Now, exceptions can be made, and the question of whom to prosecute is tricky. It seems unfair to prosecute CIA agents who tortured, as they had been specifically advised that techniques like waterboarding were legal.
- Johnathan Chait
- Johnathan Chait
Oh, those innocent 20-something interrogators that we put in the torture room and the outsourced operatives we put in charge!
Tell me, what is the long-term remedy for the proverbial CIA 'official' who comes along and says, to each President, "we can offer you the mother load, Mr. President, if only you would untie our hands!"
Isn't legal jeopardy of some kind perhaps as good as any?
THE ALLEGED BEGINNING
The meeting marked "the first time that the issue of interrogations comes up" among top-ranking White House officials, recalled John C. Yoo, who represented the Justice Department. "The CIA guys said, 'We're going to have some real difficulties getting actionable intelligence from detainees'" if interrogators confined themselves to treatment allowed by the Geneva Conventions. - WaPo
If we really, really, really ever want a CIA worthy of the money that we spend on it, we have to stop the CIA from these requests and insist that they develop more comprehensive programs.
CORRECT PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
If we believe this account above (no reason to, especially), the problem isn't the civilian Congress who go back-and-forth with detrimental demands on the CIA, it is the demands of the CIA itself.
