Sunday, December 09, 2007

Democratic Leaders Have Some 'Splainin to Do

It appears that in 2002, 4 members of congress met with the CIA and were given an extensive virtual tour of the "torture program".
Yet long before "waterboarding" entered the public discourse, the CIA gave key legislative overseers about 30 private briefings, some of which included descriptions of that technique and other harsh interrogation methods, according to interviews with multiple U.S. officials with firsthand knowledge.

With one known exception, no formal objections were raised by the lawmakers briefed about the harsh methods during the two years in which waterboarding was employed, from 2002 to 2003, said Democrats and Republicans with direct knowledge of the matter. The lawmakers who held oversight roles during the period included Pelosi and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Sens. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), as well as Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.) and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan).

I think these Senators owe the public an explanation.

UPDATE: It appears that Jane Harman at least sent a classified letter to the CIA protesting the interrogation techniques.

1 comment:

Brian said...

and people think i'm crazy to vote green.