Former President George Bush was asked to comment on the release of the upcoming Senate Intelligence Committee's report on torture and he vociferously defended CIA interrogators and the policy that was started under his administration. He was quoted on CNN's State of The Union as saying that the report would diminish their contributions to America.
BUSH: We're fortunate to have men and women who work hard at the CIA serving on our behalf. These are patriots. And whatever the report says, if it diminishes their contributions to our country, it is way off base. And I knew the directors, I knew the deputy directors, you know, I knew a lot of the operators. These are good people, really good people and we're lucky as a nation to have them.
Invading a country that didn't attack us will always be the horrifying legacy George Bush, Dick Cheney and the neocons will be associated with and that's horrific enough, but to then legalize torture and implement that policy abroad is another disgusting black eye that our country hasn't recovered from. Holding the CIA and those accountable is a good beginning to flush the infection out of the country's system.
The report says that the CIA mislead Bush on what was happening, but he as well as others in the intelligence community will stand by their CIA counterparts.
The report is said to assert that the C.I.A. misled Mr. Bush and his White House about the nature, extent and results of brutal techniques like waterboarding, and some of his former administration officials privately suggested seizing on that to distance themselves from the controversial program, according to people involved in the discussion. But Mr. Bush and his closest advisers decided that “we’re going to want to stand behind these guys,” as one former official put it.
The usual suspects will be taking to the airwaves to defend the CIA and torture as soon as the report is made available:
The defense of the program has been organized by former C.I.A. leaders like George J. Tenet and Gen. Michael V. Hayden, two former directors, and John E. McLaughlin, a former deputy C.I.A. director who also served as acting director.
This will be a PR blitzkrieg of epic proportions. Hold onto your hats.
