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Lieberman: Probing Torture Puts Us At Risk
Joe Lieberman believes that investigating clear evidence of torture will put Americans at risk of another terror attack.
In a statement, the deeply conservative Connecticut senator, who has in the past expressed his support for waterboarding, said that Attorney General Eric Holder's decision -- which already has drawn criticism for not going far enough -- "will have a chilling effect on the men and women agents of our intelligence community whose uninhibited bravery and skill we depend on every day to protect our homeland from the next terrorist attack."
What a responsible centrist.
The full statement follows after the jump...
I respectfully regret this decision by Attorney General Holder and fear our country will come to regret it too because an open ended criminal investigation of past CIA activity, which has already been condemned and prohibited, will have a chilling effect on the men and women agents of our intelligence community whose uninhibited bravery and skill we depend on every day to protect our homeland from the next terrorist attack. Career prosecutors in the Department of Justice have previously reviewed allegations of abuse and concluded that prosecution was not warranted, with the exception of one CIA contractor who has already been convicted. President Obama has established clear guidelines to ensure that past abuses are not repeated and has stated his desire to look forward rather than backward.We cannot take for granted the fact that our homeland has not been attacked since September 11, 2001. That has occurred only because of the constant vigilance and unflinching efforts by those brave individuals in our military, civilian homeland security and counterterrorism agencies, and the intelligence community. These public servants must of course live within the law but they must also be free to do their dangerous and critical jobs without worrying that years from now a future Attorney General will authorize a criminal investigation of them for behavior that a previous Attorney General concluded was authorized and legal.
Josh
Zachary
I wonder how the good people of Connecticut feel about having a Senator whose integrity and command of facts is on the same level as James Inhofe's.
August 24, 2009 5:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
...and Dick Cheney's!
August 24, 2009 5:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Mr. Lieberman, your statement sounds much like the Nazi excuse for torturing your fellow Jews. I said, even as a teenager when those reports of Nazi abuse of Jews were published, "NEVER AGAIN." And that is exactly what I meant. And now Joe, I am appalled that you condone this sort of behavior, simply because it was done by America. If we roll over on this one, we have absolutely NO moral authority with which to expect the rest of the world to behave rationally when we ourselves condone absolute Nazi like behavior by our own government. God help you Joe, if you insist on this double standard. It makes no sense at all. And your statement belies your oft expressed outrage with the Nazi type treatment of Jews in the Second World War.
August 25, 2009 7:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Calling Joe Lie-Berman,
Calling Joe Lie-Berman,
your appointed time to shine Senator Lindsay Graham's and Senator John McCain's shoes was well over an hour ago. Please report for spit shine duty.
You AIPAC Zionist warmonger swine.
~
August 24, 2009 6:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
The language has too much self-respect to be able to reach so low as to accurately describe this despicable supremacist swine.
August 24, 2009 9:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well here in CT I can only speak for me, my wife, my children, most of my neighbors, most of the people at the gym that we are heartily sorry for our SenatorS. I will even vote for a Republican rather than Dodd or Lieberman. We have been slowly term limiting our Congressmen. Give us credit for that. Hopefully next the Senate.
The mention of Imhofe brings me to a quiz. Which state has the worst pair of Senators. We are among the leaders along with the obvious Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, Kentucky. Any other nominees?
August 24, 2009 6:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
What a surprise from Joe.
I wonder how Joe would feel if they were investigating someone who had caused great harm to HIS family?
This is a bunch of NONSENSE.
I hope all of these jerks rot in He**.
August 24, 2009 6:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
What would probing Joe Lieberman put at risk?
August 24, 2009 6:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lying Lieb senses a weak Administration and decides it's time to stretch his wings. After all, the Dems need him to get to 60 so it's not like they're going to punish him in anyway.
Just an embarassment all around.
John
August 24, 2009 7:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lieberman is no differnt now than he's been during the Bushit years. It has nothing to do with your hateful "weak administration" horseshit.
August 25, 2009 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Joe Leiberman and those in Congress who support his position...put us and our Constitution at a greater risk...they have become domestic terrorists, more dangerous than Al Qaida...because they "work from within" to defeat Democracy..
August 24, 2009 7:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, we wouldn't want to be tied to a Judeo-Christian ethic, would we? "Do unto others..." is just a situational thing, you know.
August 24, 2009 8:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is pure bullshit.
The only people placed at risk by getting to the bottom of the torture scandal will be those people who authorized torture and those who engaged in torture.
Getting to the bottom (or to the top), and prosecuting those responsible, will do more to regain America's credibility as a nation of laws and standards than anything else could possible do.
.
August 24, 2009 8:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
And cause those considering the US to be the "Great Satan" to think again.
August 24, 2009 9:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
There goes Traitor Joe again--seems like he's the last member of the Bush Administration still in office, doesn't it?
August 24, 2009 8:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well played!
Liberman, the Last Bushman Standing.
Maybe should be his Senate campaign bumper sticker.
August 25, 2009 9:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why prosecute the Nazis? After all, what they did was legal at the time they did it.
Think again, Joe.
August 24, 2009 9:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fuck you Lieberman, you slug.
If you were told the Nazis wouldn't be investigated and prosecuted for torturing Jews, you'd go ballistic in the other direction -- BIGOT.
August 24, 2009 9:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please remind me why, again, President Obama was so insistent on rewarding this renegade after the election???
August 24, 2009 9:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Last November senate democrats were ready to throw LIEbermann overboard until President Obama steped in and saved his wrinkled behind. It was mistake then and its a mistake now. I've come to the conclusion this president is not sharp when it comes to choosing alliances.
August 25, 2009 12:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
I have come to the conclusion that Presidnet Obama is smarter in the long term than you are in the short term.
August 25, 2009 2:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I kinda wonder the same thing. It's not like Lieberman will back up Obama for anything important, like Running for President; like Health Care; like, um anything else. Lieberman is beneath the slime of a slug in the garden -- why Obama saved his ass is beyond me.
August 26, 2009 6:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Perhaps he did so to exemplify civility.
August 27, 2009 2:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
Perhaps. But civility should work both ways or it is just one person taking advantage of another.
August 27, 2009 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
One can be both civil and not walked on.
August 27, 2009 7:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I suspect if Gonzales had declared gang-raping suspects "legal", Lieberman would've not only approved of it but requested video for his private collection.
August 25, 2009 1:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
I fell dumber for having read something this idiot said.
August 25, 2009 11:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
He can get the hell out of MY country. If he wants to live in a country with secret laws and disappearing citizens, he can leave.
The fact that he is involved in the living history of this country is appalling. He has a treasonous heart. His loyalty is not to the US Constitution. He has beliefs that he puts above his duty as a Congressperson.
August 25, 2009 12:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not probing US torture puts the lives of our Servicemen and women at risk Mr Liebermann.
August 25, 2009 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
He doesn't care about that. He cares about protecting Israel from the retailiations it provokes.
August 25, 2009 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a word for a politician who places the interests of another country ahead of the interests of their own country - TRAITOR.
August 27, 2009 9:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
In EVERY instance?
August 27, 2009 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
In a word - YES. US politicians take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the USA. That is the only oath they take. It is amazing how few of them take that oath seriously.
August 31, 2009 7:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
So if Bushit had put the interests of Iraq ahead of the interests of the US in illegally invading and occupying Iraq, that would have been treason?
August 31, 2009 4:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Since when is getting at the truth a bad thing?
Lieberman shouldn't be worrying about the people who broke the law, and instead focus on what getting at the truth will do for this country.
August 25, 2009 4:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
{The investigation by Holder]"will have a chilling effect on the men and women agents of our intelligence community whose uninhibited bravery and skill we depend on every day to protect our homeland from the next terrorist attack." [Sen.Joe Lieberman]
How brave and skillful do you have to be to torture a helpless captive? Maybee it's a good idea to be deterred from torturing captives as it is still against International and US Laws to do so. Unless Mr. Lieberman supports torture and wants to immunize the torturers! There are lots of intelligence officers who are not doing torture and they deserve support.
August 26, 2009 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Seconded. I don't go with the Lieberman/Far-Right assumption that the Geneva Convention (to which we are signatories) are so LAST CENTURY. These people are cowards, and they depend on cowards to gain their power. "Be afraid, Be very afraid" is their mantra; all the time claiming falsely, the legacy of our country when it actually stood for something.
August 26, 2009 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink