Priorities

[skunk]

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-11-09T010048Z_01_SIB866698_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-PRISONS-CONGRESS.xml
CIA wants Justice review of leaks on prison story

Tue Nov 8, 2005 8:00 PM ET

By Vicki Allen and David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA has asked the Justice Department to review a possible leak of classified information to The Washington Post for an article on a secret CIA global prison system, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, top Republicans in Congress called for a joint House of Representatives-Senate probe on whether classified material was leaked and national security damaged.

"The leak of classified information contained in the Washington Post story has been referred to the Justice Department by the CIA," said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"It's illegal to leak classified information and classified information was leaked to the Washington Post," the official said.

The newspaper reported last week that the CIA has been holding and interrogating al Qaeda captives at a secret facility in Eastern Europe, part of a global covert prison system established after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The Bush administration has not confirmed or denied the report.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois in a letter asked the intelligence committees to determine if the information given to the newspaper was classified and accurate, who leaked it and under what authority, and the actual and potential national security damage from it.

Asked whether the Republican leaders would seek an investigation of the secret prisons, Ron Bonjean, Hastert's spokesman, said, "First we're looking into why we have people leaking classified information."I should hope so! It's far more important to establish who leaked the information than whether the information is accurate, and, if so, who set the shabby deal up in the first place. If you don't like the news, shoot the messenger. If nothing else, it certainly indicates that the story is true.

[zimv20]

iow, "how are we supposed to do our jobs if everyone knows what we're doing?!?!"

sheesh. not surprised, though.

[gwuMACaddict]

i do think that if classified information was released, that it's a genuine concern

[skunk]

i do think that if classified information was released, that it's a genuine concernNot half as concerning as the story itself. This is an outrageous abuse of power, presumably unconstitutional, and definitely illegal in international - if not US - law.

[zimv20]

i do think that if classified information was released, that it's a genuine concern
yes it is. in this instance, which concern is the higher priority?

[3rdpath]

oh this story 's gonna get good...

First, Republican's Frist and Hastert hit the press with all the indignation and outrage they can muster...you could tell they were really hoping this would be pay-back over the Plame leak.

Then Trent Lott says that the leak came verbatim from a closed door Republican briefing by Cheney...to quote " we can't keep our mouths shut".

So...Will Frist's outrage continue now that it's a Republican based leak?

And which republican suddenly developed some ethics and leaked this info? ( McCain maybe?)

And finally, now that Cheney's asking for CIA exemption from torture and he's also obviously well versed in the secret prison agenda-will the media connect the dots? I think so.

It's like a political version of the China Syndrome...

[Thanatoast]

Apparently Cheney forgot the first rule of running a secret system of torture-arenas. Namely, TO KEEP THEM SECRET!

Come on, I'm not even terribly smart and even I know that if you're going to promote an illegal non-Geneva prison system, you *don't tell anyone about it*.

And I learned that just from reading space-opera science fiction. It's like the rules of being in a horror movie, except more twisted:

Rules for Running a Secret CIA Prison System in Eastern Europe and Other Countries:

1. You don't talk about the torture club.
2. You don't talk about the torture club!
3. Access codes should be distributed by way of decoder rings in children's breakfast cereal.
4. Never split up the group.
5. Never have sex.
6. Never run upstairs.
7. Don't tell the one group of people whose jobs and egos depend on media attention, the US Senate.

It's like the administration is made up of nothing but incompetent bullies. Oh, wait....

[Dont Hurt Me]

I wonder how Deep Cheneys Rabbit hole goes? looks pretty deep to me.

We will get those terrorist even if we have to destroy every law we ever made, We will get those terrorist even if we have to squash everyones civil liberties, We will get those terrorist even if we have to remove all freedoms from everyone.(Patriot Act)

next thing you know the good guys are the bad guys.

[mactastic]

I'd believe Frist and Hastert were sincere had they been this on top of the LAST leak of classified information. They didn't care then, so I'm not buying these crocodile tears now. And I doubt many Americans are.

And if it turns out that the leak was GOP-based, and Frastert drops their investigation...

i do think that if classified information was released, that it's a genuine concern
Me too. In fact, I've been saying that for over two years now. Funny that conservative leaders are only figuring this out now eh?