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The concern proved totally unfounded, according to Mondale, as it quickly became apparent that agency personnel called before the Church Committee were thankful for the chance to get the truth out, get a heavy burden off their shoulders, and put the scandal behind them.
More important, the truth that was brought to light made it possible for the country to resolve how several key national security structural and legal issues were to be addressed in the future. Much of that wisdom and many of the legal protections introduced at that time were blithely disregarded by the Bush administration. It is time to get back on the track of legality.
As veteran CIA operative Bob Baer told an interviewer on Monday, there is no reason why CIA should be considered above the law. "Indeed, the agency does its best work when operating within the law, said Baer.
At one point, he himself was accused and investigated on grounds that he went beyond what was permitted by law and regulation governing his operations in Iraq. Baer was able to show that he had adhered to the letter, as well as the spirit, of the law. The investigation ended, and Baer continued to shine as one of CIA's best operatives in the Middle East.
As for the need for holding people to account, Mondale had this to say:
"Holding people responsible in some way for what happened is very important. If the verdict here is that you can do these kinds of things and there are no consequences, then that leaves a precedent. I've been around the federal government long enough to know that if there is a bad precedent, it's like leaving a loaded pistol on the kitchen table. You don't know who is going to pick it up and pull the trigger. There need to be consequences for violating the law.
So, hats off to Attorney General Eric Holder, who could have tried to keep dodging the issue; and to the president as well, for deciding to give Holder leeway to do the right thing, despite the inevitable controversy they both had hoped somehow to avoid. In his announcement Holder was refreshingly straightforward: "As Attorney General, my duty is to examine the facts and to follow the law. In this case, given all of the information currently available, it is clear to me that this review is the only responsible course of action for me to take."
So let's clean up the mess as quickly as possible. Then we will be able to move on, in due course, to address the kind of simple but sensible recommendation made by President Truman's 46 years ago.
This article appeared first on Consortiumnews.com.
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