Is it any wonder that VP Dick Cheney would order the CIA – if that is what truly happened – to keep quiet and not tell Congress about this program, at least until it was operational?
Since 2001, the Central Intelligence Agency has developed plans to dispatch small teams overseas to kill senior Qaeda terrorists, according to current and former government officials.
The plans remained vague and were never carried out, the officials said, and Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, canceled the program last month.
Officials at the spy agency over the years ran into myriad logistical, legal and diplomatic obstacles. How could the role of the United States be masked? Should allies be informed and might they block the access of the C.I.A. teams to their targets? What if American officers or their foreign surrogates were caught in the midst of an operation? Would such activities violate international law or American restrictions on assassinations overseas?
Over at MyDD, Charles Lemos was asking why Cheney would order it kept from Congress. Because we all know that Congress, in particular Democrats over the past 8 years, are great at keeping secrets.
Imagine even just the top Congressional leadership being briefed on this huge issue. Now imagine one of these Democrat Bush haters in Congress leaking it, or, perhaps, one of the unhinged Bush haters in their office leaking it.
Oh, kinda like they are doing now.
I gotta get on the road for a long trip, but, you can find plenty of unhingedness over at Memeorandum.
Teach the law states that Congress must be kept full informed. If Republicans don’t like it thaey have to change the law, not break it. Teach when was the last time a Dmeocrat was arrested or convicted of anything about leaking secrets ? Teach if YOU were aware of laws being broken in secret by our government would you report/leak that information ?