Monday, April 6, 2009

Obama Dis-Appointments Return As Cheney's Moles

Remember that fella, John O. Brennan, whom the Rightards and a lot of Obamanistas were plumping for a major national security/intelligence post in the new regime?

His nomination was torpedoed because of his direct involvement with the institution of torture as an instrument of official USer policy during the Busheviks' reign.

Mark Crispin Miller, on his News From Underground blog today, repeats this Scott Horton report from his Harper's/No Comment blog on the relations between Brennan and his former boss, Dick Cheney.
In an interview with NPR’s Terry Gross last week, Seymour Hersh stated that Vice President Dick Cheney had “salted” the military and national security apparatus with trusted associates who were able to report back to him on what was going on. Hersh goes on to state that he thinks Cheney’s ability to influence or direct policy is limited. Still, keeping that in mind it’s interesting to watch the unfolding debate over the release of the torture memoranda.

In response to Freedom of Information Act requests, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel was slated to release four closely guarded memoranda created by John Yoo, Jay Bybee, and Stephen Bradbury addressing the use of specific torture techniques including waterboarding, holding prisoners in close confinement (in coffin-like conditions), and “head smacking.” Attorney General Holder had cleared the release; it was set for last Thursday. Then something happened. Newsweek’s Mike Isikoff quotes a source close to the issue stating that “Holy hell has broken loose over this.” While the Obama lawyers thought the matter was settled, John O. Brennan-the man Obama once hoped to appoint to head the CIA before a public firestorm erupted over his continuing embrace of torture techniques-launched a rearguard action designed to overcome the decision at Justice. Brennan argued that disclosure of the memos would be harmful because it would “embarrass” and “shame” CIA officers who had used the techniques. That claim is certainly very doubtful, since there are at least as many CIA operatives who have publicly advocated disclosure as oppose it. He also argued that it would be bad policy to disclose techniques used.
Cheney is alleged by Sy Hersch to have planted dozens upon dozens of 'moles' inside the various departments of interest to the former VP--Defense, State, Justice among them--whose job it is to 1) keep Darth apprised of doings inside the Obamanista regime, and 2) to interfere as much as seemly in any efforts to reverse Bushevik policies by the "new" (Geithner, Gates, Mueller, Tolman, and so many more hold-overs) regime...

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