Finally, the Obama DoJ has arrested someone in the CIA over torture!

[Cain]

Wait, you thought I meant he'd arrested people for torture?  Have you learnt nothing, people?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/us/ex-cia-officer-john-kiriakou-accused-in-leak.html

The Justice Department on Monday charged a former Central Intelligence Agency officer with disclosing classified information to journalists about the capture and brutal interrogation of a suspected member of Al Qaeda, Abu Zubaydah — adding another chapter to the Obama administration's unprecedented crackdown on leaks.

In a criminal complaint filed on Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation accused John Kiriakou, the former C.I.A. agent, of disclosing to several journalists the identity of a C.I.A. analyst who worked on a 2002 operation that seized and interrogated Abu Zubaydah, including using the suffocation technique known as waterboarding. The journalists included one at The New York Times, the complaint charged.

"Safeguarding classified information, including the identities of C.I.A. officers involved in sensitive operations, is critical to keeping our intelligence officers safe and protecting our national security," said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., in a statement. "Today's charges reinforce the Justice Department's commitment to hold accountable anyone who would violate the solemn duty not to disclose such sensitive information."

Mr. Kiriakou, 47, played an important role in the fight against Al Qaeda after the Sept. 11 attacks. He is the sixth person to be charged in connection with accusations of leaking classified information by the Obama administration, more than under any previous president.

This was pretty much a given.  Obama hates unauthorized leaks like loli haet pizza, or Gingrinch haet monogamous relationships.  Given he'd already signalled it was time to "put the past behind us" and move together in biparisan purity of purpose and policy (ha!) as far as torture was concerned, the only way anyone was going to be arrested was for talking to the press without permission.

Funny how the whole "putting the past behind us" thing doesn't seem to apply to the likes of whistleblowers, isn't it? 

[Cainad (dec.)]

GAH


I saw the thread title and thought to myself, "This has got to be a leg-pull, but I kind of really hope it's not."

And then I was sad, but not surprised.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Cain you bastard! I read the topic and thought you'd actually scooped a politician doing something good, other than suicide. My entire worldview collapsed in on itself for about 4 or 5 seconds 

[navkat]

Oh, there's some "bipartisan purity of purpose" going on...along with a whole lot of transparency. I think this administration has made unprecedented strides in "reaching across the aisle" to achieve a unified agenda that transcends party lines.

Here's the deal: Big O has been no different than a Republican in the way of protection of freedoms (I've been bitching about Habeas Corpus, government secrecy and cross-polination of data and prosecution practices/purposes since he re-approved the USA Patriot bullshit and people were defending it as a "comprimise" before the election) and has achieved the same amount in the way of establishing progress in the way of meaningful heath, welfare, ifrastructure or economic reform: didly-squat.

In fact, the only difference I see is if a republican woke up in the morning, 3 years after allocating a trillion dollars for some still-unclear economic recovery strategy, rubbed his eyes to thousands of OWS protesters all over the country and said "Hrm...are they having some kind of a party out there?" he'd be roasted on a spit.

I see O's (feigned or not) seeming oblivion to every outrage--every protest "movement" in this country (whether you agree with its initial sincerity and motives or not) to be akin to the urban-legendary "Let them eat cake" nonsense often atributed to that chick from that awesome Sofia Coppola movie. It speaks volumes to me about just how far removed from reality the men in those positions have become. Furthermore, I'm more than a little dismayed that the unabashed strategy "just ignore them and they'll go away" is both working and not enough to make the voters scream for some heads on a plate.

Increasing defense of government secrecy/opaqueness is the least of our concerns in a state of affairs where the president can openly ratify a bill that puts into writing the matter of becoming a passive-authoritarianism and people are still bickering about whether that president should choose a new running mate for the upcoming.