(2009-05-15) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, under scrutiny for her changing accounts of when she knew about the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques, said today that she was not informed until late 2003 that Muslim terrorists had used passenger jets to kill thousands of people in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
“One of my aides mentioned in passing that she had been to a CIA briefing months earlier about these techniques,” said Rep. Pelosi. “At the time, I thought the discussion was theoretical…that this was something that could happen. It wasn’t until October 2003 that I learned that these methods had actually been used on American soil.”
Crashing hijacked planes into buildings full of non-combatant civilians is one of several “enhanced immolation techniques” forbidden under U.S. and international law.
Rep. Pelosi, clearly rattled by reporters’ questions on the subject, first said she knew nothing about the 9/11 attacks, but later acknowledged that she was “too busy helping Democrats win a majority in Congress to get involved in the details of a matter that was being handled through appropriate channels.”
UPDATE: ScrappleFace.com editor Scott Ott will appear on CNN.com LIVE today (5/15) at Noon eastern to discuss Rep. Pelosi’s memory. The show is online only, and can be viewed at http://www.CNN.com/video
54 responses so far ↓
1 boberinyetagain // May 15, 2009 at 8:10 am
I see the humor in this…
But seriously, while I fully agree that Nancy looks increasingly foolish in her handling of this (it literally gets sillier with each passing hour) even if it were proven that she initiated torture/performed it herself us “liberals” would want her head along with anyone else that authorized and knew such things were going on.
“Authorized” is the key word. Not “knew of”.
“Approved” the deed itself…another key.
My mind is not made up on the “prosecution” part…leaning away from that but…we should know who “authorized” such things.
Nancy be damned
2 gafisher // May 15, 2009 at 8:24 am
Good points re specific language, Bober. It depends on what the meaning of “is” is.
3 gafisher // May 15, 2009 at 8:29 am
If “Pelosi First Heard of 9/11 Attacks in Late 2003″ why is she still acting as though they never happened?
4 claude // May 15, 2009 at 8:37 am
Bober, I think we should prosecute, especially the one individual who knew, approved and authorized a pregnant Mary Jo Kopechne get in his car. As you may know, she did die from drowning.
5 boberinyetagain // May 15, 2009 at 8:44 am
claude, I’m with you there!
gafisher, good point…we need to be very specific
6 gafisher // May 15, 2009 at 8:57 am
Claude Re#4, should that be called Oldsmoboarding?
7 gafisher // May 15, 2009 at 9:04 am
Bober Re#1: ““Authorized” is the key word. Not “knew of”.”
8 boberinyetagain // May 15, 2009 at 9:13 am
ga, we can fry Nancy…I have no problem with that. It just seems like she’s being used as some sort of “excuse” as if her knowing would somehow justify torture.
It would not…
9 IndyJohn // May 15, 2009 at 9:33 am
Poor Nancy Polosi. She is not a true psychopath like Bill Clinton, who can rattle off lies with aplomb. When Nancy is lying, she stutters and stammers, loses her written statement, and can’t remember what it says. She apparently has a conscience and knows in her heart that lying is wrong. This being the case, how in the hell did she get to be the Speaker in a Democrat-controlled House? How embarrassing. This is the party of Gore, Edwards, and Murtha. The Democrats have a reputation to uphold. They can do better than Nancy. The House is filled with Democrats who have personality disorders. Give us one who can lie in public with total conviction. After all, lying skill will be increasingly necessary as the Obama administration proceeds.
10 Tinman // May 15, 2009 at 10:23 am
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain” said the wizard of Oz. “Keep your eyes on Nancy and the many other distractions performed for your entertainment while we steal the country from you”.
11 Melvin Winter // May 15, 2009 at 10:45 am
The CIA briefings flap has apparently affected Speaker Pelosi’s latest book tour. Check out this Onion-style parody:
http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/05/speaker-pelosi-touts-her-book-sequel.html
12 OneOfManySteves // May 15, 2009 at 11:11 am
Re Bober @ #8:
The issue is not “justifying” torture, it’s determining whether or not the techniques used constitute torture, and whether those who advised that they did not should be prosecuted (which in turn depend on your definition of torture and the nature of OLC’s legal advice, among other things).
Pelosi’s mendacity points out that, for many Democrats at least, the entire debate has nothing to do with a belief that torture occurred, a moral opposition to torture, or a desire for truth, but has everything to do with partisan politics.
So if you’re on the side of the debate that says that whatever did happen was not torture, and you know that the key people on the other side of the debate actually agree with you and are only exploiting the situation for political gain, why would you not gleefully point this out?
13 boberinyetagain // May 15, 2009 at 11:25 am
OOMS,
Could be, still seems like a “smoke screen” and I’d like to slap em all (is that torture) for making such things more like a circus that a serious issue. We just appear more and more foolish, less and less relevent to world affairs.
Very sad
14 Headline Of The Day « QC Examiner // May 15, 2009 at 12:56 pm
[...] Headline Of The Day Pelosi First Heard Of 9/11 Attacks In Late 2003 [...]
15 Buzz // May 15, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Claude (#4)
Mary Jo Kopechne didn’t “drown.”
She died of di-hydrogen monoxide poisoning.
16 debass // May 15, 2009 at 2:02 pm
They are not “Muslim terrorists”. They are “man made disaster facilitators.”
17 Fred Sinclair // May 15, 2009 at 2:04 pm
From a few weeks ago but still highly relevant.
Mark Levin on Pelosi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ME5dHWJEk4
18 OneOfManySteves // May 15, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Bober,
Agreed, no matter how you look at it the politics is a distraction from the real issues. My one hope for this era is that people will realize that the real battle is not Democrats vs. Republicans or even left vs. right, but politicians vs. normal people.
19 Laughing@You // May 15, 2009 at 2:28 pm
The issue is not “justifying” torture, it’s determining whether or not the techniques used constitute torture, and whether those who advised that they did not should be prosecuted (which in turn depend on your definition of torture and the nature of OLC’s legal advice, among other things).
Boberin’s definition of torture (and mine) is biased, as are the opinions of everyone else here. OLC’s “legal advice” conformed to the wishes (and, most likely, the demands) of their “client”.
Such advice was based on the same kind of consideration used to determine the presence of WMD in Iraq and the Al Qaeda-Saddam connection. In all instances, advice was both “Cherry Picked” and coerced.
These same conditions permeate American society today. Like Mr. Goodwrench used to say, “you can pay me now, or you can pay me later”! If we don’t do it here, the world will do it for us!
Everthink?
20 Laughing@You // May 15, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Sorry OneOfManySteves,
I missed the attribution in 19.
Everthink?
21 Fred Sinclair // May 15, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Buzz #15 - I’ve always thought that it would have been a very smart move to make Teddy Kennedy, President of the U.S.A.
Too often we (Americans) have elected “nice guys” into the Presidency. We have Jimmy Carter types in position to deal with the likes of Manuel Noriega, Moammar Ghadafi, Hugo Chavez, “Al” Gore, Jr., Osama bin Laden, Fidel Castro, B. Hussein Obama, Idi Amin, Kim Jong-il, et al.
Teddy would have been great in dealings with foreign and domestic despots of their caliber. Face it; anybody who can get away with what he did - have the nerve and gall to appear on T.V. and talk his way out of his crime, all the while maintaining the adulation of his liberal followers as he successfully maintained the infamous “Kennedy Mystique” and to this day commands the respect, awe and power among liberals, that is inherent with the name.
BOTTOM LINE: He speaks their language! He would instinctively “Know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.
On his worst ever ‘bad hair day’ he would still be better than the current resident of free Government Housing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Wash. D.C.
22 camojack // May 15, 2009 at 3:16 pm
One wonders if Pelosi thinks anyone believes her…at all, about anything.
23 Don’t worry, Nancy - I believe you. « Cranky Mommy // May 15, 2009 at 3:27 pm
[...] May 15, 2009 · No Comments I know, I know, I couldn’t type it with a straight face, so I’m sure you couldn’t read it with one, either. I just read an article from one of my favorite sites that confirms that she’s always been a bit behind in current events. [...]
24 OneOfManySteves // May 15, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Laughing@You (19/20),
Huh? Perhaps you misunderstood my comment; I certainly didn’t understand yours. I didn’t claim that the EITs were not torture or were justified… I didn’t state my opinion at all. I’m just pointing out that the argument from the “torturers” isn’t “we may be evil, but it’s OK because Pelosi’s an idiot” (as Bober @ #8 could be read, even if that’s not what was meant), it’s “not only are we right, but Pelosi thinks we’re right too, and she’s only going along with this vilification thing because she sees an opportunity to score partisan points”.
25 Darthmeister // May 15, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I heard Pelosi had to waterboard one of her aides to find out about 9/11. You know how personal aides are reeeeeally bad about keeping important information away from their bosses.
BTW, “informed”, “briefed”, “officially briefed”, “read about it in a report”, “told by a staff member”, etc. they’re all the same weasel words. Only a dimwit, lying Democrat would try to nuance the truth in this manner and even more dimwit Obamabots would believe such lying trash. I’m sure the lamestream media is still trying to find a way to extricate Pelyinlosi.
As to the actual definition of “torture” I’m confident Islamofascists are waiting for some mullah’s ruling on what actually constitutes torture so that certain jihadist guidelines can be put in place to assure that captured American infidels can be treated with the respect and sense of civility as demanded by the Koran. No more beheading and dismembering of captured American soldiers and the ritual mutilation of western women (as found in Fallujah) because of photos of naked Muslim men piled in pyramids but not run over by M1A2 Abram tanks with the soundtrack of Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” playing in the background. We all know how Muslim fundamentalists truly appreciate the humane treatment of their marytrs who are committed to murdering as many innocent infidels as possible to guarantee their entrance into Paradise. That’s the reality folks, all else is pretty rainbows, unicorns, and butterflies frollicking in the sunset colors of western civilization.
26 Darthmeister // May 15, 2009 at 3:44 pm
BTW, if I volunteer to be waterboarded to prove that it isn’t “torture” which results in permanent physical or emotional disability, will Obamabots and other Bush-hating left-wing hacks be willing to be retroactively aborted by saline solution to prove abortion isn’t murder?
Just sayin’.
27 onlineanalyst // May 15, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Does anyone think that Nancy Pelosi even knows what time it is?
28 R.A.M. // May 15, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I’m working on a book about a serial lying, self centered, egotistical, insane woman. It is called “Pelocchio” and the theme is she has physical changes of her body when she lies.
I know it sounds a lot like “Pinocchio”, but in her case it is not her nose growing when she lies, rather her eyes bug out of her head, and she starts using bizarre, insane hand gestures!
Oh, and her Adam’s apple starts to show.
29 R.A.M. // May 15, 2009 at 4:02 pm
OLA: Maybe “Chicago” could tell her?
Sorry, your post almost was word for word of that song.
People like Pelosi, Frank, and MOST politicians, (yes even Republicans), have so many YES men and women in their “Entourage”, they have no idea how the “little people” who elect them feel anymore!
If two terms is all we let a President serve, it is all ANY of these other politicians should serve too!
I would give the Supreme Court Justices 10 years then out too!
30 IndyJohn // May 15, 2009 at 4:51 pm
I think that there may be some confusion regarding the definition of torture. Torture is the interrogation method used by the North Vietnamese on John McCain. They dislocated his shoulders and broke his arms, causing him long-term pain and suffering and permanently denying him the full use of arms. Waterboarding scares the pee-pee out of the recipient. It is exceptionally unpleasant - much like having to look at Henry Waxman. That’s all. It causes no long- or even short-term physical or psychological damage. Ergo, it is not torture.
31 debass // May 15, 2009 at 4:55 pm
RAM-
“I know it sounds a lot like “Pinocchio”, but in her case it is not her nose growing when she lies, rather her eyes bug out of her head, and she starts using bizarre, insane hand gestures!”
She looks that way all the time. Consequently, she must always be lying.
Dhimmicrat=Borg
32 R.A.M. // May 15, 2009 at 5:14 pm
debass: I agree. I think that is why she moves her hands that way.
I see the same thing in Alan Colmes. It is harder to see it now that he is only on occassionally, but he raises that left eye brow when he lies, he does it a LOT!
Reminds me of the character in “Miracle on 34th Street”, (the one from the 1940’s), that tries to get Santa fired. He CONSTANTLY fiddles with his eyebrow, and then later in the film we see he has his secretary doing it also!
Probably all of Pelosi’s “people” have “bug eyes”.
33 mindknumbed kid // May 15, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Seeing as how they knew about the interrogations all along, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that their only interest is political. Cheney’s push to release “the rest of the story” was denied…why? Because Cheney knows what those documents say, and Obama knows what they say, and the dumbercrats have staked their whole argument on lies and deception, ever aided and abetted by the MSM, whose legs continue to tingle with excitement (rumor has it that prescriptions for Detrol LA have also skyrocketed in the journalistic community).
One has to wonder what our friendly neighborhood jihadists are doing while we waste all of this time and effort, wringing our hands, and investigating nothing.
34 Twitted by benjipwns // May 15, 2009 at 9:44 pm
[...] This post was Twitted by benjipwns - Real-url.org [...]
35 MajorDomo // May 15, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Well it certainly looks like Pelosi is doing an intellectual 69. And how about the Obummer himself? Orating about the unsustainable debt, while he is in the midst of crating such an immense debt that it boggles the mind. Ain’t that an intellectual 69 of the first magnitude? Perhaps the Obummer administration will succeed in redefining the tern, “two-faced politician”.
36 Laughing@You // May 16, 2009 at 2:09 am
“BTW, if I volunteer to be waterboarded to prove that it isn’t “torture” which results in permanent physical or emotional disability, will Obamabots and other Bush-hating left-wing hacks be willing to be retroactively aborted by saline solution to prove abortion isn’t murder?”
You volunteer? Please spare us this, Chickhawk!
So, your “pro-life” view allows suicide?
Bush and Cheney are going to be exposed as war criminals, and more.
I’m just sayin’
Everthink?
37 Laughing@You // May 16, 2009 at 2:11 am
Major,
Put your pants back on, will you? I’m embarrassed for you.
Everthink?
38 Laughing@You // May 16, 2009 at 2:14 am
“I’m working on a book about a serial lying, self centered, egotistical, insane woman.”
Is it an autobiography?
Everthink?
39 Fred Sinclair // May 16, 2009 at 11:41 am
Off Topic? (but not totally perhaps?
)
Baltar to Cylon leader ["Battlestar Galactia"], ‘Never underestimate the human need for hope. Presented properly, the humans will come willingly into my arms.”
Another of Baltar’s gems: “Give them all the food they want, a comfortable environment to live in - meet their basic needs and they will willingly, nay, avidly follow me wherever I choose to lead them.”
As I watch reruns of full length episodes of “Battlestar Galactia” on Fancast (HULU) Shivers run up my spine as I see the plot of a Science Fiction program, laid out as a “playbook”, point for point and play by play reenactment in real life, by Obama as he seeks to bring about the slavery of the Cylonian Empire, here in America.
If he had only watched later episodes he would have learned that the Cylonian Empire met with massive defeat, just as he will in 2012!
40 Fred Sinclair // May 16, 2009 at 12:39 pm
L@Y - An amalgamation of your various “comments” over time reveal to any and all who have the ability to see and understand that sadly enough you are a shining example of what a highly successful teacher (a/k/a brainwasher) can achieve.
If it were not for the biological impossibility of a human mating with a parrot, I would be inclined to believe that you must have a parrot somewhere in your ancestry. You are utterly magnificent in parroting the Marxist line of Socialism.
You are the Socialist counterpoint to Rush Limbaugh. So far (to date) I believe from the comment in your post #36 - “Bush and Cheney are going to be exposed as war criminals, and more.” If time travel were a possibility you would probably be happy to go back to the era surrounding 1776 and your comment would no doubt be something like - “Washington and Adams are going to be exposed as war criminals, and more.” Possibly you would eagerly volunteer to fashion the noose (with it’s 13 coils) to place around their necks.
How it is possible for a person to hate America as you do, goes well beyond the comprehensive grasp of anyone with even a smattering of basic intelligence.
As much as I disagreed with a lot of Bush’s actions (and believe me, there were a LOT) “…..war criminals, and more…” are words that would never have occurred to me (to even think, let alone use).
You could probably be a much happier person if you were to relocate to Russia (or maybe Cuba) where you could live a life of peace and contentment amid your fellow comrades? [Something to think about]
Why not give credit where credit is due? Instead of attempting to brand Bush as a war criminal. Congress should give him The Congressional Medal of Honor (as Commander in Chief of the military he is eligible) for his outstanding work in keeping America safe from a repeat of the 9/11/01 murders.
His social blunders, Amnesty for illegal aliens, National health care, etc. pale in comparison to his outstanding success in fulfilling his primary responsibility as President of the United States
41 Laughing@You // May 16, 2009 at 2:47 pm
“If time travel were a possibility you would probably be happy to go back to the era surrounding 1776 and your comment would no doubt be something like - “Washington and Adams are going to be exposed as war criminals, and more.” Possibly you would eagerly volunteer to fashion the noose (with it’s 13 coils) to place around their necks.”
My personal research has yielded many family documents which provide an insight into the thinking of Maryland Patriots of that period, and also, of people who held views like the ones you now hold.
You Fred, would have been a “Tory”, a British Colonial “Loyalist” who stood in opposition to the American Revolution, and to my patriot forefathers.
You misrepresent American Patriotism.
Your views are most often entirely contrary to the very things you claim to represent!
“The People” have spoken! I stand with them.
Everthink?
42 Pelosi First Heard of 9/11 Attacks in Late 2003 | // May 16, 2009 at 8:33 pm
[...] just in from ScrappleFace: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, under scrutiny for her changing accounts of when she knew about the [...]
43 Fred Sinclair // May 17, 2009 at 12:15 am
L@Y - You’re even stupider than I had thought (and I had thought you were seriously stupid) The bottom line is that you haven’ t even a clue.
If you did have a clue, you would know that Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingram, etc. and myself promote and support the Republic of America - unlike yourself who seeks to destroy America ala Obama and substitute the “Union of Socialist States of America” (USSA)in it’s stead.
Commies aren’t welcome in this country - never have been and never will be.
“The People” have spoken! I stand with them.” ha, ha, ha. - The Brainwashed (and A.C.O.R.N.) have spoken and you will fall with them. [Check out Nov. 2012 and see how far the fall will be]. CRASH!!!
44 Laughing@You // May 17, 2009 at 1:04 am
Fred,
Re: 43
That’s enough of that. I’ve been fairly moderate in my response to you. Back it down a notch will you?
Everthink?
45 Fred Sinclair // May 17, 2009 at 2:18 am
L@Y- Sorry about that. Like Miss California. I was merely stating my personal belief and my personal opinion which even Donald Trump recognizes as my right. Actually when I read your comment “Your views are most often entirely contrary to the very things you claim to represent!” I was of the opinion that you had gone over the wall.
So I wrote a response but decided that I should back it down two (2) notches, so I rewrote my comment and my #43 comment was the extremely moderate result.
What you fail to recognize is that American people are extremely conservative and when the brainwashed voters and the fraudulent voters are deleted, Obama couldn’t be elected to the position of dogcatcher.
Ronald Reagan did not carry forty nine of our fifty (not 57) states because he was a Commie Liberal. He did so because he was an Arch Conservative and his position was to uphold and defend the Constitution - not rewrite it!
Obama has managed with the cooperation of his gang of thugs to do more harm to America in his first 100 days than all forty three of his predecessors (and yes, that includes George W. Bush with all of his errors)
In spite of all the con jobs, the brainwashing of the young, the subliminal hypnotism, the miserable excuse called John McCain, etc., over 58 million American voters voted against Obama, because by and large we are conservative Americans - NOT SOCIALISTS!
I, however do apologize if you feel I stepped on your toes, I recognize that you *specifically you* probably voted your conscious (and there were probably a couple or three others) but that leaves millions of voters who voted exactly as they had been programmed to vote. Resulting in the greatest electoral fiasco in the history of this country.
fiasco |f??ask?|
noun ( pl. -cos)
a thing that is a complete failure, esp. in a ludicrous or humiliating way.
46 Siedepunkt 9-11 - Die groesste Luege aller Zeiten | Favoritentips // May 17, 2009 at 7:26 am
[...] Pelosi First Heard of 9/11 Attacks in Late 2003 (scrappleface.com) [...]
47 Laughing@You // May 17, 2009 at 11:45 am
“What you fail to recognize is that American people are extremely conservative and when the brainwashed voters and the fraudulent voters are deleted, Obama couldn’t be elected to the position of dogcatcher.”
Fred,
“What you fail to recognize is that American people are extremely conservative …”.
Define conservative!
“… when the brainwashed voters …”.
Clearly you misuse the term “brainwashing” as originally practiced during the Korean War. Who, besides your own people, get a daily diet of propaganda from someone like Rush.
“… and the fraudulent voters are deleted,”
ACORN paid people to register voters. Some names registered were fraudulent. ACORN reported questionable registrations because they were not allowed to discard them, which is good. I hope there were no fraudulent voters. If you know of any, it is important to me they be investigated. I want honest elections, regardless of the winner. I felt disenfranchised by the way votes were recorded in the 2000 election, and again in 2004. I don’t want you to feel that way!
WHERE IS THERE FRAUD?
“… Obama couldn’t be elected to the position of dogcatcher.”
Fred, look at the polls today!
Everthink?
48 R.A.M. // May 18, 2009 at 12:15 am
Funny that “Barry” made no mention of, “Not wanting his daughters to be punished with a baby, if they make a “mistake” at that now, “not so great” Catholic Institution Notre Dame. After a lot of thought about Barry’s statement, it DOES make some sense. I am sure, more than once his mother, (and grandmother), wished she/they had not been punished with him!
After “Barry the baby killer” left Notre Dame, he came to Indianapolis to visit with his Muslim brother Representative Andre (Muslim) Carson. Yes, Andre at least freely admits he is a Muslim unlike Barry the liar.
Now here is a commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMhbdd4wMNU
49 Laughing@You // May 18, 2009 at 2:17 am
“I am sure, more than once his mother, (and grandmother), wished she/they had not been punished with him!”
Is nothing “out of bounds” to you?
When you say,”I am sure”, how is it you know this to be true? Did you know either his mother, or his maternal grandmother?
Did your mother ever awaken you before daylight, to help you with your homework?
He seems to have had a great love for both of them.
What credence can be found in any of your lunatic ravings? I know you must think they are funny because of all the happy faces.
Can you imagine the kind of person you amuse? Sadly, I can.
Everthink?
50 Headline Of The Day | multiplication table // May 18, 2009 at 3:14 am
[...] Pelosi First Heard Of 9/11 Attacks In Late 2003 [...]
51 R.A.M. // May 18, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Yapping@You whined/sniveled:
“Is nothing “out of bounds” to you?”
For “Yapping” to have the audacity to say something this stupid after all the vile, (and BILE), “It” has posted demands the ONLY possible responce of:
Now here is our Criminal in Chief, (who’s mother was a little less punished with him than the trolls mommies were with their “mistakes”), with his sidekick/henchman, who is only “slightly less” stupid than he. Enjoy the “cartoon presidency”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMhbdd4wMNU
52 R.A.M. // May 18, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Hey “Yapping”, Did I cause your panties to get all bunched up on you?
GOOD! Happy I could help!
BTW, what is credence?
Obama in a FAR, “left-wing”, LOONY NUTSHELL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHtTN3f63zw
53 gafisher // May 18, 2009 at 10:47 pm
R.A.M. Re#52: “BTW, what is credence?”
ONLY the best dag-nabbed Left-Coast Swamp-Rock late-sixties band of its type at the time!
:LOL:
54 R.A.M. // May 18, 2009 at 11:05 pm
gafisher: Great band! John C. Fogerty is/was CCR though. Even his brother was a”filler musician”, as was Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford!
“Yapping” would spell their name Credence Cleerwater Re-bible though, being the genius he thinks he is.
You must log in to post a comment.