You have to wonder whose side Eric Holder is on. He continues to stonewall inquiries into the Justice Department decision to drop charges agains the Black Panthers in the Philly voter intimidation case. If that’s not bad enough, today he announced he’s appointing a special prosecutor to go after CIA agents for actions that occurred in the wake of 9/11.
ABC News reports that CIA Director Leon Panetta went on a profanity laced tirade at the White House when he learned of Holder’s plans.
A “profanity-laced screaming match” at the White House involving CIA Director Leon Panetta, and the expected release today of another damning internal investigation, has administration officials worrying about the direction of its newly-appoint intelligence team, current and former senior intelligence officials tell ABC News.com.
Amid reports that Panetta had threatened to quit just seven months after taking over at the spy agency, other insiders tell ABCNews.com that senior White House staff members are already discussing a possible shake-up of top national security officials.
“You can expect a larger than normal turnover in the next year,” a senior adviser to Obama on intelligence matters told ABCNews.com. [...]
One of the officials said the White House had begun informal discussions with candidates who were runners-up to Panetta in the CIA director selection process last year.
One of the candidates reportedly has begun a series of preparatory briefings.
“It would be a shame if such as talented a Washington hand as Panetta were to leave after one year,” said Richard Clarke, an ABC News consultant who worked on the national security team for the Clinton and Bush administrations and served as an adviser to President-elect Obama.
“It takes that long for any senior bureaucrat to begin to understand what needs to get done and how to do it, “said Clarke. “The CIA needs some stability.”
For once I agree with Richard Clarke, the CIA does need some stability. Prosecuting CIA officers is not the way to bring about that stability. It;s doubtful the majority of Americans really care if the CIA brought a little discomfort to terrorists.
Fox News published a letter Panetta wrote a letter to CIA staff. You can read it in full here.
I make no judgments on the accuracy of the 2004 IG report or the various views expressed about it. Nor am I eager to enter the debate, already politicized, over the ultimate utility of the Agency’s past detention and interrogation effort. But this much is clear: The CIA obtained intelligence from high-value detainees when inside information on al-Qa’ida was in short supply. Whether this was the only way to obtain that information will remain a legitimate area of dispute, with Americans holding a range of views on the methods used. The CIA requested and received legal guidance and referred allegations of abuse to the Department of Justice. President Obama has established new policies for interrogation.
The CIA must also keep its focus on the primary responsibility of protecting the country. America is a nation at war. This Agency plays a decisive role in helping the United States meet the full range of security threats and opportunities overseas. That starts with the continuing fight against al-Qa’ida and its sympathizers. There, alongside all its other contributions, the CIA is helping our government chart a new way forward on interrogation, one in keeping with the President’s Executive Order of January 22nd. You, the men and women of this great institution, do the hard work and take the tough risks that intelligence and espionage demand.
One has to wonder how the men and women of the CIA can be expected to “do the hard work and take the tough risks” when they have the shadow of the Obama Justice Department and the threat of prosecution looming over their heads.
Update: Former Vice President Dick Cheney released a statement to The Weekly Standard:
These detainees also, according to the documents, played a role in nearly every capture of al Qaeda members and associates since 2002. The activities of the CIA in carrying out the policies of the Bush Administration were directly responsible for defeating all efforts by al Qaeda to launch further mass casualty attacks against the United States. The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions. President Obama’s decision to allow the Justice Department to investigate and possibly prosecute CIA personnel, and his decision to remove authority for interrogation from the CIA to the White House, serves as a reminder, if any were needed, of why so many Americans have doubts….
Follow the Weekly Standard link for the full statement. (Via memeorandum)
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