Today's New York Post has an article by Representative Peter Hoekstra (R- Mich.), the top Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, addressing what has happened to the bi-partisan approach to national security.
To review a bit of history, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi claimed that she was not informed of 'enhanced interrogation techniques' used on captured terrorists. When presented with the evidence from the CIA that she was briefed, she said that they had not made it clear that the techniques had been used. She later said that the CIA routinely mislead Congress. The ruckus that has followed is an attempt to restore her credibility.
According to the New York Post, this is where the situation stands:
"Democrats are claiming they were lied to by the CIA about a program and gleefully charge that then-Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the agency to not brief this program to Congress.
CIA Director Panetta refused to back the allegation that Cheney gave such an order. Former CIA Director Michael Hayden flatly denied that he'd ever been instructed not to brief Congress. Now Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair has also distanced himself from these over-the-top allegations by House Democrats."
This is really not a good place for the Democrats to be. The attacks on the Intelligence Community have not been good for our national security. When intelligence is at the mercy of party politics, nothing positive gets done to help our country protect or defend itself against attack. The leaks of classified information have made the job of the CIA more difficult, and I can understand why the CIA might be hesitant to brief Congress on every program it considers but does not carry out.
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