safe haven to a terrorist, you're just as guilty as the terrorist; if you fund a terrorist, you're just as guilty as a terrorist.
And in order to make sure that we're able to conduct a winning victory, we've got to have the best intelligence we can possibly have. And my report to the nation is, we've got the best intelligence we can possibly have thanks to the men and women of the CIA.
[applause]
The cooperation with Capitol Hill is unique and, I hope, lasting. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the work of Senator Daschle and Senator Lott, Speaker Hastert and Leader Gephardt. There's deep concern amongst Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to do what's right for America--is to come together to provide the necessary support for an effective war.
And that includes making sure that the CIA is well-funded, well-staffed, has got the latest in technology. I believe we can work together to make sure that that's the case. After all, as America is learning, the CIA is on the front line of making sure our victory will be secure.
I intend to continue to work with Congress to make sure that our law enforcement officials at home have got the tools necessary--obviously, within the confines of our Constitution--to make sure the homeland is secure; to make sure America can live as peacefully as possible; to make sure that we run down every threat, take serious every incident. And we've got to make sure, as well, that those who work for the nation overseas have got the best available technologies and the best tools and the best funding possible.
There is a good spirit in Capitol Hill because Americans want to win. They want to win the first war of the 21st century. And win we must--we have no choice, we can't relent. Now, there's going to be a time, hopefully in the near future, where people say, gosh, my life is almost normal; September 11th is a sad memory, but it's a memory.
But those of us on the front lines of this war must never forget September 11th. And that includes the men and women of the CIA. We must never forget that this is a long struggle, that there are evil people in the world who hate America. And we won't relent. The folks who conducted to act on our country on September 11th made a big mistake. They underestimated America. They underestimated our resolve, our determination, our love for freedom. They misunderestimated the fact that we love a neighbor in need. They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the Commander-in-Chief, too.
[applause]
So, anyway, I was sitting around having coffee with George and Michael--[laughter]--I said, I think I'd like to come out to thank people once again; I'd like to come out to the CIA, the center of great Americans, to thank you for your work.
I know how hard you're working. And I hope all the Americans who are listening to this TV broadcast understand how hard you're working, too. You're giving your best shot, long hours, all your brain power, to win a war that we're going to win. And I can't thank you enough on behalf of the American people.
Keep doing it. America relies upon your intelligence and your judgment. America relies upon our capacity to work together as a nation to do what the American people expect. They expect a 100 percent effort, a full-time, no-stop effort on not only securing our homeland, but to bringing to justice terrorists, no matter where they live, no matter where they hide. And that's exactly what we're going to do.
Thank you very much. May God bless your work, and may God bless America.
[applause]
Go back to work.
*********************************************************
Photos at the CIA Website....
*************************************
The cooperation with Capitol Hill is unique and, I hope, lasting.
***********************************
Well we see that the lasting cooperation seems to be over!
I wonder if any of the hyperventilating KOS-kiddies have stopped to ask themselves if there is any functional difference between having a Predator-B orbiting over Waziristan ready to lob a Hellfire at a likely target-of-opportunity, and sending a Spec Ops hunter-killer team into the same area with a sniper rifle and a scrambled sat phone? Or is the latter just a tad too “personal” for them to deal with?
Just posted this :
'Killing Terrorists-Gate' and Phony Outrage ( Pelosi and the House Democrats )
I was listening to some liberal radio talkshow host while driving home from Allentown (PA) last night. I gather the show was out of Buffalo, NY. Anyway the female host was hyperventilating about investigating Dick Cheyney and “putting him in jail.”
I wonder if they really want to go down that road? I mean I sometimes dream about putting Algore in jail, but it would be a really stupid thing to do unless there were a clear violation of the law that wasn’t covered by some official-immunity statute.
Incidentally, the reason(s) for the investigation of Cheyney were never articulated. I guess there isn’t a need to do such a thing when your listeners are lobotomized or otherwise factually-challenged. The liberals don’t just have the Cart-before-the-Horse... they have the cart before a whole HERD of horses.
Now we need that photo of Cheney giving him that Look...
LOL...Sounds good to me.
Witch hunts always tend to locate witches. Good people are going to have their lives ruined and in return we will have a repeat of 9/11 so Nancy Pelosi wont be held accountable for her lies.
marked
I would LOVE to see Cheney called to testify on any of this stuff. He would make them all look like the moronic children they are.
I wouldn't expect the left to take it that far - they fear Cheney because Cheney is armed with the truth and the ability to express it. They just want to use the threat as a weapon.
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