Obama visits the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency today, almost certainly in an effort to smooth some ruffled feathers after the release of the previously classified interrogation reports.
I’m glad that President Obama has said that he opposes prosecuting those who did what is described in the reports in an effort to protect their country. But we’ve seen the limited lifespan of a pledge from the president, and so it would be worthwhile to get a more specific and binding statement on this matter.
Obama’s words would carry more weight if he A) pledged to fire any U.S. Attorney who sought to prosecute those CIA employees; B) pledged to veto any legislation that would create a “Truth Commission” that sought to expose these CIA employees’ identities; and/or C) offered a presidential pardon for the acts.