It recently became known that the CIA had destroyed some tapes they made that showed the torture of terrorist suspects. The tapes could have been an embarrassment to the Bush administration, who ordered the torture while telling the world that no torture was being done.
Now it looks like the Republicans in Congress are trying to provide some cover for Bush in the tape destruction. Yesterday, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Michigan) said of the man who ordered the destruction,Jose Rodriguez, "It appears he hadn't gotten authority from anyone. It appears he got direction to make sure the tapes were not destroyed. I believe there are parts of the intelligence community that don't believe they are accountable to Congress and may not be accountable to their own superiors in the intelligence community..."
Hoekstra made that statement after hearing testimony from John Rizzo, the general counsel for the CIA. Rizzo testified that although the CIA legal department said the destruction was legal, he and CIA director Porter Goss (pictured above) had "recommended" the tapes not be destroyed.
It looks like the Bush administration has decided to throw Rodriguez under the bus. This wouldn't be the first time they have sacrificed an underling to save higher-ups in the White House (remember Scooter Libby).
I find this very hard to believe. CIA underlings demanded a memo from the White House assuring them they had support from the "highest authority" before they would commence with the torturing. Now we're supposed to believe these same underlings would destroy evidence in direct defiance of their superiors.
If you believe that, I've got some ocean-front property in Amarillo that I'll sell real cheap.
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