Comments on: McCain’s Tortured Briefing Memory

By: DLoerke

DLoerke — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:51:40 +0000

Not at the beginnning they weren’t…in September, 1939 Hitler and Stalin allied to carve up Poland and the Baltic states. Why do you think they are among the States that are still loyal to the USA?

By: DLoerke

DLoerke — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:47:33 +0000

The Jordanian secret service confirmed the Mossad in Israel when they told us that Osama’s best bud had gotten treatment from Saddam in Kirkuk. This was documented and verified by the British and the French all of whom believed that Saddam was close to, if he already didn’t have WMDs, particularly of chemical and biological, and within a year of the nukes. If you recall, Saddam was of the Ba’ath party which had cousins in Syria. It was thought that the contacts were being done through Syria and the recent Israeli raid against Syria is evidence that the Israelis thought they had the nuclear material too…

By: fatster

fatster — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:27:51 +0000

Yeah. Only 20 million Russians died in that conflict, as I recollect.

By: emptywheel

emptywheel — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:08:12 +0000

Well, Bond wasn’t briefed until 2006, and Cochran and Stevens, like McCain, were briefed after the DTA passed the Senate.

I thikn what happened is that Cheney and the CIA briefed Stevens and Cochran–who had already voted against and had already been named as conferees (Stevens, as Approp Chair, was in in any case)–and got a commitment that they would hold up hte DTA in conference. And then they briefed McCain and began getting his capitulation, knowing they had conferees Stevens and Cochran in their pocket. They then went to Fristie. DOn’t know what they got out of him (it took two briefings). But they were working this hard.

By: perris

perris — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:34:42 +0000

McCain could have looked evil in the eye and not flinched…instead..he blinked….even after he learned what the extent of the torture was.

flinched isn’t really the word, he was seduced by the offer of a presidential run

and as far as I can see, he really only wanted to run, he would have been happy to have won the race for president was enough for him

if the man showed the balls it would have taken to win the party would have abandoned him anyway

he needed to go after bush with all guns, bush even gave him “permission” to do it, mccain listened to his handlers and layed off

By: cinnamonape

cinnamonape — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:11:04 +0000

And McCain…who I believe as author was one of the few entitled to add the compromise amendment (Compromise with the WH…not the House version)…need not have done so. The Senate vote on his original Bill would have easily surmounted a veto. The original bill had 91 members in support, with a handful of Republican hard-liners.

McCain could have looked evil in the eye and not flinched…instead..he blinked….even after he learned what the extent of the torture was.

By: cinnamonape

cinnamonape — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:02:20 +0000

McCain fails to also point out that his brave fellow Senators who were actually briefed on torture prior to “his act” failed to vote for it.

Amongst the Nays: Bond (R-MO) Cochran (R-MS) Roberts (R-KS) Stevens (R-AK)
Only Shelby amongst those briefed to that point voted “for” McCains bill….and if he was given the same briefing as Pelosi and Graham…he got inaccurate information.

By: TheLurkingMod

TheLurkingMod — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:01:41 +0000

Tuesday Eli is upstairs at the Mothership!
Republican Charm Offensive Gets It Half Right

By: Tross

Tross — Wed, 13 May 2009 01:00:08 +0000

I just watched the Liz Cheney v. Eugene Robinson “debate” from MSNBC. It’s maddening that they don’t have someone like Jane Mayer or Marcy to shoot down the bullsh*t being spun by the Cheneys.

Eugene’s stuttering speaking style – and his inability to speak to the legal issues – does our side such a disservice against these polished and professional liars. How ’bout letting Liz speak to Jonathan Turley about how “legal and responsible” the OLC memos were?

By: JohnLopresti

JohnLopresti — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:59:10 +0000

MCA included the select list of torcha modalities, even easier to circumvent because of the itemization’s narrowness; plus, as the original diary begins to enumerate, there was the signing statement(s) factor, of which I wonder how many might remain secret still.