The Democrats' War on our Spies

Jed Babbin at Human Events takes a look at the latest Democrat attack on America.

"But what Obama and Pelosi are doing is vastly more important. Pursuing their strategy aimed at vilifying the Bush administration, they are creating turmoil in our intelligence agencies. According to one intelligence community source, Panetta and Director of National Intelligence Adm. Dennis Blair are in a “polar struggle”, the kind of constant infighting that thwarts our ability to pursue, gather and apply the best intelligence we can, the information we need to survive the war we are in."

The Democrats’ war against our spies has taken two new turns. In their zeal to punish Bush administration officials -- and protect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) from publication of the facts showing her complicity in then-legal waterboarding of terrorist prisoners -- the Democrats have again accused the CIA of lying.

This came during the same week when it was reported that Attorney General Eric Holder is considering the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those who authorized and committed alleged torture of prisoners at CIA “black sites”, the secret prisons where high-value terrorists were interrogated since 9-11.

Holder’s move is a part of the Democrats’ war on our intelligence agents and those who authorized their activities in the essential work of gathering information to save American lives. If he proceeds, the “ongoing investigation” claim will effectively block all other inquiries, and could prevent for years the publication of information that could prevent further damage to our intelligence community.

This time, the accusation of a CIA lie is about an intelligence program that went on for years and was not revealed to Congress. In a June 26 letter to CIA Director Leon Panetta (concealed from House Intelligence Committee Republicans until it was sent and apparently leaked simultaneously to the press) seven House Dems asked Panetta to correct his May 15 statement that the CIA’s policy is not to mislead Congress.

The letter said, “Recently you testified that you have determined that top CIA officials have concealed significant actions from all Members of Congress, and misled Members for a number of years from 2001 to this week. This is similar to other deceptions of which we are aware from other recent periods.” What the lie is about is, of course, still classified. (More...)