Another simply "must read" post...

Sunshine patriots second-guess their betters who helped keep them safe
Share Post PrintAugust 27, 2009 Posted by Paul at 10:10 PM

"I hope all of you have read today's Wall Street Journal editorial about the CIA Inspector General's report on interrogations. The WSJ editors capture the essence of the report in the sub-title of their piece: "Interrogations were carefully limited, briefed on Capitol Hill, and yielded information that saved innocent lives."

"John has already made the first point -- that the CIA IG's report shows "how humane our treatment of captured terrorists was intended to be, and generally was."
The second point -- that Congress was briefed on the interrogation program -- takes on particular significance because it strongly suggests that Speaker Pelosi has not told the truth about this matter. As the WSJ editors put it:

"The IG report belies House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's claims that she wasn't told about all this. "In the fall of 2002, the Agency briefed the leadership of the Congressional Intelligence Oversight Committees on the use of both standard techniques and EITs. . . . Representatives . . . continued to brief the leadership of the Intelligence Oversight Committees on the use of EITs and detentions in February and March 2003. The [CIA] General Counsel says that none of the participants expressed any concern about the techniques or the Program . . ." Ditto in September 2003.

"Finally, on the issue of effectiveness, the IG's report is compelling:
While the report doesn't take a position on the value of enhanced techniques, the facts speak loudly that they caused detainees to yield important information. The report notes that early on Zubaydah provided some information, but that the waterboard resulted in "increased production." It also notes that since the use of the waterboard, "Zubaydah has appeared to be cooperative."

"Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who planned the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, was not waterboarded. "However," says the report, "following the use of [enhanced techniques], he provided information about his most current operational planning as opposed to the historical information he provided before the use of [enhanced techniques]."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/08/024386.php