Dick Cheney is Right

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has rightly rebuked the Obama administrations attempt to politicize the CIA. President Obama needs to stand up for the greater good of the country. The liberal left is putting their hatred of President Bush over the security of our nation. Unfortunately President Obama is perhaps the most liberal of them all.

The far left of the democrat party has always distrusted the CIA. Every chance that they get, the these Democrats reduce the ability of the CIA to spy and gather information on our enemies. This has been going on for decades. This goes beyond enhanced interrogation. While the rest of he worlds intelligence agencies get stronger ours is under attack from within. The current attacks will will only cause our country to become weaker.

No-one is above the law. It is true that anyone that breaks the law should be prosecuted. However if the CIA officers were following the law that was in place at the time, then there is no reason to put them on trial now. The actions at the time were deemed both legal and necessary. The CIA briefed members of congress of the types of interrogation techniques that were in use and how often they were used.

The current attacks on officials that acted in good faith will have only one result. The best and brightest among us will never choose to work for the CIA. These are the people we need to recruit. When we have agents that are in fear of being prosecuted under future laws the security of the nation is bound to go down.

The ability to gather key information is critical in the war against those who would see us harmed. It is important to have rules that clearly state what techniques are lawful and useful. When our representatives in Congress find that something is unconstitutional and unmoral then the law should be changed to outlaw that specific technique. If something is not against the law then it must be lawful. That is the premise the CIA was working under.

President Obama has stated he wants to look forward not into the past. It seems that has changed. As his poll numbers have dropped and the popularity of his health care program has plummeted he has ramped up partisan attacks on everything Bush. He is doing this to shore up his base. The base wants blood so Obama is attacking an easy target. He realizes that most people do not look beyond the headlines and don't think for themselves. He will get away with this.

Over the week end Dick Cheney made a good point. The nation has not been attacked for eight years. One would think that The Obama administration would continue the successful programs. The CIA got valuable information from the interrogation methods that they used. They prevented attacks on America. This information saved American lives.

We Americans do not support torture. There is a fine line between torture and legal interrogation techniques. The thing is, some people can find something wrong with anything. Realistic rules must be given so that our intelligence officers can do their jobs effectively without fear of future prosecution. The problem comes when the rules have been changed and the Attorney General feels it is OK to investigate previous actions based on new laws.

A clear understanding of what is torture and what is not must be defined. The upper limit must be harsh enough to entice a subject to give up the information that is needed to save the lives of Americans. Water-boarding may be to harsh but sleep deprivation surely is not. How about loud music, or keeping the lights on? What about food that has no taste? Is keeping the temperature at 65* OK? None of these seem to harsh for the ones that have information that could save the lives of hundreds of Americans. Our leaders need to make clear rules that are specific. The public does not need to know everything. We just need to know that our entire government is doing what is right to protect America. We need to trust that politics are never injected into National Security.