Senate to investigate CIA's actions under Bush

[sabra]

Source: LA Times


The 'fact-finding' effort will seek details on secret prisons and interrogation methods -- but will not aim to determine if CIA officials broke laws, legislative sources say.


Reporting from Washington -- The Senate Intelligence Committee is preparing to launch an investigation of the CIA's detention and interrogation programs under President George W. Bush, setting the stage for a sweeping examination of some of most secretive and controversial operations in recent agency history.

The inquiry is aimed at uncovering new information on the origins of the programs as well as scrutinizing how they were executed -- including the conditions at clandestine CIA prison sites and the interrogation regimens used to break Al Qaeda suspects, according to Senate aides familiar with the investigation plans.

Officials said the inquiry was not designed to determine whether CIA officials broke laws. "The purpose here is to do fact-finding in order to learn lessons from the programs and see if there are recommendations to be made for detention and interrogations in the future," said a senior Senate aide, who like others described the plan on condition of anonymity because it had not been made public.

Still, the investigation is likely to call new attention to the agency's conduct in operations that drew condemnation around the world. It is also bound to renew friction between Democrats and Republicans who have spent much of the last five years fighting over the Bush administration's prosecution of the war on terrorism.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-cia-secrets27-2009feb27,0,4970506.story

[aquart]

1. Sure. I believe it.

[bottomtheweaver]

2. That ought to push whitewash futures up a few points.

Still, I'm hopeful.

[Left Coast2020]

3. I'd like to know if some of these goons are coming home with

large wads of cash in their suitcases--as per the $9 billion that was shipped to Iraq inthe middle of the night. I hope justice is coming.

[bottomtheweaver]

16. I'm sure it could be arranged.

[chill_wind]

4. Not designed to determine "Whether" CIA officials broke laws?

eom

[Optical.Catalyst]

5. The Senate investigation will produce one of two results

1.(most likely) The evidence will be swept under the rug and nothing will be said publicly about it.

2. (hope of hope) The evidence will be so surprising and overwhelming that Chimpy is indited on charges of treason.

[No Elephants]

8. Don't hold your breath on the treason indictment. And welcome to DU.

[Solly Mack]

6. Snort

K&R

[EFerrari]

9. I hope they use both hands.

lol

:hi:

[Solly Mack]

10. I just don't know anymore

Maybe it's me that's fucked up beyond explanation...


(Nah)

[No Elephants]

7. Arrrrrggghhhh. A commission to investigate this. A House investigation for that. A Senate

investigation for the other. All massive wastes of time and money, guaranteed to go nowhere.

Appoint a special prosecutor and be done with it, or sit down and shut up. Don't make believe at our expense.

[acmavm]

11. "...but will not aim to determine if CIA officials broke laws..."

Then why bother? I can tell you that already. So can anyone here on this board.

What a waste of time, energy, and money.

edit: P.S. - They broke every law of humanity in the book. There, no need to 'investigate'.

[chill_wind]

12. "No immed plans to hold public hearings. Might not release the findings. Might take up to 1 year."

And we're not looking at crimes--- just looking at "the facts".

Busy, busy, busy. Please don't come after us world, we're doing something-- OK???

[chill_wind]

13. "Call DiFi at [phone]"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5148835&mesg_id=5148835

[struggle4progress]

14. US Senate panel to probe interrogations, in secret (Reuters)

Fri Feb 27, 2009 5:38pm EST

By Randall Mikkelsen

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Responding to calls for an accounting of prisoner abuses in the war on terrorism, the head of the U.S. Senate intelligence committee said on Friday her panel would investigate the CIA's treatment of suspects.

The sessions will take place behind closed doors and it remains unclear whether a public version of the findings will be released, a Senate aide said.

"This is not going to be a big dog-and-pony show," the aide said. "This is going to be very much confidential."

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee's Democratic chair, confirmed the inquiry after media reports disclosed it and said the panel would have more to say in the near future ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN27369378

[chill_wind]

15. Ugh!

The only good thing about her panel is going to be the fact of Whitehouse and Feingold both in on this one too. Maybe before it's over they won't be so keen as her on all the complicit secrecy and keeping the war crimes rolled up the dirty rug.