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Convenient Punching Bag. From a Dana Priest chat today at the Post:
Minneapolis: I'm trying to understand whose interests line up and whose interests conflict in the unfolding torture tapes scandal. In particular, I understand the CIA would be happy to see Rodriguez shoulder the blame -- but is there anyone on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence who would push back against that effort? Also, is Porter Goss -- who has gotten little scrutiny in press reports although a lot of anonymously sourced information that portrays him in a surprisingly positive light has appeared -- protected because he's a former member of the House Intel Committee?
Dana Priest: I like this question because I can't read any of these stories without making an automatic whose-trying-to-get-back-at-whom calculation. Here's a run-down:
Former House intel chair Peter Hoekstra is suddenly more outraged at this than the dems because he is still really po'd at agency and former agency types who helped undo Porter Goss and then came back to power at the CIA. Ditto Porter Goss, although it's harder for him because his real role is not yet known (at least I bet not). Dems are dumping on the Republican administration on this subject because it is now politically safe to do so (as opposed to when all this was actually happening in 2002 and 2005!). The CIA ends up being a very convenient punching bag. To repeat what I've said before: CIA interrogators got their approval of waterboarding and other extreme techniques from above: From the CIA Counterterrorism Center, which derived its authority andapproval from the CIA director, who derived his from the White House and it's legal team.