Since the election of Barack Obama, the left portion of the blogosphere has been insistent on charging George Bush and Dick Cheney with criminal and civil lawsuits surrounding the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” in places like Gitmo.
The loud rumbling that was all over the airwaves have suddenly gone silent over the past few weeks. The outrage has simmered down because it has been reported that Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed by the Bush Administration on these issues as far back as 2002. Let me try to explain what this really means to our friends on the left… it means that your Congressional leaders (Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the Democratic members of the Intelligence Committees) knew about and agreed to this method of interrogation.
The Executive Branch, through the C.I.A., briefs members of the Select Intelligence Committtees in the House and the Senate for two reasons; 1). For the purposes of Congressional oversight as mandated by the Constitution and 2). To maintain a working relationship with the Committees so that the C.I.A will receive their budget funding request for the next fiscal year. In other words, if the Intelligence Committees and the Congressional leadership was opposed to this type of interrogation, they had the means and the authority to stop it by not funding it through the Intelligence budget appropriations process.
Nancy Pelosi is not the only person on Capitol Hill who knew about and condoned these methods of gathering information. Congressional leaders in both parties are as culpable as the former President and Vice-President. If some on the left want to file charges against Bush and Cheney, fine… let’s make sure that we totally clean house and rid ourselves of everyone who had a part to play in this messy business.
Faculty, Department of Political Science, Towson University. Graduate from Liberty University Seminary.