Comments on: Intelligence Oversight Flexes One New Muscle http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2007/12/intelligence_oversight_flexes_.html Secrecy News from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:03:51 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: George Smith http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2007/12/intelligence_oversight_flexes_.html/comment-page-1#comment-925 George Smith Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:09:14 +0000 http://fasweb.beacontec.com/blog/secrecy/2007/12/intelligence_oversight_flexes_.html#comment-925 It may or may not be a game-changing scenario. All right, theoretically speaking, what if the oversight committee is briefed on the Israeli airstrike in September after threatening to use the power of the purse? What if they choose to tell the American people nothing about it as has apparently been done with the case of the destruction of the CIA torture tapes? Glenn Greenwald has appropriately beaten up on Jay Rockefeller on matters closely related to this issue. If you have an oversight committee that is supine -- that won't do oversight, that will just go along with whatever it is briefed on by the Bush adminstration and intel agencies because it is without political risk, then what does it matter if someone is compelled to brief them anyway? It may or may not be a game-changing scenario.

All right, theoretically speaking, what if the oversight committee is briefed on the Israeli airstrike in September after threatening to use the power of the purse?

What if they choose to tell the American people nothing about it as has apparently been done with the case of the destruction of the CIA torture tapes?

Glenn Greenwald has appropriately beaten up on Jay Rockefeller on matters closely related to this issue. If you have an oversight committee that is supine — that won’t do oversight, that will just go along with whatever it is briefed on by the Bush adminstration and intel agencies because it is without political risk, then what does it matter if someone is compelled to brief them anyway?

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