WASHINGTON, July 13, 2009
Probe of Cheney's Covert CIA Plan Urged
Congressional Leaders Never Told about Operation Ordered by then-VP to Kill Al Qaeda at Close Range
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Play CBS Video Video Cheney's CIA Secrets Unfold Congressional leaders are demanding answers on former VP Cheney and his reported orders to the CIA to conduct a secret mission to hunt down top al Qaeda operatives. Nancy Cordes reports.
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(AP / CBS)
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Timeline In Terror's Wake A look at the major developments following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
That's what Democrats say the CIA director Leon Panetta told them when he met with the Intelligence Committees last month immediately after he learned about the program and killed it.
"You can't have anybody, you can't have a vice president or a president or a senator say 'Don't follow the law," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Cheney's direct involvement is fueling calls for an investigation, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.
"This can't stand to have something operating for almost a decade with not one member of Congress ever having been informed," said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.
Government sources describe the secret plan as "an on-again, off-again" program, conceived after 9/11, that never got off the ground.
It reportedly involved taking out major al Qaeda figures at close range.
"I'm sure that there's a lot of programs that we've never been briefed on that an administration may have thought about doing but never implemented," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich.
Republicans accuse Democrats of manufacturing outrage to provide cover for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who came under fire when she said this about waterboarding: "The CIA was misleading the Congress. They mislead us all the time!"
If Vice President Cheney did say to the CIA "don't tell Congress," is that against the law?
"It's probably skirting the law," said CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "The question is what do you do with that. And I don't think that there is going to be any will on Congress to prosecute him."
Potentially more serious is the investigation being considered by the attorney general who says he will decide soon on whether to investigate the Bush admininstration's tough interrogation tactics.
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- 1) I'm glad the CIA has been working on ways to hunt al qaeda terrorists.
2) This misguided anger against Cheney and the CIA is clearly just to cover Pelosi.
3) Another interesting article on the topic here: https://www.mindreign.com/en/mindshare/World-Politics-and-Current-Events/Let-the-CIA-fight-terrorists/sl34045952bp344cpp5pn1.html - Reply to this comment
- Who is the enemy here ? The Democrats voted against virtual
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- The power of the executive branch of government must be limited by Congressional oversight. When no supervision exists and nearly all of the power of government resides in the executive branch, abuse of power is inevitable. When the activities of agencies like the CIA are not monitored, they will cross the line. This is not because one political party, agency, or man is inherently evil. It is simply human nature.
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- Cheney and his lackey George Bush are terrorists who deserve a trial and then deserve to be hung like Saddam Hussein.
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- "The CIA never briefed Congress on a sensitive counter-terrorism plan because former Vice President Dick Cheney told CIA officials not to."
Why is that surprising ?
After all, he also asked the CIA to fabricate false intelligence
(WMD, yellowcake, etc ...) as a pretext to invade Iraq.
And when somebody at the CIA didn't cooperate, he just blew out their cover (Brewster-Jennings).
So, please, Cheney and family, no lesson on patriotism and security. You are not qualified. - Reply to this comment
- The Neocon spin machine is on ... full blast.
Oh, it was a plan to kill A Q'da? Who could be against that? (No one would be so why the big secret?) And they never implemented it (meaning they failed in their attempts) so big deal!
The issue is that Cheney ordered (unlawfully) the CIA to not tell the duly constituted over-sight committees that they were setting up assassination squads.
A sheetstorm is brewing and they're trying to get ahead of the story and spin the heck out of it. - Reply to this comment
- Senator Leahy D-Vermont is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has been pushing for a Truth Commission on the Bush Administration. He has a petition going at the web address below. I suspect he has a better chance of getting an investigation started than most. Please sign the petition.
http://www.bushtruthcommission.com/ - Reply to this comment
- What Cheney covered up was not a mission to kill Osama. Only someone very gullible would fall for that LEAKED explanation. They are trying to make it seem like he was covering up some sensible and obvious government response. They are just trying to give a cover story to the republicans trying to quash any real investigation. This is THE BIG LIE script. The investigation would probably only find a few criminally stupid individuals like John Yoo. What it will reveal is a government driven by fear. They were telling the people to be afraid, yet political fear and corporate group think also ruled their minds. They are lying to hide what they really are, cowards who chose politics above integrity.
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- Well like I said the other day. I hate Cheney but wish him no ill will really. I think at that particular time America should be grateful that we had Dick Cheney. His efforts to protect America cannot be denied.
However. If what seems to be the case is in fact true. Than Cheney, in perhaps all the noble reasons one can drum up, never-the-less over-stepped his bounds considerably.
If America tolerates a public official - a VP especially - who willfully and with malice decieves, lies to, mis-leads or otherwise mis-informs Congress on the nature of covert ops, than he has violated a serious law.
The toleration of such behavior would weaken our domestic defense and set this country up with a very bad precedent that would give free license to any official to ignore the law of this land. It would set the stage for corrupt officials to put in place secret plots to overthrow this very country. Can anyone imagine that? I can.
For as much respect as I have for Cheney - I do not think he is an evil man. Just a misguided man - even so this is a serious breach of checks and balances of this country the likes of have never been seen before.
If a government cannot face accountability to its people, than its people will not face its government. - Reply to this comment
- Cheney has proven to be the most evil man in recent history. He mastered the invasion of Iraq where tens of thousands of people were killed in the most brutal bombings on any civilization since world war two.
He has no soul. He's a leather heart monster who I wish could sent to prison for life and water boarded every day until there's not an ounce of life left in him. He shames humanity. He is a vulgar, corrupt serphant and he will get what's coming to him somewhere in eternity.
How could anyone be surprised that he's involved in any covert CIA plot ? The guy thrives on deception.
He's Bush's hit man. He's America's deepest shame ! - Reply to this comment
- Cheney is simply a Nazi.
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- You my friend are very insightful. The attack on the Twin Towers was a "False Flag" strategy designed to incite the ensuing war in Iraq. Nazis routinely used the "False Flag" strategy in order to execute their evil actions. Cheney is a terrorist and is a disgrace to the American soil. He should be tried and hung for his crimes against humanity. To the others who think he is innocent - DO YOUR HOMEWORK and stop watching FOX NEWS...
- When Democrats reveal why Holder dropped the successful case against the new Black Panther Party for voter intimidation, and when Congress tells their committee chairs under ethics investigation, Rangel, Murtha, Dodd, Frank, to step down while under investigation, I may believe the Democratic party is interested in justice. Until then it appears the party is playing politics to keep themselves in power. 2010 can't come soon enough.
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- If the CIA had a program that was discussed, maybe even researched, but never resulted in any action, why would it need to be reported to Congress? This was a non-program and the only reason it is being discussed is politics, the liberal left not liking Cheney and the liberal media not liking Cheney. It allows Pelosi to get off the hook and gives the raw meat to the rabid left thereby getting Obama back in the good graces of the left. It has nothing to do with revealing the truth, just payback.
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- Actually Waters is also under investigation as well. But if the 4 committee chairs were Republicans and under investigation, the Dems and the press would be calling for them to step down from their posts as chairman. Dodd has stalled the investigation for over a year. So the Dems are not interested in justice. The Bush Justice Dept prosecuted many Republicans while in office. The Pelosi advertised squeaky clean Congress can't even investigate their own in a timely manner. Pelosi and Reid protect these people and they should resign as well.
- (AP) The CIA never briefed Congress on a sensitive counter-terrorism plan because former Vice President Dick Cheney told CIA officials not to.
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This isn't disturbing to Republicans? - Reply to this comment
- Joe Biden has a,"private", program to obtain neked pics of Sarah Palin.
I read it on TMZ... - Reply to this comment
- A program that spent less than a $million, never went anywhere, was discussed and dropped many times doesn't seem to be a program. Plus ex CIA director Hayden says Congress was advised. So I can only surmise that this is all to provide cover for Pelosi, and to be a distraction from the present policies of the Democrats and the Obama administration.
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- Let's see, what could have happened 8 years ago???? Gosh could it be that THREE THOUSAND AMERICANS WERE KILLED IN NYC???? And Cheney's a terrorist?
To call you pathetic liberals ****** bags is an insult to ****** bags. - Reply to this comment
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- Let's see, what could have happened a few days after what happened in NYC??? Gosh, could it be that the group that claimed responsibility turned out to be the same group created, armed, trained, and funded by the CIA in another secret operation against Russia in Afghanistan, led by a family member of Bush Sr.'s Carlyle Group of companies business partners???
And what happened a couple months later? Gosh did we commence military hostilities against a country that even the pentagon admits had nothing to do with that aforementioned group, resulting in the loss of 4,000+ more American lives, not to mention upwards of a million innocent victims of that non-involved country???
Let's see, what is happening now??? Gosh, are there still suckers repeating the same already dis-proven lies to continue to justify war crimes, and crimes against humanity???
Yas, Cheney is a terrorist, and you are a terrorist supporter.
- Let's see, what could have happened a few days after what happened in NYC??? Gosh, could it be that the group that claimed responsibility turned out to be the same group created, armed, trained, and funded by the CIA in another secret operation against Russia in Afghanistan, led by a family member of Bush Sr.'s Carlyle Group of companies business partners???
- Let's see. Kill al-Qaeda leadership. Conduct clandestine operations. Rid Iraq and the rest of the Middle East between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf of al-Qaeda operations that would have disrupted the region. Destroy al-Qaeda as a viable offensive force. Oh, and tell a hostile Congress all about it every step of the way and be confident they won't blab to the media and the enemy? Don't say it. THAT?S what I was thinking too.
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- That Cheney had a "private' program for assassination only seems right up his (lack) of character and keeping his actions secret has always been one of his priorities, but this sounds fishy, even by his low standards, WHO DID HE WANT ASSASSINATED? They say al-queda, but that's was NO reason to keep it secret from a Congressional Committee. Who did he REALLY want killed?
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- The mass grave of over 2,000 Taliban POW's in Afghanistan might be linked to CIA operations.
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