Raw Story acquires letter seeking probe into who tipped off Wash. Post to CIA jails

E-Z-B

E-Z-B

CAGiversary!
Senior Republicans are pushing for an investigation into who revealed the existence of secret CIA prisons overseas for "high-value" al Qaeda suspects to the Washington Post, RAW STORY can confirm.

The Post reported on the existence of secret U.S. prisons in Eastern Europe Nov 3. The Bush administration has not commented on the report.

The letter follows.

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November 8, 2005

Dear Chairman Hoekstra and Chairman Roberts:

We request that you immediately initiate a joint investigation into the possible release of classified information to the media alleging that the United States government may be detaining and interrogating terrorists at undisclosed locations abroad. As you know, if accurate, such an egregious disclosure could have long-term and far-reaching damaging and dangerous consequences, and will imperil our efforts to protect the American people and our homeland from terrorist attacks.

The purpose of your investigation will be to determine the following: was the information provided to the media classified and accurate?; who leaked this information and under what authority?; and, what is the actual and potential damage done to the national security of the United States and our partners in the Global War on Terror? We will consider other changes to this mandate based on your recommendations.

Any information that you obtain on this matter that may implicate possible violations of law should be referred to the Department of Justice for appropriate action.

We expect that you will move expeditiously to complete this inquiry and that you will provide us with periodic updates. We are hopeful that you will be able to accomplish this task in a bipartisan manner given general agreement that intelligence matters should not be politicized. Either way, however, your inquiry shall proceed.

The leaking of classified information by employees of the United States government appears to have increased in recent years, establishing a dangerous trend that, if not addressed swiftly and firmly, likely will worsen. The unauthorized release of classified information is serious and threatens our nation's security. It also puts the lives of many Americans and the security of our nation at risk.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

William H. Frist, M.D.

Majority Leader

U.S. Senate


J. Dennis Hastert
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/LEAKED_Draft_letter_prepared_to_call_1108.html

Impede an investigation into the leak of a CIA agent, but immediately get to the bottom of who leaked information about illegal jails, eh Frist?

MSM sucks. Raw Story rocks.
 
Sounds like they're thinking a Senator on the intelligence committe may be responsible for the "leak".

So they ADMIT that they have secret prisons to do the torturing and killing away from international monitors, despite what Dubya says. It's time for Rumsfeld, Dubya, and the rest of the administration to make a permanent trip to the Hague.
 
[quote name='E-Z-B']Sounds like they're thinking a Senator on the intelligence committe may be responsible for the "leak".

So they ADMIT that they have secret prisons to do the torturing and killing away from international monitors, despite what Dubya says. It's time for Rumsfeld, Dubya, and the rest of the administration to make a permanent trip to the Hague.[/QUOTE]
That's what I was thinking when I first heard it. They do seem to be confirming secret prisons by going after the leaker.
 
They should nail the leaker to the wall. If it was a Senator on the Senate Intelligence Committee he/she should have their top secret or codeword clearence revoked and be drummed out of th U.S. Senate on treason charges.

Do you honestly believe that we're torturing and killing prisoners? I mean, really? Or do you just say that to get attention. Not that I'd accuse you of being a sensationist seeking attention whore :roll:.
 
If we're not torturing anyone, why is Dick Cheney trying to exempt the CIA from the torture ban?

It seems like the Republicans are drooling over the thought that this might have been a Democrat leak, but when I first heard the story last week, the speculation was that it was leaked by someone in the CIA. At this point it could be anyone.

I know this won't fly in the black and white world of the GOP, but a leak to expose possible illegal torture prisons in foreign countries is different from a leak to attack a critic of the possibly fabricated reasons for going to war. One is whistleblowing and one is petty revenge.
 
I don't care who leaked it. My opinion on the matter wouldn't change.

My biggest fear is this is coming from within the CIA itself. The reasons which I believe this I don't have the time to get into now. Suffice to say there are so many careerist and bureaucrats that have had their domain ruffled by 9/11, WMD intelligence investigations and Bush attempting to make the agency less political (Like the State Department.) that they see their entire existence threatened.

This is a hell of a lot more dangerous from a national security standpoint than you can imagine. Secondary to that if you reveal the countries any such centers "may" exist in you open them up as terrorist targets and put their civillians at risk.
 
We shouldn't have secret CIA prisons. Period. We have some idea of the activities that happened at Abu Ghraib. I shudder to think what happens in the prisons we don't know about.
 
It's scandal after scandal for the Rupublicans. By this time next year, Bush and Cheney will be fighting to remain in office.
 
[quote name='PittsburghAfterDark']They should nail the leaker to the wall. If it was a Senator on the Senate Intelligence Committee he/she should have their top secret or codeword clearence revoked and be drummed out of th U.S. Senate on treason charges.[/QUOTE]

I'd say it depends. I'm obviously not condoning giving away troop movements a la Geraldo Rivera, but there's a world of difference between saying that the citizens have a right to know that their government is torturing captives in other countries in order to get around the obvious illegality of the act and, say, blowing the cover of a NOC, which ruins her career at best and results in her taking two in the face the next time she's operating at worst.

[quote name='PittsburghAfterDark']Do you honestly believe that we're torturing and killing prisoners? I mean, really? Or do you just say that to get attention. Not that I'd accuse you of being a sensationist seeking attention whore :roll:.[/QUOTE]

I'd consider sodomy with a baton, breaking someone's feet with the flat of a fire axe, and literally jumping up and down on someone's prostrate body torture, yes.

If you can choke down your case of what I'm sure is classic "liberal media distrust" and watch both former interrogators and internal reports back that up:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/torture/view/

Hell, if nothing else, McCain called it torture, and unlike our Attorney General, he knows from torture.
 
[quote name='PittsburghAfterDark']They should nail the leaker to the wall. If it was a Senator on the Senate Intelligence Committee he/she should have their top secret or codeword clearence revoked and be drummed out of th U.S. Senate on treason charges.

Do you honestly believe that we're torturing and killing prisoners? I mean, really? Or do you just say that to get attention. Not that I'd accuse you of being a sensationist seeking attention whore :roll:.[/QUOTE]

Torture by individuals soldiers, yes. Torture, suggested or advocated by higher ranking officials, yes. Soldiers, which have accused or released info about fellow soldiers abusing detaining, have even said it was often on the advice or orders of higher ups. That is consistent among most soldiers and, those that don't indicate higher ups, I've yet to hear any soldier suggest that it was without the knowledge or approval of commanding officers, just that they didn't care one way or the other. I'm referring to situations where detainees have been abused, I'm sure there are some areas where commanders take it seriously and do their best to stop abuse. But many don't.

Killing, not really. The u.s. government released information stating there were homicides committed, the fact that soldiers did kill detainees is not debatable. I don't think, at least maybe with 1 or 2 rogue officers, any of the deaths were ordered or suggested (even to set an example) by higher officials.
 
lol, you're right. Raw Story has more info:

"Trent Lott stunned reporters by declaring that this subject was actualy discussed at a Senate Republican luncheon, Republican senators only, last tuesday the day before the story ran in the Washington Post. Lott noted that Vice President Cheney was also in the room for that discussion and Lott said point blank "a lot of it came out of that room last tuesday, pointing to the room where the lunch was held in the capitol." He added of senators "we can't keep our mouths shut." He added about the vice president, "He was up here last wek and talked up here in that room right there in a roomful of nothing but senators and every word that was said in there went right to the newspaper." He said he believes when all is said and done it may wind up as an ethics investigation of a Republican senator, maybe a Republican staffer as well. Senator Frist's office not commenting on this development. The Washington Post not commenting either."

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Senator_tells_CNN_he_believes_Republican_1108.html

So PAD - do you still support an investigation now?
 
Looks like Fox News is on board with promoting torture :roll: :

torture.jpg
 
Hmm. Who would be the first to lead the battle if al-jazeera had a headline "What's the Fuss With Beheading Those Who Want to Kill Us?"

I guess FOX forgot that, in order to reinforce that "we are good" and "they are evil," that there has to be discernible differences in how each side acts towards captives.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']I guess PAD lied when he claimed to be a realtor[/QUOTE]

Uh, I never said I was a realtor. That was speculation on mykeyvermin's part. I've never confirmed or denied what I do for a living. I will however deny I am a realtor.

torture.jpg


Can't say I disagree with posting that question. I honestly don't care what they do to them once they've pulled them off the streets. If we had a program in place to make dog food out of them, super, I'm all for it.

If this matter comes down to a leak of classifed information, I don't care who did it. Nail them. Too many politicians of any stripe care more about befreinding the media as "trusted sources" than they care about national security. If the statements were made by people without a caveat given that what they were being told was classified or code word information the leaker isn't responsible. The idiot shooting his mouth off would be. I would be highly suspect if the original source of this information going to Senators though was Dick Cheney.

I'm not a political fanboy here. Politicians are the lowest scum on Earth and ego is more of a reason for them to blab than you can imagine. It's like little Cindy Brady running around "I KNOW A SECRET!" being an attention whore. This isn't a matter of party rights but national security. Too often anymore party rights come first, national interests come second.
 
So, if I put up George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln that would be okay?

It can be an ex-President, just not a recent ex-President?

You = Cluless
 
[quote name='PittsburghAfterDark']Uh, I never said I was a realtor. That was speculation on mykeyvermin's part. I've never confirmed or denied what I do for a living. I will however deny I am a realtor.[/quote]

You know, you did tell us what you did for a living a few weeks back, right?

torture.jpg


Can't say I disagree with posting that question. I honestly don't care what they do to them once they've pulled them off the streets. If we had a program in place to make dog food out of them, super, I'm all for it.
Click to expand...

You feel this way about them; they feel this way about us. Those people in the middle? Well, when *this* becomes the predominant message amongst people interested in what goes in in this world as well as the media, then it's more likely that we'll end up with people thinking this way, than those taking a more benign approach.

In the end, I read your comments that have no regard for how captives are treated (and let's not even bother with the uncertainty of their status as terrorists or sympathizers). That's fine to feel that way, but it seems to me you're missing one major point. It is important for the United States military to not only (1) capture suspected insurgents/al-qaeda members/terrorists, but also to (2) show to those people who aren't in category (1) that we want to see them benefit from a democratic state. Part of ensuring (2) is keeping them ideologically on our side, and as more and more information such as this gets out, we are doing outselves no favors on that front. I hope you can agree with that much.

If this matter comes down to a leak of classifed information, I don't care who did it. Nail them. Too many politicians of any stripe care more about befreinding the media as "trusted sources" than they care about national security. If the statements were made by people without a caveat given that what they were being told was classified or code word information the leaker isn't responsible. The idiot shooting his mouth off would be. I would be highly suspect if the original source of this information going to Senators though was Dick Cheney.

I'm not a political fanboy here. Politicians are the lowest scum on Earth and ego is more of a reason for them to blab than you can imagine. It's like little Cindy Brady running around "I KNOW A SECRET!" being an attention whore. This isn't a matter of party rights but national security. Too often anymore party rights come first, national interests come second.
Click to expand...

That last statement is very true; despite that, it's peculiar that you're more concerned with whomever might have told the press that we're treating people inhumanely, that we're ignoring the geneva conventions, and that we're hiding it from the American public, than you are with the very fact that it's going on to begin with. This is no different from that laughable Limbaugh proposition (Saddam's legal defense) you posted the other day. Why do you find it necessary to laud the perpetrators behind these atrocities, and vilify the people who bring it to light? If you're so proud of Bush et al's deeds, or find them to be benign, what fault do you have with it?

Shall we blame Newsweek again, or shall we blame what is actually going on?
 
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