Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., responded Tuesday to Eagle editorial board questions about the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes by saying that he wasn’t going to respond. “It would not be appropriate for me to comment on classified matters, but I have full confidence in the Senate Intelligence Committee to determine the facts surrounding these events,†he said in a statement.
But why can’t Roberts comment on whether the CIA told him it was going to destroy the tapes and, if so, whether he agreed with that decision? Other lawmakers have done so.
Roberts also won’t comment yet on whether he was one of a handful of congressional leaders briefed by the CIA in 2002 about harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, being used on detainees, and, if so, whether he raised any objections.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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31 Comments
If only this somehow involved a Democrat’s penis then we can start a serious investigation into the matter. It’s only war crimes and obstruction of justice so we’ll just let Roberts take a pass on this one too.
What you say in jest I have observed in earnest, why is it that no serious investigations are going on?
The investigation of Clinton’s office BJ was a full bore event. What does the President have on the Democrats? And yes Roberts would be commenting on something that has been known now for what four days. Real nation secret, at least say whether he knew of the tapes and did he know they had been destroy.Simple question with a simple answer.
Its all MOCK TRIALS and SMOKE AND SCREEN. Congress is going thru the motions just to say they did. Look at the JFK assasination, WMD etc:… Herbert West III,Publisher/Journalist west.herb@yahoo.com
So Sen. Roberts doesn’t think he owes an explanation to his constituents regarding possible destruction of evidence by an agency he supposedly oversees ? I suspect he thinks we owe him our votes too. He’s wrong on both counts!
So, Mums the Word. Disappointed, figured we be treated to an “It’s all political partisanship.”
What’s that saying, “If he told you, he’d have to kill you”.
What would voters like Roberts to say about a classified briefing from which he cannot divulge any information?
My question is who first “spilled the beans” about water boarding when it was supposed to be classified?
After that is found out, then they can discuss the merits of the case regarding the destroyed tapes.
Who let out that the tapes were destroyed? This is also a violation in discussing what goes on for file keeping purposes in a secret agency.
The only secret that Democrats seem to keep in Congress is how many “under the table” campaign funds they receive.
Ks. sounds like Roberts, let’s not worry about illegal admin. programs, let’s worry about who leaked that there were such programs.
Matters of national security that are classified as secret should be discussed by Congress behind closed doors, not on the front pages of newspapers.
When I was in the military, there were some places and some “things” we could not even mention by name because they were classified.
To “talk around” matters of a classified nature is a violation of itself. Anyone who has been briefed on Communication Security and Operational Security knows this.
I’m sure Senator Roberts knows this as well and is waiting on legal advice to see what he can or cannot say. Or perhaps Senator Roberts is choosing not to say anything because it inappropriate to discussed classified issues in the press.
Hey, sure, the President classifies his crimes, that way no one can talk about them without being called a “traitor” or something by partisan kiss-asses.
This nation has traded its freedom for lies.
I have a real problem with people who think that we need to post all of our intelligence on the front page of our daily newspaper.
Is this because of our 24/7 news? Some things were just meant to be classified and kept that way. The well being of our nation depends on that.
What other country reveals their deepest security in their daily papers?
Tom I don’t understand how you can seem so intelligent on most subjects and so out of touch on this one. If it becomes a common place thing to leak classified secrets to the newspapers I guarantee you someday it will bite the demos and they’ll be hollering about the leaks. We need to stop this now.
Sometimes our right to know takes a backseat to our safety as a nation.
Ksgrm,
When our rulers (no, I’m NOT going to call Bush a “leader”) commit crimes, or cover up crimes, and then classify them as “secret intelligence,” it damn well _better_ be front-page news. Our government is accountable – to US. The people running it seem to have forgotten that fact.
Tom is it one thing for us to sit here and say Bush covered this up and lied about it. There has been no evidence that suggests that this happened. It appears the repubs and demos were both in the initial meeting and were in agreement that this was a valid action. Later this didn’t fit someones agenda and so the leak to the press.
National security can’t be a tool to get political gain or settle grudge matches. This is whether the culprit is lib or con.
I’m surprised that thinking people can’t follow this to the obvious end. IMOHO
Not really Tom,
Matters of national security can be prosecuted in secret by special arrangement, it is done all the time.
Particulars of a case are usually not known when operational or communication security might be violated.
What I think this is, is another “dog and pony show” by the Democrats to draw attention to themselves so they might “look good.”
Anyone who has worked around security knows that documents and supporting documents (which includes all types of media) get “shredded” all the time when the mission is done and the file status is no longer applicable or it is a compromise of security.
An after action report is all that is necessary to keep the chronological integrity of the case and it appears in that case this was already done.
Senator Roberts has a responsibility to protect classified information.
Some critics are naive Americans who think that we can have completely transparent government, including covert operations. But there are also leftists who want to weaken this country and who miss no opportunity to criticize America or fine Americans like Senator Roberts.
Back in the late ’60’s Nixon was caught classifying newspaper clippings. Some secret!
We all knew Bushco was waterboarding people, so all this tells us is that they taped themselves doing it. I realize that airing the tape might be an invasion of privacy, but it’s not revealing anything everybody didn’t already know. What they destroyed were not secrets, they were evidence of a crime. They weren’t protecting anything but their own asses!
What Roberts was asked to respond to is about something which is public knowledge.There is nothing here that’ll undermine ‘national security’. Did he know about the tapes, did he agree or object to their being destroyed, and was he concerned about the obvious obstruction of justice involved. The tapes were part of court ordered evidence request by the 9/11 commission.You 28%ers don’t think bush is subject to obeying the courts, and to oversight by congress.
Pate,There are some of us who want America to be an example to the world of what a democracy can be. We don’t like it when we find out (usually years after the fact) that our elected leaders have been doing all the same things we fought wars to stop dictators from doing.When we do find out, we reserve that good old American right to yell bloody murder! We demand our government preserve the rights of the people to determine the policies and actions of our nation, and remain a nation of laws just as our Founding Fathers did.Oh, and not all of us who believe in America are “leftists.”
“It would not be appropriate for me to comment”
Yup, that’s Old Rubberstamp Roberts–anything BushCo does is fine by him.
He’ll even stonewall and break law for them if necessary. See the footdragging he did on the Second phase of the Iraq War Intel Report.
Here’s a simple translation. When a conservative mentions “classified” he really means “criminal activity”. And when a conservative mentions national security they are really only talking about the interests of the Republican party.
So here’s what Roberts said:”The issue of the destroyed tapes is classified and I don’t speak about classified information in order to protect national security.”
Here’s what he meant:”The issue of the destroyed tapes is criminal activity, and I don’t speak about criminal activity in order to protect the interests of the Republican party.”
Now, there’s the truth.
And the Clintons withholding all that paperwork means…
…. exactly the same thing ….
also apply it to the VPs secret discussion of energy policy with energy ececs?
You betcha. Just tired of one party claiming that the other party is the ‘only one’ that such and such. That when one party says ‘blah’ it really means ‘blah blah’ Tired of blanket statements about BOTH parties. Both parties have really really good people. Both parties have some hard core scum bags.
We don’t need to send someone back to congress that apparently believes congress is subordinate to the Executive.
Sounds to me like we have too many politicians who have been in office long enough to perfect the art of saying nothing and getting paid for it. Maybe it’s time to boot out anyone who’s been in office more than two terms, and replace them with people who have not yet learned how. Then they can pick up their walking papers as soon as they start doing it.
One tactic that would work is to always vote for the candidate with the smaller campaign chest, unless there’s something obviously wrong with the guy (and I don’t mean his party)! The only lessons politicians learn are sent by voters.
Maybe Roberts is taking a page out of The Eagle’s playbook of turning its critics into nonpersons.
Non-person,Please remember that you are sending these posts to editors. Editors are genetically programmed to delete words; it’s an obscure form of dyslexia. When sent to the store they can’t be counted on to leave their lists intact!I learned ages ago to add an extraneous paragraph to my letters to the paper so they could do what comes naturally and I’d still get what I wanted published. Editors are good people, but don’t expect them to be other than editors.
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Pat didn’t have a problem revealing the US had agents on the ground during the first days of the invasion in March 2003. So why the qualms now, Pat?
Sure would like to hear Pat’s comments on whether the tapes should have been destroyed, and on whether he thinks Congress should enforce its supoena’s of Rove and the other guy.