In the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, the Bush administration had a choice: Aggressively pursue potential terrorists using existing laws or devise new, secret intelligence programs in uncharted legal waters.

Unfortunately, President Bush often chose the latter ... his decision to go it alone ... had devastating consequences.

The chairman of the Senate's intelligence committee is unhappy with the President, but he comes out in defense of telecom collaborators.

If we require them to face a mountain of lawsuits, we risk losing their support in the future.

Maybe if we just offer to indemnify UBL we can win his support.

There once was a post about this article:

In adamantly refusing to declare waterboarding illegal, Michael B. Mukasey, the nominee for attorney general, is steering clear of a potential legal quagmire for the Bush administration: criminal prosecution or lawsuits against Central Intelligence Agency officers who used the harsh interrogation practice and those who authorized it, legal experts said Wednesday.

Rockefeller puts the responsibility/blame on the government:

There is little doubt that the government was operating in, at best, a legal gray area.

But he holds nothing back:

We face an enemy that uses every tool and technology of 21st-century life, and we must do the same.

Also, some tools from the Spanish Inquisition.

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