Leaky Leahy

thinkinboutstuff:

Senator Patrick Leahy has demanded that the Bush Administration release two secret CIA documents because “the public has the right to know”. Do we? Do we have a right to know? Is this in our best interest?

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Reality Flashback… from The Strategy Page

In the 1980s, Senator Patrick Leahy, who was on the Senate Intelligence Committee, was accused of a number of leaks. One of those leaks is said to have lead to the death of a source in the wake of the interception and capture of the terrorists who hijacked the Achille Lauro and killed a wheelchair-bound American. Leahy even went so far as to threaten leaks in order to dissuade the CIA from carrying out covert operations. Finally, in 1987, one of Leahy’s leaks – involving the Iran-Contra affair, was traced back to him, and he was forced to step down from his post on the Intelligence Committee.

Unfortunately, unlike the faux-outing of Valerie Plame that got so much attention from the press, Democrat leaks of real classified information for political or personal gain are not as rare as they should be… they should be non-existent. Another example not involving Leahy:

In 1995, then-Congressman Robert Torricelli leaked the identity of a CIA source in Guatemala, apparently at the behest of his then-girlfriend. This source, who was allegedly involved in human rights violations, was not harmed, but multiple CIA operations were harmed when other sources refused to cooperate for fear of being outed due to their checkered pasts.

But, back to the present… (from AP)

Leahy demanded two documents whose existence the CIA recently acknowledged in response to a lawsuit by the ACLU.

The first document is a directive Bush signed giving the CIA authority to set up detention facilities outside the U.S. and outlining interrogation methods that may be used against detainees.

The second is a 2002 memo from the Justice Department’s office of Legal Counsel to the CIA General Counsel regarding interrogation methods that the spy agency may use against top al-Qaida members.

Excuse me?! Who’s rights are we protecting here? Terrorists? And this helps the American public how? Does he understand we are at war? Or does he only care about his own political agenda? This man has a track record that makes him a security risk, and he is about to head the Senate Judiciary Committee. Looks like the swamp is growing.

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There are certainly few in the US who are bigger supporters of terrorist rights than Sen. Leahy. I think it comes from his liberal paranoia. These are the guys who see a Nazi behind every tree.