The difference between Obama and Bush on torture: Obama would have made sure it remained secret

When President Obama took office, he declined to investigate his predecessor’s disregard for international law and his administration’s abuse of human rights. Obama promised that he would look forward, not back. He was lying. Instead of wanting to see justice applied to those who authorized torture, Obama wants to punish those who revealed the truth about torture.

The Washington Post reports: The Justice Department on Monday charged a former CIA officer with repeatedly leaking classified information, including the identities of agency operatives involved in the capture and interrogation of alleged terrorists.

The case against John Kiriakou, who also served as a senior Senate aide, extends the Obama administration’s crackdown on disclosures of national security secrets. Kiriakou, 47, is the sixth target of a leaks-related prosecution since President Obama took office, exceeding the total number of comparable prosecutions under all previous administrations combined, legal experts said.

Kiriakou, who was among the first to go public with details about the CIA’s use of water-boarding and other harsh interrogation measures, was charged with disclosing classified information to reporters and lying to the agency about the origin of other sensitive material he published in a book. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

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