House Democratic Intelligence Chairman tells Obama to keep Hayden at CIA and continue torture policy

[bigtree]

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/12/13/PM_hayden_wideweb__470x364,0.jpg

CongressDaily
December 10, 2008

The House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat said Tuesday he has recommended that President-elect Barack Obama keep the country's current national intelligence director and CIA chief in place for some time to ensure continuity in U.S. intelligence programs during the transition to a new administration.

Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he also recommended to Obama's transition team that some parts of the CIA's controversial alternative interrogation program should be allowed to continue. He declined to say what he specifically recommended, however.

The alternative interrogation program has been a lightning rod during the Bush administration's war on terrorism, drawing fierce denunciations from liberal Democrats and other critics who say it allows prisoners to be tortured. These opponents have urged Obama to shut it down.

In an interview, Reyes said he believes that Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and CIA Director Michael Hayden should be kept in their posts. Reyes believes they should stay for at least six months, but said the time frame is ultimately a decision Obama must make.

"There's got to be some continuity, and the leadership of both the CIA and the DNI is going to be pivotal to keeping us safe and secure," Reyes said. "I made a recommendation that they stay on during the transition so that there would be a period of time that there would be overlap."

read: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41595&dcn=todaysnews

[H2O Man]

1. Let's hope not.

That would be a very poor decision.

[Mari333]

2. Silvestre Reyes: Idiot

heres some of his infamous gaffes

'In a December 2006 interview with Congressional Quarterly, Reyes said that al-Qaeda, a Sunni group, was "predominantly probably Shi'ite." He also avoided answering the question whether Hezbollah, a Shi'ite organization, was Sunni or Shi'ite, answering now famously ""Hezbollah. Uh, Hezbollah? ... Why do you ask me these questions at 5 o'clock? Can I answer in Spanish? Do you speak Spanish?" Reyes, who has been a ranking member of the Select Intelligence Committee for a number of years, was criticized for the gaffe.<6>

In the same interview, Reyes said he favors sending more troops to Iraq: "on a temporary basis, I’m willing to ramp them up by twenty or thirty thousand ... for, I don’t know, two months, four months, six months – but certainly that would be an exception."<7> Yet, a month later, when President George W. Bush proposed sending approximately 21,500 more troops, Reyes said to the El Paso Times, "we don't have the capability to escalate even to this minimal level."<8>'



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvestre_Reyes

yet another idiot telling Obama what to do. there seem to be so many of them these days.
I only hope Obama tells Silvestre to piss off.

[stillcool]

3. Why is he pushing this?

everyone knows the CIA has been decimated, and the Pentagon has taken over much of the spy business the CIA used to do. What's he getting out of pimping these dicks?

[bigtree]

5. Think Progress » Rep. Reyes: Since Torture Might Be Necessary ...

from Think Progress: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/12/10/reyes-obama-torture/


Rep. Reyes: Since Torture Might Be Necessary, Obama Should Keep Torture Apologists Hayden, McConnell»

Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told Congress Daily that President-elect Obama should keep Mike McConnell on as Director of National Intelligence and Michael Hayden as head of the CIA. He said Obama should keep “continuity” in the intelligence sector because we live in “a world that is very dangerous.”

Reyes dismissed concerns over Hayden and McConnell’s records as apologists for torture. He insisted that that “there are some options that need to be available” to interrogators — presumably beyond the Army Field Manuel — to get the best information: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41595&dcn=todaysnews

Regarding the CIA’s alternative interrogation program, Reyes indicated that his recommendations concerned finding a balance so the agency does not use torture but can get valuable information from suspected terrorists or other detainees.

“There are those that believe that this particular issue has to be dealt with very carefully because there are beliefs that there are some options that need to be available,” Reyes said.

“We don’t want to be known for torturing people. At the same time we don’t want to limit our ability to get information that’s vital and critical to our national security,” he added. “That’s where the new administration is going to have to decide what those parameters are, what those limitations are.”

As the Washington Independent’s Spencer Ackerman notes, Reyes “framed the debate as between effective torture and ineffective compliance with the law . . .

McConnell and Hayden share Reyes’ approval of torture. McConnell has explained his refusal to move the CIA to the Army Field Manuel rules by denigrating Army servicemen, saying the Field Manuel was “designed for young and inexperienced” soldiers. He apparently does not consider waterboarding to be torture. Similarly, Hayden has dismissed torture as a mere “legal term,” saying we use the term “in a far too casual way.” Hayden apparently retaliated against the CIA’s inspector general for being an outspoken critic of waterboarding, and he may have destroyed interrogation videotapes to cover up the CIA’s use of torture.

[Caliman73]

10. Some people never learn.

Reyes is completely stupid.

“We don’t want to be known for torturing people. At the same time we don’t want to limit our ability to get information that’s vital and critical to our national security,” he added. “That’s where the new administration is going to have to decide what those parameters are, what those limitations are.”

The above statements in the quote have nothing to do with each other. "We don't want to be known..." WTF? NO we should simply and plainly NOT EVER torture based on law and conscience. "At the same time.." There is no "At the same time" Banning torture outright does not in ANY way, limit our use of effective intelligence gathering. How many times does it have to be proven that physical and psychological duress that is consistent with what the Geneva Conventions call torture, yields little to no valuable information. Finally, "That's where the new administration is going to have to decide where those parameters are..." Again, WTF? the parameters are defined. WE helped to define them in the Geneva Conventions in order to prevent mistreatment of our soldiers AND the soldiers of our Enemies by us. Regardless of whether they are "Enemy non-combatants" or whatever the administration wants to call them. If they are fighting us in a war, then they are soldiers. If they are terrorists, then they are CRIMINALS. Either way they retain the right to not be tortured. All of this Bush administration bullshit word play has to go, like yesterday! We either abide by the laws and treaties that we helped to create or we stop fucking around and just come out and say that we are no longer a part of the world community and will not play by any rules.

Hayden, McConnell, and Reyes need to get the boot.

[mod mom]

12. Perhaps torture should be applied to Mr Reyes to see if he might depart from the truth in order to

stop the torture! :mad:

*disclaimer: I am totally against ALL torture, even on assholes like this who suggest it might be useful. :mad:

[librechik]

14. his arm twisted by zealous professionals

we need a stiffer spine in that chair

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

4. I hate Reyes.

[mmonk]

6. Thanks bigtree.

I'll comment after my blood pressure subsides.

[bigtree]

7. kinda speaks for itself

doesn't it?

[mmonk]

8. Unfortunately. I posted these two videos

concerning change or continuity over the CIA:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x249040

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x249041

[bigtree]

16. I hope they've seen these

. . . they can't have both with Hayden and McConnell in place imposing their Bush view against the initiative of the new administration.

[mmonk]

18. No, they can't. While I can understand a "team of rivals" concept,

I understand the concepts of Constitutional law better. Let's hope there is no consideration to continue with dark actors.

[shadowknows69]

9. Fuck the continutiy

Bush cut the throats of anyone who was actually loyal to our country in the CIA when he came in. We have to end this Neo-con infection of our intelligence services. President Obama promised we wouldn't be a country that tortures anymore and he'd better come out hard and publicly against any suggestion we keep the status quo.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

11. Gen. Hayden and the claimed irrelevance of presidential appointments

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/08/hayden/index.html

[leftchick]

15. that is a great article and very true

fucking hypocrites!

:grr:

This idea that "qualifications and pragmatism matter, not ideology" is a meaningless buzzphrase. It's pure nonsense designed to neuter any criticism of Obama's appointments. If someone wants to say -- as Atrios did today -- that they're willing to tolerate the exclusion of liberals from Obama's cabinet and even demonization campaigns against the Left if that's the vehicle and strategy for enacting a progressive agenda, that at least is a rational assessment (though I think there's serious costs to encouraging not only Republicans and the media, but also Democrats, to all join together to agree that the one unspeakable bogeyman is the Left).

But this broader point that pragmatism and "competence" are being valued above ideology is incoherent and manipulative. When it comes to political power, this claim is devoid of meaning. Ideology, by definition, always matters when it comes to what political leaders do. And yet -- just like the brand new claim that high-level appointments don't matter -- many, many people have been easily persuaded to recite this "competence-over-ideology" mantra over and over.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

13. Contact him HERE --

Let him know NO TORTURE, NO RENDITION, NO BEING HELD WITHOUT CHARGES:

DC Address:
The Honorable Silvestre Reyes
United States House of Representatives
2433 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4316
DC Phone: [phone]
DC Fax: [phone]

District Office:
310 North Mesa, Suite 400
El Paso, TX 79901 Voice: 915-534-4400
FAX: [phone]


http://wwwc.house.gov/reyes/voice_your_opinion.asp

[aldo]

17. Well, let's see if Obama is merely the Puppet POTUS or

the real president. Time will tell.


Republicanists = economic terrorists. They hate the American way of life. They hate the middle class.