I agree with this statement of Sen. Bob Kerrey’s as far as it goes:
It is important for all of us to not let Congress dodge responsibility. Congressional oversight of intelligence is notoriously weak. The 9/11 Commission recommended a number of changes in the authorities of Congressional committees but the proposal – advanced by Senator McCain – did not come close to gathering a majority of votes in either the Senate or the House.
The worse consequence of a partisan report can be seen in this disturbing fact: It contains no recommendations. This is perhaps the most significant missed opportunity, because no one would claim the program was perfect or without its problems. But equally, no one with real experience would claim it was the completely ineffective and superfluous effort this report alleges.
Of course the Intelligence Committee’s report is a partisan report. It could hardly be anything else. First and foremost senators are politicians it is a bit precious to be shocked, shocked that politics is going on in the Senate.
What bugs me is how can Congress fulfill its oversight function when it is routinely lied to by intelligence officials?
“What bugs me is how can Congress fulfill its oversight function when it is routinely lied to by intelligence officials?”
Not to mention having its computer systems hacked by the agencies it’s supposed to be monitoring: Inquiry by C.I.A. Affirms It Spied on Senate Panel
I feel you are too quick to excuse the partisanship. Oversight is their job and while it’s not surprising that partisan loyalties are trumping their institutional ones, it really isn’t acceptable. That goes for Senate Dems who might be cherry picking data to stick it to GOP, as well as GOP who are insufficiently curious about that which they should question, and the reverse in other situations when the party affiliations are flipped.
I’m not excusing it, CStanley. I’m just fatalistic. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, senators gotta be partisan.
Besides the partisanship or bias of the committee is irrelevant. The critics of the report aren’t complaining that it’s false just that it’s partisan, biased, unbalanced, etc. That position excuses torture.
I’ve heard that the report claims that no effective intelligence was gathered from the “torture”. And I have heard people disputing that.
Congress could start by having officials that lie to them under oath charged with contempt. If necessary, put the screws to whichever administration is in charge until those actions take place. In the old days that would have gathered a fair amount of bi-partisan support, as it pitted Congressional prerogatives against Executive prerogatives.
But these days Congressmen & Senators just care about defending or attacking the President, depending on which letter is behind the name of each.
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And at least one intelligence official (didn’t catch the name) is claiming that Feinstein and some of the pother people claiming they didn’t know had in fact been informed when this was happening. He claims further that Feinstein herself was complaining that they weren’t doing enough with the powers that Congress had allowed them. No way of knowing if that’s true, but that is one counter-claim out there.
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Finally, if the national intelligence apparatus is going to spy on me to figure out where I’m going, who I’m associating with, and what my wife and I think we ought to have for dinner, then I don’t see why Congress should get off the hook. Sauce for the goose, and all that rot.
Sure the report is partisan. Of course it leaves details out. But Republican politicians shouldn’t complain because they removed themselves – took their ball and walked home – and thus had little influence in the final product. That’s an old tactic – refuse to participate, then criticize the result for being “partisan.”
That’s just politics.
Brennan’s comments today say just about everything if you read between the lines. History will not treat kindly the fools who continue to defend the institutional torture that took place. It’s sad, but not surprising, that the American people and most of the rest of the world care little about this stain on the USA or the douche’s who continue to promote it.