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POTUS Blinks, Day 7 on the Torture Memos

By John Batchelor on April 24, 2009 at 6:30 PM in Dept. of Justice (Obama), Obama Administration, Torture

White House Plans to Release More Documents — and Photographs, Too.  

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Congressional leaders met on Thursday with POTUS at the White House to discuss comity, yet what dominated the headlines afterward were the Torture Memos.  House GOP Leader John Boehner asked POTUS to release the documents that explicate what intelligence the Bush administration actually obtained from the suspects under torture.  The POTUS made no commitment. 

According to Boehner, the president said further disclosures were being discussed by the administration. However, the White House official, who asked not be named, said the president made no explicit statement about a review. 

The NYT put the new information, if that’s what it is, in a more deeply ambiguous fashion:

The president did not foreclose the release of more documents, officials briefed on the session said. But Mr. Obama suggested to Mr. Boehner that the additional information would not be definitive on the value of the information obtained from the detainees, they said.

More, Nancy Pelosi may have reiterated her notion of a Truth Commission.    POTUS may have discouraged the Speaker.  This may be half of a blink.  Majority Leader Harry Reid cagily declared that any formal inquiry of the Torture Memos and attendant material would be “unhelpful.”   At the same time news emerged that the White House, through its obedient agent the DoD, is planning to release 44 photographs of abused prisoners in four weeks, on May 28.  

The photographs are said not to be as disturbing as the original Abu Ghraib snapshots.  But then, these will be official photographs of suspected abuse.  

The Obama administration is releasing the 44 photographs in response to legal pressure brought by the ACLU over a long period of time.  The Bush administration fought until the end.  Now, the Obama administration will compromise, sort of.

“This will constitute visual proof that, unlike the Bush administration’s claim, the abuse was not confined to Abu Ghraib and was not aberrational,” said Amrit Singh, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which obtained the agreement as part of a long-running legal battle for documents related to Bush-era anti-terror policies

Meanwhile, AG Eric Holder (above at House hearings today) declared that he will not selectively release documents supporting or explicating the original four Torture Memos.  No compromise, so far.


What of the CIA?

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The new damage here is twofold.  First, all hope of  cease-fire is wrecked between the most partisan rightist Republicans and the most partisan leftist Democrats.  Like the Barnburners and the Abolitionists before the civil war, the two strident camps, small in comparison to the electorate, now can dominate every conversation about  the Torture Memos.  The civil war of talk is launched; the two self-elected champions will insist upon center stage until 2012.  The POTUS cannot stop this wrestling.  The blinking today at the White House may have been the POTUS suddenly realizing that the grudge match does not need him to do other than stand by and hesitate.  

Also, the always creative George Soros has announced that he will join the brick-throwing in demand for an investigation.   The second damage is to the POTUS’s relationship to the spooks.  The trip to Langley on Monday (right) was to seek to heal the rift caused by the original memo release.

This is Day 7.  News of the 44 additional photographs to be released, suggestions of a Truth Commission, blogosphere bloviating of a war crimes tribunal and a 9/11 search and destroy investigation, all this will deepen the paranoia and alienation among the spooks, present, past and future.

The relations between Langley and POTUS may be compromised without possibility of repair.  Too soon to be certain.  One voice suggested it was too late already:

“My sense is the president was trying to please a lot of audiences at one time and that over the last [week] he has totally failed to put the mind of the intelligence community at ease,” said Mark Lowenthal, a former senior advisor to CIA Director George J. Tenet. “He is going to end up with a national clandestine service that will not be willing to do anything because they feel he will not be there for them when they need him.”
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  • http://noquarter foxyladi14

    this guy will protect no one.except himself..

  • steel magnolia

    everyone go vote on this question at http://www.politico.com

    It was close when I voted with 39% saying yes and 32% no.

    Are you satisfied with how President Obama has governed in his first 100 days in office?

  • Benjamin

    This is just wonderful. A huge partisan battle on The Hill at a time when there are so many issues crucial to the American people. Obama says, “Let’s move on. I want to look forward not backward.” But his actions continue to stir this ugly pot. Once again, pay no attention to what Obama says; pay attention to what he DOES.

    If the momentum to air all of this cannot be stopped, then let’s have the whole truth out. I want to see the minutes of the briefings given to Pelosi, Rockefeller and others.

  • TeakwoodKite

    Why do I hear the echos of “Slam Dunk” eminating from BO’s lips?

  • Eleven

    This is all smoke and mirrors. The Dem is trying to fast tract the health care bill so BO will brag about in his 100 day celebration.

  • catherine

    This is all a distraction.

    • Peggy Sue

      I agree, catherine. It’s distraction, much sound and fury, meant to go nowhere.

      Look at my hand, not the bunny up my sleeve.

  • TeakwoodKite

    An interesting article from Ray McGovern.

    Obama Plays Hamlet; Shredders Hum

    The disclosures in the Shane/Mazzetti article, and plenty of other evidence suggest that this may not be far off the mark. The fact that so many Democratic leaders had complicit knowledge of the torture is no doubt one of the powerful forces working on our president.

    • ConfusedAmerican

      If this is done fairly, which I doubt, there will be so many heads falling that there will be no one left in DC. Just as many high ranking Dems knew about this as the Reps….

      This is one can of worms that Obama should have left shut and sealed. This is going cause so many many problems for our country, security wise and politically.

      If Obama only chops off some of the Repubican’s heads with only a few low ranking Dems then our country will be so very messed up. There are just as many of the high ranking Dems behind this mess(I think Peloski is one, and possibily Biden).

      I have a feeling Obama didnt really realize the extent that this problem could go. I think Obama thought he could do it without any Dems being involved if he was able to not release all.

      Or
      Obama is stupier then I thought….

      Or
      Thinks we as Americans are totally stupid

      Or
      My worst fears about this man are true and he is
      setting up our Country for who knows what.

      • PainkillerJayne

        Good analysis Confused.

        Barry has never really thought ahead tho.

      • Docelder

        He is “organizing”. I don’t understand why anybody thinks he is capable of anything else. All the “work” he did in the hood on the behalf of those people… did he ever solve any of their problems? He may have organized and concentrated their fears into a common hatred and helped deflect that hatred onto the target he was organizing against… But did he actually do anything to help anybody at anytime? Did the lot of those people improve? Now extrapolate this to our country as a whole… he is concentrating the far lefts fears about the establishment… helping them convert their fears into hatred and deflecting that hatred onto the target… Apple pie, patriotism and the American way are the target.

      • Paula Revere

        This is a bunch of crap that is only making that pig Pelosi look like s**t because she, among tons of other Dems, were there and knew what was going on. I hope the GOP opens a can of whoopass on these hypocrites and liars. Nothing will come of this, other than a big breach of our security by declassifying those documents. I will say it…we officially deserve to be blown off the planet. Obama has finally just made it too easy for the biggest moron to do it.

        By the way, I have small hope. I went to my doctor today, who is doctor to the stars and all people Hollywood. I asked if he wanted his pathetic Obama vote back and he said “yes.” When I told him that America would never survive this moron, he said that most of his liberal wing nut patients are coming around to that thinking too. So, slowly we might get some sense into these people.

      • Vidsweet

        I mean, it’s judgment, right? And we all know how Obama and the MSM love to boast that he is the most sophisticated, MOST SMARTEST (yes, that’s grammatically incorrect), anointed leader we were ever blessed with. A uniter, not a divider. Well, less than a 100 days, and it is so friggin’ divided.

        Let’s all remind everyone of clips of 9/11 WTC towers coming down and thousands dying. as beck says, on 9/12 the country was united. We were unstoppable then, every lawmaker worked together. Yes, for SURE pelosi and other dems knew of the torture. and it was their shining moment when they put AMERICAN citizens first compared to the rest of the world.

        Maybe the people should send letters writing these lawmakers that we sent them to washington to protect Americans and our interests. TAXPAYERS need to write this. We want to say that they’re not doing their jobs and should resign. Let’s flood their offices.

        United we stand, divided we fall, and obama divided us, and it we as a nation are falling. WHO FREAKIN VOTED FOR THIS GUY?! ARGH, SOME OF MY FRIENDS DID, THE IDIOTS. I would love to just annoy them and say ITOLDJA so!

  • politicalidentitycrisis

    I’m still getting repetitive use injuries to my neck and jaw from the constant shaking of the head and jaw dropping to the floor at the Obamagall. Anyone in on a class action injury lawsuit against the Obama administration????

    In all seriousness, I have had many, many migraines since about March 2008.

    • politicalidentitycrisis

      In other words, Obama makes me sick.

    • Anon

      I am ready to wire my jaw shut because it has dropped so much in the last 100 days.

  • rw

    This is a pretty complex issue, don’t know enough law to have a none emotional opinion. But, I would think that many factors need to be taken into review: the law, how arrived at the “legality” of the interrogation techniques, context in which they were written, context in which interrogation techniques were applied, who is involved, time frame…

    If an investigation goes forward it is going to be messy, I can’t imagine Cheney & Cadre are going to remain silent, or that leaks will not occur, or that documents will not go missing, or that unexpected complicity will be unveiled, etc. One thing for sure, it will make for interesting politics.

  • Mary Miller

    Each and every day that goes by with Obama releasing photos, reports etc while holding the threat of prosecution over the heads of a former administration takes the focus off of our economy-our bigger issue in Pakistan-and his refusal to address these issues for us..the citizens.
    His threat to nationalize Citibank and replace the preferred stock with common stock for TARP banks is another grab at nationalizing our banking system. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae should be a cry to our citizens..they caused the strife we are experiencing. Now his plan to rule the United States by controlling the financial markets begins..we should all be very nervous now. I can only imagine Reverend Wright at the helm of a bank soon…the State of Illinois give to the Mansion Bank..
    If he and his relatives are abusing the laws that millions of us have to follow with no one arresting the thief Aunt or the pedophile brother at large in Boston…you can expect all of us who try to expose him and his Muslim, communist beliefs as right wing extremists being watched by Homeland Security considered threats to his plan to turn the United States into a giant welfare state…
    I am not over stating..this is his plan. We are all in deep trouble.
    Why isn’t he doing anything about the hundreds of thousands homeless families in tent cities sprouting up all over the United States? Where is the mention of those poor ‘folks’ in the report on his first 100 days of lies and deceit at our expense.
    What is different about him sending thousands of troops to Afghanistan to kill then Iraq? He doesn’t call it war?
    All Americans should read and listen instead of wanting to believe the fantastic lies being spun by the PRO OBAMA press. This guy should be in jail with his aunt.

  • http://animal-farm.us Foxwood

    Let’s go surfin’ now
    Everybody’s learnin’ how
    Do some waterboardin’ with me!

  • Docelder

    O.K., this might be a dumb question… Has a sitting President ever gone rogue against his own CIA before?

    • ConfusedAmerican

      Lets see Obama has set quite a few records.
      1st Black-skinned President.
      1st President to spend the most in his 1st 100 days
      1st President to have the world laughing at us in less than 100 days.

      Maybe Obama is looking for another record to break.
      1st President to go rogue on America’s CIA.

  • jbjd

    Of course the issue of torture is important, and whether “consistent with Geneva” can be reconciled with ‘according to Geneva’ or even whether waterboarding constitutes torture; or why BO chose this time to visit the CIA headquarters or proposed and then reneged on recommendations as to who should be prosecuted, if anyone, for approving and or carrying out torture; and the implications of this decision on the future conduct of military interrogations.

    But the Taliban are about to topple the government of Pakistan and take control of the country’s nuclear arsenal and I hope everyone has contacted elected officials urging them to address this “important” issue before all others.