The Democrats' War on the CIA Continues [Marc Thiessen]
Democrats on Capitol Hill have been indignant over the fact that the details of a top-secret CIA program apparently was not fully briefed to Congress. Within weeks of that program being brought to Congress's attention, key details have now leaked to the news media — thus validating the original decision not to share the details with Congress in the first place.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the program which Democrats were so angry about turns out to be an effort "to carry out a 2001 presidential authorization to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives." Excuse me, but this is the Democrats' idea of a scandal? Most Americans would not only expect, but demand, that the CIA do everything in its power to kill al-Qaeda operatives before they strike our country. Indeed, the Obama administration itself has reportedly escalated targeted killings of al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan using Predator and Reaper drones. These targeted killings are not assassinations — they are legitimate strikes against an enemy that has declared war on us and attacked us where we live.
That Congressional Democrats are outraged by this program speaks volumes about the state of their party on national security. The fact that the CIA was trying to kill al-Qaeda operatives should not be a point of outrage — it should be a point of pride.
With this latest leak, Congress has shown once again that it cannot be trusted with highly classified information, and that efforts by House Democrats to require the administration to brief top-secret programs beyond the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees are dangerous and misguided. Moreover, it is not at all clear that there was any legal obligation to brief Congress on the details of this program. From every available account, it is clear Congress was briefed on the initial presidential "finding" which the secret program was designed to carry out. It is unclear whether there was an event under this program that would have required a re-briefing.
This revelation is just the latest episode in the Democrats' war on the CIA. Congressional Democrats have been publicly chastising the agency for "lying" to them about this program, in a partisan effort to divert attention from the fact that Speaker Pelosi still has provided no proof to back up her outrageous claims that the CIA lied to her about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on Abu Zubaydah.
Now, over the weekend we learn that Attorney General Eric Holder is considering appointing a special prosecutor to investigate CIA operatives who interrogated senior al-Qaeda terrorists and got them to give up information that stopped new terrorist attacks. On Meet the Press, Sen. Charles Schumer said that this was the "right thing to do." This is the same Senator Schumer who declared in a hearing a few years back that of course we should torture people if we knew they had information on an imminent attack.
These latest attacks on the CIA will only serve to put the agency even further on the defensive when we really need the on the offensive against the terrorists. The men and women of the CIA were vilified after 9/11 for failing to connect the dots and stop the attack. Now they are being vilified for doing what was necessary to connect the dots and stop the next 9/11.
With these actions the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats are making another terrorist attack more likely. This is irresponsible, dangerous, and Americans may die as a result.
The Democrats’ War on the CIA Continues - Marc Thiessen - The Corner on National Review Online (13 July 2009)
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