CIA director’s ‘pep talk-style memo’ challenges Pelosi

“Let me be clear: It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress,” wrote Panetta. “That is against our laws and our values. As the Agency indicated previously in response to Congressional inquiries, our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing ‘the enhanced techniques that had been employed.’ Ultimately, it is up to Congress to evaluate all the evidence and reach its own conclusions about what happened.”

“At every step of the way, the [Bush] administration was misleading the Congress,” Pelosi said. “And that is the issue. And that is why we need a ‘truth commission,’” to investigate torture.

Asked whether she was accusing the Central Intelligence Agency of lying to top lawmakers, Pelosi replied: “Yes, misleading the Congress of the United States — misleading the Congress of the United States. I am.”

“My advice—indeed, my direction—to you is straightforward: ignore the noise and stay focused on your mission,” Panetta advised his agents. “We have too much work to do to be distracted from our job of protecting this country.”

He concluded: “We are an Agency of high integrity, professionalism, and dedication. Our task is to tell it like it is—even if that’s not what people always want to hear. Keep it up. Our national security depends on it.”

The brief memo was released by the CIA’s press office on Friday afternoon.

With AFP.