Nancy Caught in a Lie!

The Sunday talk shows were entertaining today! Dick Cheney (a.k.a. Darth Vader) is on the attack over the alleged torture of enemy combatants. He is pressing for the release of classified information that documents what was gleaned from the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques used on them. Specifically, what did we learn and what attacks did this information stop? He is also disputing the claims by well-placed Democrat leaders that they were not briefed about these techniques. Well, just so happens Nancy Pelosi, then a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, was briefed multiple times and made public statements that supported it. Oops!

Now the fact that a politician got caught in a lie is nothing to write home about. In fact, finding one that will fess up to it would be groundbreaking indeed. The point is that she has been on such a witch hunt wanting to indict Cheney for war crimes that her amnesia got the best of her. I think this is the reason the dems have backed off prosecutions associated with the EIT's because they are finding culpability in their own ranks. They are both finding that their support of using these techniques when they were happening would not be so easily excused if they go after Cheney. So now they want to let it all die away, quietly.

Not so fast! They have spent a great deal of time calling the EIT's torture, besmirching the reputations of the CIA, the military, and anyone associated with authorizing them. This all being done to placate the very left of their base. I say we lay out everything; a public venting of our spleens, if you will. Every congressman, senator, aide, appointed or elected politician, or even the butler to W. that may have had some knowledge of these interrogations should be hauled up by a special prosecutor and made to pay for their crimes. That means Nancy Pelosi, Jay Rockefeller, Joe Biden, as well as the Republicans they are salivating to indict should be hauled up for public ridicule and punishment.

Of course, this will never happen. It was never about torture! It was about getting even with W. and the Republicans for "stealing" the 2000 election. The Dems couldn't care less about what we did to that human waste we interrogated to prevent another attack. They were disappointed that there was not a successful one! They are calling it torture now like the little kid in a ball game saying that the only reason the other team won is they cheated. Give me a break!

Whether or not "torture" was used is open for debate. Interrogations to be successful must make the person being interrogated uncomfortable. Second, he must not know for sure how far you will go. If he thinks we will stop at sleep deprivation, for example, he can set his mind at ease that it will not get any worse. I have read of the methods used and do not consider them torture. Would I like them done to me? No. But then I would rather be waterboarded than a public beheading! In the high stakes nature of terrorism they only have to be successful once to impact thousands of lives. (Remember 9/11?) The Geneva Convention set out rules for "civilized" warfare, including treatment of prisoners. The problem is that most countries do not observe them. Executing our soldiers, dragging their dead bodies through the streets, torturing them (the real thing) were common place in Iraq, Syria, Vietnam, Germany, Japan, etc. I do not recall us stooping to their levels of human mistreatment.

In an ideal world we would all come together and sit down at a table and work out our differences. There would be no need for the vast military forces maintained by countries around the world. The problem is that such a world has never existed and never will! There will always be countries wanting to force their will on other countries either for financial gain, political gain, or religious zealotry. The only thing that makes an impression on these folks is that they know what will happen if they do something stupid. (Remember Afganistan?) If we show what they believe to be weakness (compassion, high ideals) resulting in lesser consequences, they might be emboldened to attack again. They believe we don't have the stomach for battle and I am beginning to agree with them.