Nanci Pelosi - the do-nothing congresswoman

[DEDixon 39]

(05-14) 09:24 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

Under strong attack from Republicans, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the CIA and Bush administration of misleading her about waterboarding detainees in the war on terror and sharply rebutted claims she was complicit in its use.

"To the contrary ... we were told explicitly that waterboarding was not being used," she told reporters, referring to a formal CIA briefing she received in the fall of 2002.

Pelosi said she subsequently learned that other lawmakers were told several months later by the CIA about the use of waterboarding.

"I wasn't briefed, I was informed that somebody else had been briefed about it," she said.

The House's top Democrat made her comments at a news conference where she was peppered with questions about her knowledge of a technique she and others have called torture. Republicans have insisted in recent weeks that Pelosi and other Democrats knew waterboarding was in use, but made no attempt to protest.

In a written response issued moments after Pelosi spoke, an official at the CIA neither disputed nor accepted the California Democrat's statements.

Instead, George Little, head of the CIA office of public affairs, said it would be up to Congress to determine whether notes made by agency personnel at the time they briefed lawmakers were accurate. He said the notes could be made available at the CIA "for staff review."

Pelosi renewed her call for a so-called truth commission to investigate the events in the Bush administration that led to the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques. While President Barack Obama has banned waterboarding, calling it torture, he has been notably cool toward an independent inquiry that might distract attention from his domestic agenda.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., also has expressed opposition, as have congressional Republicans.

Pelosi was particularly harsh in describing the CIA.

"They mislead us all the time," she said. And when a reporter asked whether the agency lied, she did not disagree.

She also suggested that the current Republican criticism marked an attempt to divert attention from the Bush administration's actions.

"They misrepresented every step of the way, and they don't want that focus on them, so they try to turn the attention on us," she said.

Pelosi contended that Democrats did what they could to stop the use of waterboarding. The senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, who received the 2003 briefing on the practice, sent the CIA a formal letter of protest, she said.

But Pelosi defended her own lack of action on the issue, saying her focus at the time was on wresting congressional control from Republicans so her party could change course.

"No letter could change the policy. It was clear we had to change the leadership in Congress and in the White House. That was my job — the Congress part," Pelosi said.

*****************

Change course? She has changed nothing! She and the Dems said they were going to end wars..... they've done zero to end any war and now they are behind Obama in escalating war in Afghanistan.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Coming Clean

Gail Collins:

...

On the Nancy Pelosi front, I’ve always wondered how much attention committee members pay during these super-secret briefings. Most of them have the attention span of a hummingbird. I have this vision of some C.I.A. type droning on and on, trying very hard not to be interesting when describing interrogation techniques, while the assembled members of Congress mentally composed their next speech and rearranged their fundraising schedules.

But without trying to parse exactly what the speaker knew and when she knew it, I think it’s very clear that during the post-9/11 period, some high-ranking Democrats were aware the government was doing, or was planning to do, things that they now condemn as torture or unconstitutional infringements on civil liberties. And they did not complain. Maybe a little peep of protest here and there, but nothing actually intended to throw up serious roadblocks.

It’d be great for the national mental health if we set aside one day in which everybody could admit everything they regret doing or failing to do about the now-renamed war on terror. Hillary Clinton could finally admit she’s sorry she voted to give George W. Bush the go-ahead to invade Iraq. Colin Powell could admit he’s sorry he didn’t resign as Secretary of State. People like Pelosi could admit that they heard things in those secret briefings that they glossed over at the time because they were afraid of looking soft on terrorism.

We could have a real conversation about what went wrong, instead of endless squabbling about who did what when, with everybody focused only on obscuring their own mistakes and being self-righteous about the other side’s. Then maybe the next time we’re scared and confused in the wake of some terrible disaster, we’d have some actual guidelines for better practices instead of a lot of contradictory myths.

A long time ago, when I was editorial page editor, I apologized for having bought the Saddam-has-weapons-of-mass-destruction line so readily, and it was good for the soul. But while we’re on the subject of confessing errors, I’d like to go beyond post-9/11 and add that I always knew John Edwards was a terrible candidate, and I’m sorry I never really wrote about it because I felt bad about his wife’s illness. I am also really sorry that I predicted Tom Daschle was going to be confirmed to Obama’s cabinet even if he showed up to testify before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing in the nude.

http://theconversation.blogs.nytimes.com/2...an/?ref=opinion

[Danno 1,228]

Does anyone left or Right believe this woman?

[NickD 203]

Before

After.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Whats funny is, it took this long to realize how fvcked up she is! Did you all see the worm squirm? 2010 gonna ROCK!

[britty 1]

She is a demon. Everyone hates her. She is a despicable piece of nothing.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

She is a demon. Everyone hates her. She is a despicable piece of nothing.

Its even worse than that!

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

Before

After.

dang what happened along the way?

[natty bumppo 297]

Before

After.

dang what happened along the way?

she represents what area?

[britty 1]

She is a demon. Everyone hates her. She is a despicable piece of nothing.

Its even worse than that!

a festering, vile, evil, hideous, putrid disease perhaps?

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

She is a demon. Everyone hates her. She is a despicable piece of nothing.

Its even worse than that!

a festering, vile, evil, hideous, putrid disease perhaps?

Gotta love those california voters! Their in debt up to their ears, yet they just dont get it.

[natty bumppo 297]

She is a demon. Everyone hates her. She is a despicable piece of nothing.

Its even worse than that!

a festering, vile, evil, hideous, putrid disease perhaps?

Gotta love those california voters! Their in debt up to their ears, yet they just dont get it.

will they ever?

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

She is a demon. Everyone hates her. She is a despicable piece of nothing.

Its even worse than that!

a festering, vile, evil, hideous, putrid disease perhaps?

Gotta love those california voters! Their in debt up to their ears, yet they just dont get it.

will they ever?

Its a BLIND trust!

[natty bumppo 297]

She is a demon. Everyone hates her. She is a despicable piece of nothing.

Its even worse than that!

a festering, vile, evil, hideous, putrid disease perhaps?

Gotta love those california voters! Their in debt up to their ears, yet they just dont get it.

will they ever?

Its a BLIND trust!

lot's of groping in the darkness ...

[spookyturtle 9,466]

She is a demon. Everyone hates her. She is a despicable piece of nothing.

Its even worse than that!

a festering, vile, evil, hideous, putrid disease perhaps?

Gotta love those california voters! Their in debt up to their ears, yet they just dont get it.

will they ever?

When they secede.