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Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002 — Intelligence Panels' Chiefs Did Not Then Protest CIA Technique — In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody.
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Power Line, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, TalkLeft, Hot Air, The Mahatma X Files, The Impolitic, PoliGazette, AMERICAblog, The Carpetbagger Report, Connecting.the.Dots, Emptywheel, The Sundries Shack, Once Upon a Time, Shakespeare's Sister, Sister Toldjah, AMERICAN FUTURE, Open Left, TIME: Swampland, Macsmind, TPMCafe blogs, Booman Tribune, Prairie Weather, The Heretik, Majikthise, PoliPundit.com and New York Times
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Democratic complicity in Bush's torture regimen — The Washington Post reports today that the Bush administration, beginning in 2002, repeatedly briefed leading Congressional Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Committees — including, at various times, Jay Rockefeller, Nancy Pelosi …

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS' flip-flop on waterboarding: … Lots of people who were talking tough back then subsequently changed their tunes — out of either a sudden flowering of scruples or an unprincipled desire to go after the Bush Administration with any weapon that came to hand.


Congress Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002 — When I first read this report, I admit that I got angry. Then I got smart. Look carefully at the names named in this report. Isn't it interesting that the WaPo reporters made sure to point out the Democrats in attendance when Congress was still operating under a Republican majority?

Pelosi Briefed On Waterboarding In 2002, No Objections
Discussion:
Too Sense

Where is Jose Rodriguez? …
Discussion:
Buck Naked Politics, Booman Tribune, The American Street, Corrente, NO QUARTER, A Tiny Revolution and Think Progress

DEM RACE TIGHTER THAN EVER; HUCKABEE SURGE CONTINUES — From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro — If the first round of MSNBC/McClatchy/Mason-Dixon presidential state — polls are any indication, we're in for a wild ride these next six weeks.
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Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Taegan Goddard's …, Open Left, PoliGazette, TPM Election Central and Pollster.com
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The NIE under Middle Eastern Eyes — I met Dan Diker on our first evening in Israel this past summer. He is an officer of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs headed by Dore Gold. Dan is a foreign and defense policy analyst for the center. His analysis of the upshot of the NIE …
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Bolton calls report on Iran quasi-putsch — The former ambassador to the U.N. says the the latest intelligence estimate is meant not to inform but to influence policy. — BERLIN — U.S. intelligence services attempted to influence political policy by releasing their assessment …


CIA has recruited Iranians to defect — The secret campaign was launched two years ago to undermine Tehran's nuclear program. It has persuaded a 'handful' of key officials to leave. — WASHINGTON — The CIA launched a secret program in 2005 designed to degrade Iran's nuclear weapons program …

Civil Rights Icon Calls Obama Too Young — ATLANTA (AP) - Civil rights icon Andrew Young says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is too young and lacks the support network to ascend to the White House. — In a media interview posted online, Young also quipped …
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Andrew Young says Obama too young for White House
Discussion:
Oliver Willis

BUSHIES GAIN ACCESS TO NBC AIRWAVES — For quite a while, it seemed as if the only political ads that were rejected by television networks came from the left. Last week, for example, Fox News rejected an ad from the Center for Constitutional Rights about the administration's torture because …
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Oprah Winfrey Hits Campaign Trail for Obama — When she begins a typical show, seldom does Oprah Winfrey question the power of her brand or wonder aloud about the influence that accompanies her golden seal of approval. — But when Ms. Winfrey strode onto a stage here Saturday …
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Firsthand account of the Von Maur shooting — The Shack has the privilege of being able to talk with one of the witnesses from the third floor of the Von Maur store at Westroads Mall in Omaha. — On the condition of anonymity, he has agreed to tell his account of what happened.


Al Gore is criticised for lining his own pockets after £3,300-per-minute green speech — Al Gore has come under fire for making personal gain from his mission to save the planet - after charging £3,300 a minute to deliver a poorly received speech.

Rudy, Mitt, Fred, John, Mike, Duncan, Ron, Tom — and Alan — The Republican presidential field will debate next Wednesday in Des Moines in what will be the last and most important debate before the January 3 Iowa caucuses. What many observers haven't thought about is that the field …
Discussion:
Stop The ACLU


The trial of Bilal Hussein — It's Sunday morning in Iraq. Today is the day our military officials plan to submit evidence against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein to the Iraqi judiciary system. You'll recall that the military stated last month that it "possesses convincing …
Discussion:
Power Line


Iraq Bonds Rally on U.S. Troop Surge, Oil Earnings — Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — Holders of Iraqi bonds are giving President George W. Bush a vote of confidence. — The country's $2.7 billion of 5.8 percent bonds due in 2028 returned 15.2 percent since July, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. index data.
Discussion:
PoliGazette