Video- President Obama Speaks to Counterterrorism Staff

Dianne Feinstein suggests CIA concealment broke law

By GottaLaff

I've been digging for the video on Dianne Feinstein's appearance on today's Fox News Sunday, but can't seem to find it. If someone does, please link me. Meantime:

Regarding the 8-year-old counterterrorism program, the Bush administration's failure to notify Congress "is a big problem, because the law is very clear," said Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Congress should investigate the secrecy because "it could be illegal," Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said.

According to Feinstein, CIA director Leon Panetta told Congress late last month that "he had just learned about the program, described it to us, indicated that he had canceled it and ... did tell us that he was told that the vice president had ordered that the program not be briefed to the Congress."

"We were kept in the dark. That's something that should never, ever happen again," said Feinstein.

Feinstein said that she understands the need for strong countermeasures following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

However, "I think you weaken your case when you go outside of the law," she added.

The Rushpublics are spinning this as an attack on the CIA. Of course they are. Because, see, that's the only reason anyone is discussing subjects like Dick Cheney's orders to conceal information, and the CIA's alleged lies. It has nothing to do with breaking the law, it's all about unfair attacks on our Central Intelligence Agency.

And since we're on the subject, if you want to know how BushCo ignored anybody who disagreed with them on the use of torture "enhanced interrogation techniques", and the CIA's involvement, check out Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. Then see how all that affected the lives of innocent prisoners like Fayiz al-Kandari.

After you do that, let me know if this is all about the poor, beleaguered CIA and how unAmerican the Democrats are for trying to actually do something about unprecedented government powers and what's left of our legal system.

CIA withheld secret counterterrorism program on direct orders from Cheney

By GottaLaff

It's like someone uncorked the Bottle of Bad. First this, then this, this, a lot of this... and now this:

The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.

Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day.[...]

In the eight years of his vice presidency, Mr. Cheney was the Bush administration’s most vehement defender of the secrecy of government activities, particularly in the intelligence arena. He went to the Supreme Court to keep secret the advisers to his task force on energy, and won.

A report released on Friday by the inspectors general of five agencies about the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program makes clear that Mr. Cheney’s legal adviser, David S. Addington, had to personally approve every government official who was told about the program. The report said “the exceptionally compartmented nature of the program” frustrated F.B.I. agents who were assigned to follow up on tips it turned up.

High-level N.S.A. officials who were responsible for ensuring that the surveillance program was legal, including the agency’s inspector general and general counsel, were not permitted by Mr. Cheney’s office to read the Justice Department opinion that found the eavesdropping legal, several officials said.

The Nation of Dick is experiencing severe shrinkage. It's about time.

By the way, another person who really needs to be targeted, Limp Little Dick's personal Trojan, is David Addington. Let's get his name out there more, starting now. He deserves all the exposure we can muster up, pun intended.

Military airplanes: "Comfort Capsules" vs. Troops' Squalor

By GottaLaff

I posted about the vaunted "comfort capsules". Counterterrorism funds are being used for these:

Now let's take a gander at what the troops get:

A government watchdog has uncovered pictures that suggest US troops on their way to battlefields in Afghanistan travel in squalor while top military and government officials are cocooned in "comfort capsules" with reclining leather seats and flat-screen TVs.

That should be plenty of incentive to get new, eager, fresh-faced recruits, doncha think?

Air Force wants counterterrorism funds for luxurious "comfort capsule"

By GottaLaff

As BushCo always likes to remind us, security first:

The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world, with at least four top generals involved in design details such as the color of the capsules' carpet and leather chairs, according to internal e-mails and budget documents.

How exciting, production has already started! Whew! Good! We wouldn't want anyone to travel in discomfort. I know that when I'm jammed into a stuffy, cramped seat in coach, I am grateful for the tax dollars that are going toward redecorating, providing a cushy atmosphere so in the future, I, too, can work and rest as if sitting on a cloud. That would be after I was cavity-searched and watch-listed. Yes, that's the kind of faith I have in our government. They care.

Air Force officials say the government needs the new capsules to ensure that leaders can talk, work and rest comfortably in the air. But the top brass's preoccupation with creating new luxury in wartime has alienated lower-ranking Air Force officers familiar with the effort, as well as congressional staff members and a nonprofit group that calls the program a waste of money.

Hey, these are not unreasonable requests. They're both practical and cost effective:

One request was that the color of the leather for the seats and seat belts in the mobile pallets be changed from brown to Air Force blue and that seat pockets be added; another was that the color of the table's wood be darkened.

Changing the seat color and pockets alone was estimated in a March 12 internal document to cost at least $68,240. [...]

[Gen. Robert H. McMahon] said he wanted to "create an environment that whoever was riding in that would be proud of," the government would be proud of and "the people of the United States" would be proud of.

I personally favor Meditation Mauve, but I tend to go for the feminine and inspirational. But tastes differ, and I respect their right to choose and be proud.

Except in a time of war.

Except when the country's economy is tanking.

Except when people are losing their homes, health care, jobs... and minds.