McConnell and Petraeus: Foxes In the Henhouse
Posted on Wed Aug 08, 2007 at 10:30:36 AM EST
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The notion of Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell as the "honest broker" regarding the Bush FISA amendment was always nuts. Spencer Ackerman writes about it:
[A]fter last week's rapid, controversial revision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, in which McConnell played chief Congressional negotiator, lawmakers are wondering: Was McConnell set up by the Bush administration? Or is he a willing flunky?
He was neither. He was doing his job, serving the Bush Administration. This notion of allowing the Bush Administration to determine what the Congress decides is the problem. Senator Russ Feingold made this point in response to Sen. Lieberman's shameful performance in the senate FISA debate, when Lieberman called for the Senate abdicating its responsibility and instead just blindly doing what McConnell said. And we are in for a repeat in September when General Petraeus reports on Iraq. More. See also General Wes Clark's discussion of Petraeus and Iraq
I previously wrote about Petraeus:
[T]his is not meant to doubt General Petraeus' integrity or competence. It is meant to treat him for what he is - not an infallible disinterested observer, but a soldier who believes he can accomplish an impossible mission and will view events in a manner that most favors that belief. This is to be expected from ALL human beings. . . . Petraeus is NOT and can NOT be the honest broker here. He is invested in this mission, as he should be. Yet again the Beltway Elite simply do not understand their roles, which is not to worship at the altar of the "New Jesus" - it is to question and test what the "New Jesus" is saying. They have learned nothing these past 6 years.
Congress must remember that whomever they are dealing with from the Bush Administration, no matter how respected, represents the BUSH ADMINISTRATION. Congress must do its Constitutional duty and pass its own independent judgment on these issues.
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