In Dick Cheney we trust?

The New York Times revealed this week-end a CIA covert operation designed to assassinate leaders of terrorist organizations. Apparently the operation was under the guidance of Dick Cheney. The Bush Administration made the determination that it would have been too big a security risk to share this information with eight leaders of the bi-partisan Congressional oversight committee designated by law to be briefed about such highly confidential security matters. Upon learning of the operation some four months after his appointment to head the CIA, Leon Panetta ended the program and informed the oversight committee.

I haven't seen the polling, but listening to the news outlets today, many Americans are on Cheney's side on this one.

Forget for the moment the discussion of whether this is a policy consistent with the moral and ethical foundations of America. (I'm not sure we have to forget something we don't remember.)

The outcry today has been directed toward the U. S. Congress for being insistent that it be informed of significant intelligence operations.

Cheney and his supporters proffer the charge that Congress cannot be trusted with such confidential information. There would be unavoidable leaks, and our security would be compromised if eight members of Congress were informed. Instead it would have been much safer to leave it in the hands of somebody like Dick Cheney.

Yes, the same Dick Cheney that advised Scooter Libby that President Bush said it was okay to leak the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson to the press, one of the most despicable acts by government officials in recent history.

It is not an American notion that the Executive Branch operate without consultation or oversight by the legislative branch in such weighty matters. Sounds more like a Stalin or a Hitler idea. And no one has cited any instances of leaks of security information by the Congressional oversight committee. Certainly they haven't exposed any of our intelligence agents by outing them in the press.

If you have read this blog for any time, you know that I am an Obama supporter. But that does not affect my opinion. It is unhealthy and dangerous to allow the Executive Branch of government to have unlimited power without oversight, no matter who the President is. There is no rational reason to believe that the Executive Branch, most of the members of which are not elected by the people, is more reliable or reasonable than the U. S. Congress, all of whom are elected by the people.

The project was Dick Cheney's baby. Folks in the CIA knew that he was the man to go to with a question. No one else.

So it is more than a little alarming that Leon Panetta did not learn of the program until four months after he was sworn in. Why was he not informed earlier?

Dick didn't tell him. Guess Leon couldn't be trusted either.

Makes me wonder if anyone collected the former vice president's keys when he checked out.

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