Like a lot of people, I’ve felt that Cal. Sen. Dianne Feinstein never objected to the CIA spying on people until she found out they were spying on her. Nonetheless, the senator has done something, in a city that, when it comes to the staggering series of crimes, lies, and abuses that have occurred during the “War on Terror,” the least glorious of all our wars, has much preferred to do nothing, and—in particular—has preferred to know nothing. Well, thanks to Dianne, who managed to take all the blame on herself, allowing the Obama Administration to play the role of the embarrassed bystander, we have a fair idea of what happened in the wake of 9/11.
It’s true that the report goes easy on elected officials. However much George Bush didn’t know, it’s likely that he knew as much as he wanted to know, and I suspect that the same could be said of Nancy Pelosi, who’s always been more than a bit tongue-tied when it comes to foreign affairs. I mean, those people don’t vote here, so why should we care about them? As for Dick “Torture is my middle name” Cheney, well, the name says it. But at least, thanks to Dianne, and the CIA’s own grotesque overreaching, the historical record isn’t a complete whitewash.
Afterwords
Andrew Sullivan has kept track of “Today in Torture” here.
