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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009

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Over Racist Michelle Image

But company won't
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Nov 24, 09 12:28 PM CST
Racist Image of Michelle Obama Taken Down

Blog site removes it, not Google, then issues apology

Nov 25, 09 2:07 PM CST
Michelle wore...

The Skinny on the State Dinner

Michelle Obama wore Naeem Khan, and other tidbits

Nov 25, 09 7:49 AM CST
MAUREEN DOWd

White House Counsel's Fall Should Worry Obama's Loyal

Cold handling of Craig recalls Clinton era

Nov 25, 09 3:50 AM CST
Analysis

Obama Is the Anti-Cowboy

Slow decision on Afghanistan a contrast from Bush's gut checks

Nov 25, 09 9:26 AM CST
REBRANDING DEPT.

Dobbs to Latino Voters:
Let's Be Amigos!

Once rabidly anti-illegal anchor now warms to 'amnesty'

Nov 25, 09 12:13 PM CST
NEXT STOP, REALITY TV (MAYBE)

Va. Socialites Crashed
Obama's State Dinner

And, yes, Tareq and Michaele Salahi want reality-TV turn

Nov 25, 09 9:29 PM CST
OPINION

SNL a Right-Wing Mouthpiece

Or latest sketch just a 'vehicle to make anal sex joke'

Nov 24, 09 1:14 PM CST
Bachmann, Palin
to Address
Tea Party
Convention

Nashville to host ultra-conservative gathering February

Nov 25, 09 4:34 PM CST
PARK IT LIKE IT'S HOT

Arnold: 'No One Is Perfect'

Governor owns up to traffic violation

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Blair Knew Iraq Had No WMD
10 Days Before War Began

Intelligence ignored, British panel told

Nov 25, 09 8:16 PM CST
RUNNING... FROM THE LAW?

Edwards '08
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in Oct. '09:
$43K

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WHITE HOUSE STATE DINNER

India, DC,
Hollywood Mix
at Obama Shindig

GOP, Dems rub elbows with movie stars, media types

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|NEXT STORY »

Cheney Told CIA to Hide Counterterror Program

Panetta has since ended still-secret program

By Wesley Oliver| Posted Jul 11, 09 4:56 PM CDT|

(Newser) – Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress about a secret counterterrorism program for 8 years, CIA chief Leon Panetta has told congressional intelligence committees. The revelation, leaked by two intelligence insiders to the New York Times, serves the latest volley in the fierce dispute over how fully CIA officers briefed Congress on sensitive anti-terror operations.

Last month, Panetta ended the program, which intelligence and congressional officials insist wasn’t fully operational, and didn’t involve CIA interrogations or domestic spying. Cheney has been the Bush administration’s most ardent defender of covert government action, frustrating FBI agents and taking his fight to the Supreme Court. Federal law allows some leeway, but requires the president to inform Congress of intelligence activities.

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (1)]

Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress about a secret counterterrorism program for 8 years, CIA chief Leon Panetta told Congress. (AP Photo/CBS, Karin Cooper)

Leon Panetta told Congress that Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to keep quiet about its counterterrorism program. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, FILE)

Former Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the Gerald R. Ford Foundation Journalism Awards luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, Monday, June 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Vice President Dick Cheney speaks during a campaign fundraising event for Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., Friday, April 25, 2008, in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.. (AP Photo/Mari Darr~Welch)

Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress about a secret counterterrorism program for 8 years, CIA chief Leon Panetta told Congress. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Because this program never went fully operational and hadn’t been briefed as Panetta thought it should have been, his decision to kill it was neither difficult nor controversial. That’s worth remembering. - Intelligence source, the New York Times

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

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29 comments

VIEWING:

UrUndertaker
Jul 11, 09 5:11 PM CDT

"Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress about a secret counter terrorism program for 8 years".........................Pathetic, oh yea....2012...right, dream on, we do NOT need more of this type Reply

+13

IN RESPONSE:

Mr.C
Jul 12, 09 12:43 AM CDT

how can he keep it covered for 8 years? I highly doubt that it was started this time in 2000. Seems much more logical to start whatever it was after late 2001. ---and you're right, republicans don't have a chance in 2012, I think the smart ones know that

| 0 minutes ago

Shannonals
Jul 11, 09 5:32 PM CDT

No one should be amazed by this. Reply

+11

IN RESPONSE:

emptycalm
Jul 11, 09 6:19 PM CDT

I feel like the next few years are going to be filled with headlines like this. Things that were never official but that everyone already knew. Like this.

IN RESPONSE:

armywife
Jul 11, 09 7:19 PM CDT

and i have a feeling that most of those on the right will just continue to ignore these headlines...leaving those of us on the left feeling like we're still stuck in a live version of The Emperor's New Clothes.

IN RESPONSE:

Mr.C
Jul 12, 09 12:44 AM CDT

there is a middle ground armywife. It is pretty large, they just don't yell as much as the extremes

| 0 minutes ago

Ucantusethatname
Jul 11, 09 6:09 PM CDT

"The revelation, leaked by two intelligence insiders"--No wonder members of Congress should be told NOTHING, except to obey their superiors. Reply

-16

IN RESPONSE:

JonmarkP
Jul 11, 09 6:31 PM CDT

We're their superiors, you moron. Sometimes they forget that, too. Just ask the former Senator from Oregon, Gordon Smith.

+14

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jul 11, 09 8:55 PM CDT

What specifically was leaked, Ucant? And JP is right about us being the superiors, but you are showing something gross here. Do you think the Executive Branch is superior to the Legislative or the Judicial? Are you still in junior high school and have never studied basic civics? Or maybe you're from some totalitarian country where your president is also you dictator? ........ Come on, answer the basic question. Is the American President superior the Congress or the Judicial?

IN RESPONSE:

Amber
Jul 11, 09 9:16 PM CDT

shonangreg, they must not teach Civics at all any longer for it seems the divisions of Government and why they exist has long been forgotten. @ Ucantusethatname, in case you forgot Civics, The Congressional Oversight Committie is in place to STOP ABUSE OF POWER!!! READ, STUDY, LEARN so we can STOP REPEATING THE SAME DAMN MISTAKES!

+10

| 0 minutes ago

chas_m
Jul 11, 09 6:23 PM CDT

WAR CRIMES TRIALS NOW! Reply

+10

| 0 minutes ago

Karl
Jul 11, 09 6:25 PM CDT

Cheney's a slob. He needs to be tried for crimes against HUMANITY. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Adapt-Overcome
Jul 11, 09 6:56 PM CDT

Excellent point JonmarkP. How can members of Congress, who represent us, make informed decisions when Cheney and the likes want to play covert spy's and keep information secret. I don't think Cheney and Bush had many friends as children and they treated our country like their own personal play ground. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

easterner
Jul 11, 09 7:05 PM CDT

If I were in the CIA I give the VP the finger when he turns his back to me. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Amber
Jul 11, 09 9:13 PM CDT

Especially D. Cheney

| 0 minutes ago

justme
Jul 11, 09 7:17 PM CDT

CIA insiders leaking info to the NY Times. How many of our soldiers and operatives have died because someone can't keep his mouth shut? How about trials for them and the NY Times for revealing classified information? Reply

-6

IN RESPONSE:

emptycalm
Jul 11, 09 7:32 PM CDT

how about we try the war criminals first, then decide if it's worth it to try the ones that told the press about them.

+10

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jul 11, 09 8:56 PM CDT

Good point, emptycalm. ...... justme, what specific info was leaked here that endangered anyone? You made the accusation, now back it up.

| 0 minutes ago

Fondue
Jul 11, 09 7:39 PM CDT

Roast this pig already. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Cat-Lover
Jul 11, 09 7:51 PM CDT

So, it's beginning to appear as if Nancy Pelosi wasn't lying when she said the CIA withheld information. Now we know that not only did the CIA withhold information, they probably lied about the information they did have. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

UrUndertaker
Jul 11, 09 9:10 PM CDT

"Citing two unidentified sources, the newspaper said Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta disclosed Cheney's involvement in closed briefings to congressional intelligence committees late last month. Panetta, who was named to head the agency earlier this year by President Barack Obama, ended the program, which remains secret, when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, the Times said."...................IT IS TIME, PAST TIME TO END THIS CRIMINAL COVER-UP NOW!.....................LINK: http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090711/NEWS-US-SECURITY-USA-CHENEY/ Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Reader1398
Jul 11, 09 9:30 PM CDT

Cheney also managed to hide his horns, tail and pitchfork for 8 years, too. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Jul 12, 09 12:54 AM CDT

I dunno about that...I saw some o'those reptilian conspiracy videos back in the day and laughed my ass off, at the time...now I'm startin' to wonder whether the sick, evil ferk really *is* a reptilian alien here to destroy our world so his kind can take over.....sheesh...

IN RESPONSE:

wwwonderer
Jul 13, 09 1:43 PM CDT

Those are a lot easier to hide in "undisclosed locations"

| 0 minutes ago

Always_Right
Jul 12, 09 6:11 AM CDT

The Cia, FBI, and other government agencies have to be able to do covert, top secret, programs. That's how they keep us safe, that's "what they do". You can't have everything out in the open for our enemies to see. That would be nonproductive and pointless. Why that would be like telling your enemy at war the date you plan to withdraw your troops. Oh, wait! Didn't some genius already do that? Oh yes, that was our highly skilled teleprompter reading president. Reply

-4

| 0 minutes ago

TerrifiedCitizen
Jul 12, 09 11:12 AM CDT

Darth Vader ashamed and hiding who he is? Never. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

TerrifiedCitizen
Jul 12, 09 11:19 AM CDT

Our enemies always know more about our undercover activities than the people who pay for them. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

justme
Jul 12, 09 9:07 PM CDT

Shonangreg, Any specific information released tells our enemies more than it tells us. It allows them to begin chasing the sources of that info within their own ranks or, in this case harden the potential targets. That get US operatives killed because their job becomes more hazardous. The Times has done this country harm in this way countless times in the past eight years specifically because they didn't like Bush. FYI I worked as a small fry in military intelligence for a few years. Reply

-2

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jul 12, 09 11:03 PM CDT

justme, the SPECIFIC information released here was that Cheney set up a CIA operation and told the CIA to hide it from the Congress. How is leaking that SPECIFIC information harmful? ............ It sounds more like *whistleblowing* you know, one of US telling the rest of US something abusive and secretive AND ILLEGIAL one of US is doing that harms all of US. If foreigners want to learn how to run a democracy, more democracy to them ;-) That has been the goal of the neo-cons -- spreading American-style democracy around the world. ........... And if your goal is just having a stronger America, one with more choices and greater flexibility in how she deals with her enemies, then Bush and Cheney have really screwed it up big time. They went nuts with their torture program and insured it would be much more difficult to torture anyone on the future. Bush was incompetent, and Cheney has been a hack since his days back in Team B when he, Rumsfeld, and Casey were telling the CIA how to do their jobs. Some things never seem to change -- until reasonable people put their feet down and say, "Enough!" The Republicans have politicized defense and justice. Anti-American self-righteous morons they have been!

| 0 minutes ago

View all 29 comments »

Congress • Dick Cheney • CIA • Leon Panetta • intelligence briefing

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Cheney Told CIA to Hide Counterterror Program