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Pelosi The Enabler
Nancy Pelosi is no Dick Cheney, nor a George W. Bush. She was neither the author of a systematic policy of torture nor has she been, like Cheney and most top Republicans in Congress, an enduring apologist for its practice. It is a nonsensical distraction to place her failure to speak out courageously as a critic of the Bush policies on the same level as those who engineered one of the most shameful debacles in U.S. history.
But what she, and anyone else who went along with this evil, as lackadaisically as she now claims, should be confronted with are the serious implications of their passive acquiescence. Why did she not speak up, or if it were a matter of a lack of reliable information, demand an accounting from the executive branch, as befits a leader of the loyal opposition in Congress?
If the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and later House Democratic leader, lacked the authority to publicly question a policy of torture, then how can we condemn, indeed imprison, ordinary soldiers who thought it their duty to follow orders?
Even though Abu Zubaydah had been waterboarded 83 times before the September 2002 briefing of Pelosi, she now claims she was told only that the practice might be used and that it had been approved by the Bush Justice Department as legal. Wasn’t that approval in itself sufficiently alarming to justify a strong and public dissent? Certainly that would have been the appropriate response when Pelosi aide Michael Sheehy, along with Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., were informed by the CIA in no uncertain terms five months later that Zubaydah had been subjected to specific “enhanced” methods including waterboarding. Pelosi admits to possessing that information, but according to one of her aides quoted in Politico, after Harman’s letter questioning the practice received “no response” from the CIA, “there was nothing more that could be done.”
Why not? Does the CIA or the White House that directs its activities stand above the law without any congressional restraint, as mandated by the U. S. Constitution that Pelosi has sworn to uphold?
Should the members of the 9/11 Presidential Commission not have been informed that two of the “key witnesses” upon whom their report was based had provided the information critical to the report’s conclusions only after being waterboarded a total of 266 times? On Page 146 of that report, there appears a boxed disclaimer that even the commissioners, possessed of high security clearances, were not allowed to meet, let alone cross-examine, the witnesses or even talk with those who did the interrogations.
As the presidential commissioners conceded in their report, “We submitted questions for use in the interrogations, but had no control over whether, when or how questions of particular interest would be asked. Nor were we allowed to talk to the interrogators so that we could better judge the credibility of the detainees and clarify ambiguities in the reporting.”
In short, the basic narrative of the origins and conduct of the 9/11 attack that so fundamentally perverted American politics relied on cherry-picked information that the White House and its operative in the field chose to release to the commission. As a result, we the public still know nothing of certainty about the financing of the terrorist organization emanating from Saudi Arabia and the UAE or the logistical support supplied to the Taliban and al-Qaida by agencies of the government of Pakistan.
What the public was offered was not an unvarnished look at the available evidence concerning the attack but rather a fear campaign justifying an undifferentiated and illogically constructed international war on terror. As Steve Elmendorf, chief of staff to Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., the Democratic leader following 9/11, put it: “You have to remember, in the 2002 period, the whole atmospherics, it was all about scaring people every day.”
That fear-mongering drove a majority of Democrats to support the president in his invasion of Iraq, the one Arab nation where al-Qaida had been most brutally oppressed by its sworn enemy, Saddam Hussein, who had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack. The “key witnesses” affirmed that reality even after being subjected to torture, which would have proven deeply embarrassing to the Bush administration were it revealed in open court proceedings.
By acquiescing to the cover-up of unpleasant truths in the treatment of prisoners, Pelosi contributed to the betrayal of the ideal of public accountability that is the bedrock of our system of governance, which Congress is charged with protecting.
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63 Comments so far
Show AllThe banality of evil: evil with a grandmother's face.
Pelosi looks like a madam, not a grandmother.
She is not only evil, but a hypocrite and a coward. What a disgrace to womanhood.
What could Nancy have done? At least she could have resigned. At most she could have decided that her oath to uphold the constitution was more important than political office, important enough to even risk prosecution if she revealed that torture was going on. But then no one really expects that kind of integrity from politicians.
Also, be reminded that her first declaration as speaker of the house when the Democrats gained control of Congress in November 2006 was: "IMPEACHMENT IS OFF THE TABLE".
While I won't argue the merits of the strategy of pursuing or not pursuing impeachment, the fact that Nancy vocalized the Democrats' intent assured the Dubya Regime that their license to steal, torture and murder would have no expiration date. The Regime's crime spree then continued for another two years, creating other examples of crime enabled by Nancy.
Sorry, Ray, but the 'crime spree' continues under a 'different' Regime.
When you take into account the kind of money at stake in the "war on terror," you can understand the reluctance of politicians to throw a wrench in the works.
Let`s keep the heat on the evil lawbreakers that were using lies and torture to get what they wanted, not on people like Pelosi that had nothing to do with the war of choice that was sold to the people. Bush, Cheney, and all their miserable bunch of crooked lawyers and crony`s are the ones to go after. They only point the finger at people like Pelosi to save their own skins, and we should not fall for it. We could possibly have avoided the whole mess of 9-11 and the "terror" wars if the Bush administration had acted on the information that an attack was in the works instead of ignoring it.
Oregoncharles
Nancy Pelosi is third in the line of succession. She, by definition of her office, is responsible ... and she knew about the torture!
"Let`s keep the heat on the evil lawbreakers that were using lies and torture to get what they wanted,..."
Exactly! Prosecute and lock up Bush, Cheney, Runmsfeld, Pelosi, Clinton, et al. All those who knew and spread the lie and voted for Shock and Awe.
"Does the CIA or the White House that directs its activities stand above the law without any congressional restraint, as mandated by the U. S. Constitution that Pelosi has sworn to uphold?"
If you've read the findings and statements of the Church Committe (1970s), there is no question that the CIA and other intelligence agencies operate without knowledge of or approval of Congress. Remember the "Black Budget" that Senator Church talked about? Their failure to provide information to Congress is in violation of Article I of the Constitution and it also prevents Congress from exercising its constitutional responsibilites.
Does this sound like a Constitutional government with 3 co-equal branches doing their job to "protect & defend" the citizens of its country?
Oregoncharles
No. For most of my entire life the US has been involved in torture, propping up of brutal dictators, poisoning and slaughtering millions in their war against communism, transferring of wealth to a top few uber-capitalists.
It's futile to pretend that we can play this political game of theirs, where they make all the rules and have all the power and can jerk us around forever.
We need a new game, one that would force them to play by our rules, like in a real democracy. But as soon as We The People begin to assert our power, out will come the tasers, the guns, the handcuffs ..... no doubt about it.
And who enabled Pelosi ? None other than the voters of the very blue and liberal San Francisco, that's who !
I wonder if San Franciscans are regretting not electing Cindy Sheehan, who by the way, called Pelosi out on December 9, 2007 to answer a Washington Post article claiming she knew about torture tactics being used on detainees.
AIPAC also enabled Pelosi to get reelected.
As a former San Franciscan, for the life of me,how this most corrupt speaker was re elected is beyond me; especially since they had a real alternative with Cindy Sheehan. It must have changed a lot since I lived there.
Oct. 30, 2008 (ABC) - "Sheehan's campaign office gets broken into" "missing from the office was a Dell Inspiron 7120 laptop."
kos (dailykos) ridiculed Sheehan for her suggestion that she might have been targeted by Pelosi, as he ridiculed Nader for campaigning.
dailykos today has a blog framing the issue as 'What Did Pelosi Really Know?'.
As a mother who lost my son and son-in-law in Iraq when they served, I cannot believe that DKos has this kind of a nerve to trash Sheehan like that. DKos needs to be shut down for aiding the traitor Pelosi and libelling Sheehan like that ! That site must be run by a bunch of immature kids !
Oregoncharles
Marlene,
My heart goes out to you and your family. I can't imagine anything worse than losing my son. I stand with you in your anger and sadness.
About DKos, I couldn't agree with you more. It's time to stop this silliness: "Dem is good, Rebub bad." It's a scam to control the people. Outsiders, who try to get into the game, uphold the Constitution - like Nader and Sheehan - will be taken down by the powers that be. Unfortunately, too many so-called "progressives" will help them do it.
Charles, on that last sentence, I believe I already did that when I voted Obama last year when I was stuck on the two party mentality. Ever since my husband and I have read this site and motherjones, we've been regretting our vote deeply and now we feel guilty as sin that our votes for Obama will only bring in more grieving parents. I don't even know if either my husband or I will be alive by the time 3rd parties make it to office but now that we're realizing that the Democrats have no plans on being any more decent than the Republicans, we will be happy to support new parties for our votes. If anyone wants to tell us that our votes are throwaway votes, all we have to do is tell them that our lives have already been thrown away thanks to them killing our children.
I would be very careful about accepting either responsibility or blame for any vote...the assumption underlying such feelings is that the votes are actually and accurately tallied...I don't believe that's the case...
I believe she's only referring to the moment she hit the chad or touch screen. What happens to the voter thereafter is another story.
Marlene,
I'm very sorry for your loss. I lost a cousin to this monstrous crime of an occupation.
Please don't beat yourself up about your vote for Obama. I voted for him too, and while I can see that he is far from what I hoped for, I still feel I did the best with what I knew.
I knew neither Obama nor the Democrats would deliver on everything, but I hoped that Obama would be stronger than he is and had more courage of his convictions. Thing is, the situation in Washington is so toxic, I believe anyone going down there would have fallen into the same pattern. It has been set up to trap new presidents coming in within a web of conceit and powerlust, and I truly don't know who would be able to maintain their sense of balance. I'd like to think I could, but doubt it. It's a bad place...almost evil.
While you and I may never see a third party come to power, maybe we can do what we can to rein in the Democratic Party, or at least, help it to crumble into a heap so that it could be totally rebuilt.
Spot on Ted. I would add though that it's actually possible to rein in the Republican Party too. Of course, we need more Ron Pauls for it to happen but I'm with you all the way on the voting part. I myself voted for Nader in 2000 but after the Green Party fell apart, I gave up and returned to voting Democrat in 2004 and 2008. If I remember one thing that was said about this election, it was that voters didn't expect much from Obama so he's doing fine but only so far. I'm not really expecting him to pass single payer either but I was disappointed in his lack of pushing for one or even close. My condolenses to you and Marlene on your losses.
Marlene: My deepest and sincere condolences. Your son and son in law gave their lives for this country and like so many others that were true patriots that loved their country and died for American ideals, I am sure they have a special place in heaven. You, Cindy Sheehan and so many other Mothers are an inspiration to many of us as it must be very difficult for you.
DailyKos is an internet Democratic apologist. I stopped going there long ago. Moveon is in that category.
Someone who likes those two sites probably thinks the NY Times is liberal. Sad.
It is total nonsense to ask,"how can we condemn, indeed imprison, ordinary soldiers who thought it their duty to follow orders?" They are as responsible as Pelosi is. We should remember that following orders is not a valid defense.
"Why did she not speak up, or if it were a matter of a lack of reliable information, demand an accounting from the executive branch, as befits a leader of the loyal opposition in Congress?"
The unspoken code of the broken politics our government is infected with is, do not speak up to evil.
One thing about the "weapons of mass destruction" that Saddam supposedly had...he never used any...within hours of the Iraq invasion, the military commanders and G. Bush should have made the obvious assumption...that there were none. The claim has always been that he would use them...Saddam would have used them if he had had them. In the meanwhile, countless civilians have been murdered and too many (all) soldiers have lost their lives or been maimed to appease the power hungry, inhumane, law breakers of the Bush administration. By putting "impeachment off the table" politicians have condoned the acts of the Bush administration. I for one think there should be impeachment so that history will be clear about the Iraq invasion and so there is no blindness to US aggression in Iraq and around the world. When are we citizens going to take a stand?
people nothing short of HUGE public demonstrations in washington to the tune of millions
of us jamming the house is going to have any effect. they have seized this country with impunity and we need to do alot of heavy lifting to regain control. 30 odd years later the
filthy stain of ronnie ray guns reagan is still among us. lets get busy!
We NEVER had control...just part of the illusion.....like 9/11....
I SO agree we should be in the streets ...any suggestions as to how we organize?
The resignation in this country is palpable. Tell citizens that 9/11 was a false flag and the reaction is, "So?".
So let's get started. How do we get the military and police to side with the public? I really think it would take a revolution of human thinking.
"Even though Abu Zubaydah had been waterboarded 83 times before the September 2002 briefing of Pelosi, she now claims she was told only that the practice might be used and that it had been approved by the Bush Justice Department as legal."
The recently released CIA documents indicate that Pelosi was briefed in the techniques used on Zubaydah, and an assessment of their effectiveness.
The statement by Pelosi is at odds with reality.
I agree with DaveBronstein.
I'm not impressed by the argument that Pelosi is more to be pitied than censured, or that condemning Pelosi is a result of being suckered by the CIA or Republican spin.
It's to be expected that partisans will turn every bit of news into damning criticism of their opponents. And there are obviously many cross-currents and treacherous undertows of influence, disinformation, manipulation and ass-covering to contend with in these complex areas.
The suggestion is that Pelosi's being scapegoated. Unfortunately, those who feel most strongly that this is the case seem moved to defend her as generally blameless or unworthy of critical scrutiny and legal consequences.
She's not Public Enemy Number One, but she's somewhere in the Top Twenty.
· Yr Obd't Servant
"She's not Public Enemy Number One, but she's somewhere in the Top Twenty."
I'm guessing, but I suggest that there are at least 100 politicians, military leaders and members from the judiciary that can be indicted for war crimes, and at least another 100 more for high crimes and treason. Just a guess. Are there any web sites out there keeping track?
Not to defend Pelosi, as her complicity is indefensible, but I would doubt she is in "the Top Twenty" of public enemies as the corporatist oligarchs behind the scenes, who were really behind the push for the Iraq war (which provided the motivation for the torture), should make up the great majority of that group. At some point the oligarchs may even throw Bush and Cheney under the bus, but prosecuting them will matter little as long as the oligarchs remain safe and secure. I believe that Pelosi is more of an insignificant cipher, playing her role as "proof" of the inclusiveness of the US power elite.
Why did she not speak up . . .
There is no money in speaking up. in American politics, cowardice pays off like a corrupted slot machine.
I like your turn of phrase...cowardice pays off like a corrupted slot machine. May I quote you?
They all share the blame fairly equally, and none of the multiple crimes committed under Bush-Cheney could have been carried out with perfect impunity (so far) without complicity from all corners of the power structure: executive, legislative, judicial and the ever-more powerful Fourth Estate.
David Broder and his imitators all over MSM are as guilty as Pelosi and her Democratic fellow enablers. Maybe Bush, Cheney, Yoo, Feith, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Rice and their assorted minions are more blameworthy, but they depend on a system of near unanimous complicity or their torture-happy criminal hands would be stopped in mid-air. The guilt runs so deep in Washington that no one there has any real idea how to even begin investigating, much less initiate a prosecution process that would implicate hundreds and no doubt thousands before all the evidence was in.
Pelosi is acting as a firewall against all that monstrous revelation emerging. If we impeached, prosecuted, tried and convicted everyone in D.C. who played some instrumental role in the torture scandal alone, the remaining officials, senators and House members included, could fit into one wing of the Rayburn Building, with ample office space for all ten of them. That's why Obama won't go near this keg of dynamite as well. Reveal to the world what a debased, perverse, immoral, unethical, criminal class our political and military leaders actually are and we'd all have to surrender to some higher authority. If only there was one.
The propoganda is unbelievable. A lot of people don't think for themselves. They believe everything they hear and read. The indoctrination starts early, in public schools. People need to be reeducated to reality.
If we don't hold Bush and his buddies accountable why we would hold Pelosi accountable? There is only one system in this country and it is the corporations who profit off the citizens of the United States.
All the Democrats enabled the Bush Klan to do what they have done, and now they are enabling Obama to be Bush-Lite.
Liberal voters, you simply have to do more than vote for the second set of the problem before you can solve the problem. You have to get off your rear ends and into the streets. You have to create new organization rather than just allowing yourselves to be co opted into the ruling class's organizations. Stop being so lazy and get to work!
This time, RS is a bit off-base.
"The CIA also reportedly briefed members of Congress 40 times on the controversial interrogation techniques."
NP claims she was briefed only once. Which puts her at the bottom of the list.
Let's hear from the enablers at the top of the list, starting with whomever was briefed 40 times, then 39 times, then 38... those are "our" reps who clearly had no problem whatsoever with the torture of humans.
When we get down to 1 time, we'll bust NP's balls. In the meantime, let's loudly and publicly attack the most guilty first...
It's sad to see Democrats falling for another Republican smear campaign. This sort of thing--along with a disturbing and pervasive misogyny--is crippling the left beyond measure.
In this, I envy the the Republicans, who would never be so easily deflected.
Oregoncharles
Oh, I see your savvy strategy: protect the Democrats when they enable torture because they're not Republicans. Good thinking Perry logan! You get a gold star today! Your assignment for tomorrow is to show how disloyal progressives are trying to sabotage Barack Obama by criticizing his slaughter of innocents in Afghanistan and Pakistan ..in the "good war."
I think the schools are to blame for the way Americans think ... or don't.
Now for some math: Dems + Repubs = Scam
The Democrats are equally responsible, since the 2 parties do rule together. The supposed oppositional fighting between themselves is more for show than anything.
It's difficult to conceive of justice being carried out with respect to the criminals and their enablers of the last administration absent an unlikely revolution being carried out by ordinary citizens who still believe in the Constitution. Unlikely because there doesn't seem to be a lot of those folks around; the current administration as it turns out doesn't appear to have the stomach for any kind of change that we can believe in; and so many of those who occupy seats in the White House and in Congress are themselves now fundamentally complicit in the crimes committed. Any lawmaker who does his or her job and opens that can of worms will find themselves surrounded by worms in every nook and cranny and under just about every rock they look. The only thing that makes sense now is to sweep them all out of office and start over. Making a personal commitment not to vote for any more Democrats or Republicans is probably the only way to carry out such a revolution. But how likely is that?
The voters should have kicked Pelosi to the curb and put in Pelosi's nemesis -- CINDY SHEEHAN. What the hell is the matter with voters voting for Pelosi who became bush's Monica Lewinsky? Have the American people learned NOTHING? How long does it take them to wise up? It was sickening how Pelosi became speaker of the House and lost all remants of a spine. She fawned over bush, and it was sickening to the max.
Ms. "Impeachment Is Off the Table" is only concerned with one thing...keeping herself in power and money.
should could give a rats ass if the entire country turned Fascist, as long as she got to secretly be one of the head fascists.
a deplorable subhuman in liberals clothing
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
I say give her a fair trial, then hang her with the rest of them...better safe than sorry when it comes to fascist torrurers.
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats