Nancy Pelosi was for waterboarding before she was against it. The Speaker of the House has maintained that she only knew that the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques had been deemed legal by the Bush legal folks but that she never knew they were actually used. Pelosi has railed against the techniques and those who used them in her continued efforts to discredit the Bush administration.
The reality is, Pelosi was briefed on the techniques AND that they had been used.
In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics. Then the ranking member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, Pelosi and Goss were briefed Sept. 4, 2002, one week before the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The memo, issued by the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency to Capitol Hill, notes the Pelosi-Goss briefing covered “EITs including the use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah.” EIT is an acronym for enhanced interrogation technique. Zubaydah was one of the earliest valuable al-Qaeda members captured and the first to have the controversial tactic known as water boarding used against him. Washington Post [emphasis mine]
The memo clearly indicates that Pelosi knew more than she admits. It would be reasonable to assume she could not reveal the classified information but her denials of any knowledge indicates she is lying about it. She could have easily stated that she cannot discuss what she hears in classified briefings but chose instead to lie.
The memos were released by intelligence officials and I believe they did so to protect people from prosecution. Pelosi and her ilk want blood but the memos are a way to say that if anyone goes down Pelosi must go with them.
This might be because Obama has ticked off the intelligence community by releasing the classified documents with the detailed legal opinion on EITs. The release clearly demonstrated that a well thought legal opinion was rendered deeming the techniques legal however, the release also told our enemies what we do and gave them information on how they can beat enhanced interrogation. This really ticked off the intelligence people.
This is what happens when a rookie in the White House tries to undermine our intelligence efforts. The intelligence community can make him look like a great man or a goat.
Pelosi is already looking bad and it will not be long before Obama is a goat as well.
Others:
Stop the ACLU
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]