{"id":2629,"date":"2009-08-19T18:09:54","date_gmt":"2009-08-19T22:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2629"},"modified":"2009-08-19T18:09:54","modified_gmt":"2009-08-19T22:09:54","slug":"leon-panetta-idiot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/19\/leon-panetta-idiot\/","title":{"rendered":"Leon Panetta: Idiot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Remember that whole Nancy Pelosi, the CIA lied to Congress brouhaha? Turns out Leon Panetta&#8217;s an idiot&#8230; Joseph Finder at the Daily Beast has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/blogs-and-stories\/2009-08-18\/spy-agency-fiasco\/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsC1\" target=\"_blank\">the details<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>CIA Director Leon Panetta\u2019s emergency testimony to Congress about an illegal assassination program has set off a crisis at the spy agency. The Daily Beast\u2019s Joseph Finder exclusively reports that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> The secret assassination \u2018program\u2019 wasn\u2019t much more than a PowerPoint presentation, a task force and a collection of schemes\u2014it never got off the ground<\/li>\n<li>Panetta\u2019s three immediate predecessors\u2014George Tenet, Porter Goss, and Michael Hayden\u2014have spoken to him, and that he now sees that no laws were broken.<\/li>\n<li>Panetta has frantically tried to rectify his gaffe, but now faces increased Congressional oversight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>CIA Director Leon Panetta stunned Washington earlier this summer by disclosing, in an emergency closed-door briefing to Congress, that for the last eight years, the agency he now runs illegally concealed a secret terrorist-assassination program. The reaction was predictably explosive. The House intelligence-oversight committee launched a major investigation. Here was official confirmation, from the very top, that the CIA in the Bush years had been flagrantly and systematically violating the National Security Act of 1947.<\/p>\n<p>But according to a half-dozen sources, including several very senior, recently retired CIA officials, clandestine-service officers, and Cabinet-level officials from the Bush administration, the real story is at once more innocent\u2014Panetta was mistaken; no law was broken\u2014and far more troubling: an inexperienced CIA director, unfamiliar with how his vast, complicated agency works, unable to trust senior officials within his own agency, and desperate to keep his hands clean, screwed up.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The only question is whether Panetta is an idiot who is unqualified to lead the CIA or a political hack who fabricated a secret, illegal spy program to cover Speaker Pelosi&#8217;s backside.<\/p>\n<p>H\/T: <a href=\"http:\/\/minx.cc\/?post=291091\" target=\"_blank\">Gabriel Malor at AoSHQ<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.commentarymagazine.com\/blogs\/index.php\/halper\/76462\" target=\"_blank\">Panetta Revealed<\/a> &#8211; Commentary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Remember that whole Nancy Pelosi, the CIA lied to Congress brouhaha? Turns out Leon Panetta&#8217;s an idiot&#8230; Joseph Finder at the Daily Beast has the details: CIA Director Leon Panetta\u2019s emergency testimony to Congress about an illegal assassination program has set off a crisis at the spy agency. The Daily Beast\u2019s Joseph Finder exclusively reports [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,193],"tags":[51,628,668,131],"class_list":["post-2629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","category-war-on-terror","tag-bush-administration","tag-cia","tag-leon-panetta","tag-nancy-pelosi","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-Gp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2203,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/15\/leon-panetta-angency-briefed-lawmakers-truthfully-in-2002\/","url_meta":{"origin":2629,"position":0},"title":"Leon Panetta: Angency Briefed Lawmakers Truthfully in 2002","author":"Jeff","date":"May 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"CIA Director Leon Panetta today released a statement defending his agency from charges that it mislead mmeber of Congress: There is a long tradition in Washington of making political hay out of our business. It predates my service with this great institution, and it will be around long after I\u2019m\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2499,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/10\/about-that-alleged-cia-lie\/","url_meta":{"origin":2629,"position":1},"title":"About that Alleged CIA &#8216;Lie&#8217;","author":"Jeff","date":"July 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Wall Street Journal: As political spectacles go, one would be hard pressed to find anything as ridiculous as the Washington Romper Room now starring Congressional Democrats and the CIA. If only the consequences weren't potentially so damaging for national security. The latest episode comes courtesy of Silvestre Reyes,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2142,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/08\/cia-says-pelosi-was-briefed-on-use-of-enhanced-interrogations\/","url_meta":{"origin":2629,"position":2},"title":"CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed on Use of &#8216;Enhanced Interrogations&#8217;","author":"Jeff","date":"May 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Washington Post and ABC News are reporting that Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed on Enhanced Interrogations Techniques and their use on on Abu Zubaydah. From the Washington Post: Intelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed in September 2002 about the use\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1670,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/13\/don-surber-52-days-52-mistakes\/","url_meta":{"origin":2629,"position":3},"title":"Don Surber: 52 Days, 52 Mistakes","author":"Jeff","date":"March 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I might as well join Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds in linking to this slightly cheeky piece by Don Surber: 52 Days, 52 Mistakes Let me count them up, in no particular order. Some are big. Some are small. We all make mistakes. Here\u2019s his: 1. A do-over on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2218,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/17\/association-of-former-intelligence-officers-responds-to-nancy-pelosi\/","url_meta":{"origin":2629,"position":4},"title":"Association of Former Intelligence Officers Responds to Nancy Pelosi","author":"Jeff","date":"May 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Gene Poteat, president of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, offers the following statement on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's claim that the CIA lied to her in their briefings: Those CIA officers chosen to brief the Congress, and especially the intelligence committees, are very senior, experienced officers, who well know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2188,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/14\/joe-lieberman-i-totally-disagree-with-pelosi-assertion-that-cia-lies\/","url_meta":{"origin":2629,"position":5},"title":"Joe Lieberman: &#8216;I Totally Disagree&#8217; With Pelosi Assertion that CIA Lies","author":"Jeff","date":"May 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I disagree with Joe Lieberman on a lot of things but I like him and I respect him... and this is an example of why: MSNBC\u2019s Norah O\u2019Donnell: \u201cSpeaker Pelosi came out today and essentially when asked if the CIA is lying, she said, \u2018they mislead us all the time.\u2019\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Politics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}