Another Obama Flip-flop?

This is more of an addendum to last night's post than anything else. Obama appears to be abandoning his promised commitment to end government torture.

As a candidate, Mr. Obama said the CIA's interrogation program should adhere to the same rules that apply to the military, which would prohibit the use of techniques such as waterboarding. He has also said the program should be investigated.

Upon review, Mr. Obama may decide he wants to keep the road open in certain cases for the CIA to use techniques not approved by the military, but with much greater oversight.

Advisers caution that few decisions will be made until the team gets a better picture of how the Bush administration actually goes about gathering intelligence, including covert programs, and there could be a greater shift after a full review.

I say "appears" to be flopping because this has all the hallmarks of the other situations where he comes along in 8 hours and offers a "clarification". First, the information comes from Obama's advisers, who apparently think they are authorized to make these kinds of decisions and release them to the media. Second, it's bound to upset some very loudmouthed folks on the Left. The President-elect's usual response to that is to declare that no decisions have been made and "please don't hurt me."

Now, don't get me wrong. I'd love it if Obama saw some sense when it comes to intelligence policy; maybe when he gets some security briefings, he will. But this is another situation where he doesn't seem to stand for anything because the men and women on his team aren't taking direction from him, but rather doing what they want and saying it's all in His Name.

The Administration-elect is only a week old and already it's foundering because of a lack of leadership.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 11:05 AM

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