Nominee for Intel Chief at DHS Withdraws

Former CIA deputy director at both the CIA's Office of Terrorism Analysis and the National Counterterrorism Center Phillip Mudd withdrew yesterday.

Ostensibly because senators were going to ask him hard questions about his role at CIA on interrogation.

Uh huh.

When, near the end of a two-hour session, they went over Mudd's CIA positions from 2001 to 2005, it became apparent that questions about harsh interrogations, renditions and allegations that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had links to al-Qaeda would have to be explored, according to a person at the session who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the matter.

"Since he was deputy director of the counterterrorism center, he was going to be asked whether interrogation produced useful intelligence, and if it didn't, why didn't he stop it?" the source said.

Funny, you don't have to ask that second question if the answer (you'd just as soon not hear) is that it did produce useful intelligence. It becomes, what's the word, moot I think. Yes, that's the word.

posted by Dave In Texas at 06:33 PM

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