Specter Defends Pelosi, Says CIA Has “Very Bad Record” On “Honesty”
Nancy Pelosi has picked up an unlikely defender in her standoff with the CIA. That would be the Senate’s newest Democrat, who delivered a scathing indictment of the CIA’s credibility today:
Sen. Arlen Specter took the opportunity Wednesday to defend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has come under fire in recent weeks over a controversy surrounding when she was told of the use of enhanced interrogation techniques being used by the CIA.
“The CIA has a very bad record when it comes to — I was about to say ‘candid’; that’s too mild — to honesty,” Specter, a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a lunch address to the American Law Institute. He cited misleading information about the agency’s involvement in mining harbors in Nicaragua and the Iran-Contra affair.
The CIA has a “very bad record when it comes to honesty”? It’s funny that it’s fallen to Specter, of all people, to remind everyone of this. And it’s a pretty harsh quote, particularly coming from someone who was a Republican only a few weeks ago. Should be all over the cable nets soon enough.
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Stop the presses! The CIA isn’t always honest.
Greg – you’ve got time for this ‘news’ and stories about web ads but still nothing on Obama’s AIDS budget shortfall? This will literally impact almost 2 million orphans and children but you still don’t have the space to write a word? Are you saving it for “happy hour” or can your readers expect to never read a word about this?
“GAA estimates that as a consequence of President Obama’s broken promises on US bilateral AIDS programs:
One million people around the world won’t receive treatment for AIDS.
2.9 million women won’t receive services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
27 million people won’t access sexual disease transmission prevention programs.
1.9 million orphans and other children affected by or vulnerable to HIV/AIDS won’t receive care and support services.”
http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/newsroom/press_releases/press_051909/
Not to mention that Specter has no personal knowledge of any of the facts here and brings nothing new to this discussion at all.
Thanks for the post Greg. I have a feeling that this whole torture story is about to take a whole new turn. You see, the GOP was holding up this shiny object (Pelosi) and saying “hey, look over here, she was wrong, she lied”, but the GOP is so very short sighted on these types of attacks because if we are going to start looking into Pelosi (which is fine with me frankly) and what she knew, when she knew it etc., the public is bound to start “digging in” further, beyond Pelosi, which leads where, exactly??? Right to the Bush Administration. So again, I say, let’s go, bring it!! If we are going to start looking into what Pelosi knew and didn’t know, then let’s GO…we want all the information about what Cheney was doing in that “undisclosed location” and the GOP is just stupid/desperate enough to actually open this “can of worms”…nobody, and I mean nobody, but the GOP (and not even some of them), trusts a word that comes out of Dick Cheney’s mouth. He can go on and on, and the cable pundits can eat it all up, but nobody outside the “bubble” and some of the GOP believe one single word that comes out of this man’s mouth. By the way, did you notice that Colin Powell is going on Face the Nation Sunday. Ahhh yes, it is always interesting to watch the GOP pundits trying to turn Colin Powell (a highly decorated military serviceman) into someone “less credible” than Cheney (the five-time draft dodging hypocrite) – just so that they can try to assure themselves and their base that they are 100% right about everything – yeah, ok, good luck with that argument, it seems to be serving you well, can’t you tell. Every single time we start debating this issue, it reminds Americans over and over and over again that our Country was attacked on the Bush/Cheney watch. Most of the GOP can’t see the forest through the trees.
sbj – Have you got something other than this press release that might fill me in on the situation? My information has a .8 billion increase over Bush’s last budget (this is something Bush got right, by the way)… http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/budget-continues-to-increase-global-aids-funding-2009-05-08.html
As an experiment though, I recommend googling “aids shortfall”. You’ll find protests and complaints directed at US and other governments and world organizations for insufficient funding. Not surprising and understandable, of course.
In spite of myself, I can’t let this Specter post go so neglected. That’s all.
““very bad record when it comes to honesty””
Especially when they said Valerie Plame was covert. What a joke that was.
Since when is it news that a politico (Democrat or Republican) is lying. Speaking the truth is a matter of convenience for almost all of them.
Specter’s toast.
Bernie:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/5344290/Barack-Obama-breaks-four-aid-pledges-for-Africa.html
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-23-2009/0004976436&EDATE=
http://blog.beliefnet.com/reformedchicksblabbing/2009/05/obama-spending-less-on-hivaids.html
http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/newsroom/press_releases/press_051909