History Begins Now

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In an extended report on tonight's ABC Nightly News, justice correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg reported on top level meetings in the White House discussing and approving uses of waterboarding--forced drowning until stopped by the interrogator--and other torture tactics to be used in terrorist suspect interrogations.

Greeburg's report said the meetings were chaired by Condoleezza Rice, attended by Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, John Ashcroft, George Tenet... Ashcroft was unavailable for comment, others had no comment, Colin Powell thru a spokesman said they had lots of meetings and he couldn't remember and even if he could he wouldn't tell.

Greenburg sourced her information as in a way that didn't make clear who the source was, but the tip of the iceberg of coverup and obfuscation of this shameful passage in American history just may be starting to melt.

Or, to borrow another metaphor, maybe the wagons are circling to protect George W. Bush from the darkest decisions of his administration.

The question is, if he's the decider, why wasn't he mentioned in the report as being in the room? Just who is running our government?

UPDATE:
ABC'S transcript names these attendees:

At the time, the Principals Committee included Vice President Cheney, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Again, the question is, just who is running our government? Is this the plausible deniability strategery to protect George W. Bush? Who protects the rest of us?