Rupert Cornwell: The US needs a truth and reconciliation inquiry
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Independent Minds
Dick Cheney may be out of office, harbouring no future ambitions other than writing his memoirs. But as this latest row involving the secrecy-obsessed former vice-president and the CIA demonstrates, he casts scarcely less of a shadow over the Obama administration than he did over that of George W Bush before him.
The charge that he directly ordered the agency to conceal from Congress a secret counterterrorism programme is potentially extremely serious. That it was made by none other than the CIA's present director Leon Panetta, who has before defended the agency's past behaviour, makes it more serious still.
Yet it is fitting that the charge has surfaced just as the Justice Department may be moving towards naming a special prosecutor to investigate the alleged use of torture, the so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" of which Mr Cheney was a leading advocate, by CIA personnel against captured terrorist suspects after the September 2001 attacks here.
None less than the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has accused the agency of failing to tell Congress that in 2002 it was already using waterboarding against some detainees. But her charge has been dismissed by Mr Panetta. The new controversy could scarcely be worse timed, a divisive distraction as Mr Obama is trying to push through vital but contentious legislation to reform health care, energy policy and financial market regulation.
But it must be addressed. The question is how. For decades, ever since the 1970s Church Committee investigated earlier abuses by the CIA, the agency's accountability has been a problem. Legally, it is bound to keep the intelligence committees of Congress, "fully and currently" informed of its activities. But it has often been less than candid for fear of leaks (although these have been few and far between). The new row will only increase pressure on the agency to be more forthcoming, perhaps to the detriment of its performance.
There will surely also be new demands for a broad investigation into how the Bush administration waged its war on terror. The White House has so far rejected demands for a South African-style truth and reconciliation commission to examine what happened. But for how much longer?
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Comments
Meanwhile, they'll all do their best to keep the proles distracted from the real game.
'Mr Obama is trying to push through vital but contentious legislation to reform health care, energy policy and financial market regulation.'
Nothing will be reformed, but there will be some tinkering, to make it look as though Obama is doing something.
Firozali A. Mulla
anyway, the latest findings on cheney and the cia are great news. it puts blair and his cronies even more in the frame. this criminal mafia like cabal, run from the ivory towers of wall st and the city of london, causing havoc all over the world in the name of greed greed greed with their paid for and well groomed from an early age politicians, are being rooted out. this is the age of enlightenment, where the information superhighway has surpassed these meglomaniacs in power, and they will all be held accountable for their crimes against humanity eventually. lets see how mr cheney, mr bush, mr rumsfeld and mr blair like being tortured. they should broadcast it live like a big brother special. now wouldnt that be worth watching?
as for crimes of terror, the daily hardship of normal people in these current times due to errant bankers is possibly the worst act of terror we have seen in the last 100 yrs however, we have been well and truly shown by our own PM who rules the roost with bailouts instead of criminal charges.
reports like this show the tide is turning but unfortunately obama, will say the right things, tweak it here and there to please the masses but do nothing of significance to change the staus quo, as he always does. he works for the staus quo, bought and paid for. groomed to perfection. come on barak, you have the stage. lets see what you are made of !!!!!!!!!!!!!
i know the answer already. does anyone else?
you must be one of our beloved bankers (that could be rhyming slang by the way)
so which of my accusations is wrong then?
When you start kidnapping innocent people from all over the world and torture them, how can you argue that keeps us safe. Any of us could be the next victim of their mistaken identity program, mostly because they don't know who they are looking for and will take information from anybody it seems. How does that make me safe?
We have laws in Democratic countries to prevent people doing what they want, for good reason and this is a good reason to have these laws. Every major country had a hand in this, which is the biggest shame, not one of them had the balls to tell the Americans that this is againat the law and you can not use our country to torture people.
No one gives a shit about the moral high ground anymore by the looks of it, not even the great god Obama.
Only those who know what it actually was will know whether it was justifiable defence or imperialistic actions.
I'd suspect that it was offensive terror, but I wonder if the public will see the details?
There's already quite enough to indict Cheney for war crimes, but I guess it's only one of a number of potential options right now...........