One Thing After Another

Jonathan S. Landay writes for McClatchy Newspapers: "Majority congressional Democrats seized on the findings to renew charges that the Bush administration, which has called Iraq the main front in the fight against terrorism, has failed to deal responsibly with the primary terrorist threat to the United States. . . .

"White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe disputed the GAO's conclusion, saying the administration was tackling terrorism in Pakistan with 'a variety of means across the political, economic and security fronts.'"

Some Reckoning for Torture?

Lara Jakes Jordan writes for the Associated Press: "The Justice Department is investigating whether agency lawyers improperly advised the military it could use harsh interrogation methods and concluded that President Bush's wartime authority could not be limited by domestic law or international bans on torture.

"The findings outlined in a March 2003 memo have been included in an ongoing internal review about the CIA's use of waterboarding, which simulates drowning, and whether top Justice officials crossed a line in authorizing it.

"The department's Office of Professional Responsibility, which is handling the investigation, generally does not publicly discuss what matters are under review. The office called Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., late Wednesday night to confirm the expanded inquiry into the 2003 memo, according to his spokeswoman, Alex Swartsel.

"In a statement Thursday, Whitehouse said the investigation will shed light on how the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel reached its conclusions in writing the memo. He said it will 'help us discover what went wrong and how to put it right.'

"'The abject failure of legal scholarship in the Office of Legal Counsel's analysis of torture suggests that what mattered was not that the reasoning was sound, or that the research was comprehensive, but that it delivered what the Bush administration wanted,' Whitehouse said."

In an interview with ThinkProgress.org, George Washington University Law Professor Jeffrey Rosen argues that Congress should assert itself regarding the administration's torture policies: "Congressional oversight, congressional hearings, censure, political pressure. . . . The time is ticking away, and they have the ability to haul these people up and ask Cheney and [his chief of staff, David S.] Addington what they were thinking when they endorsed these programs."

Meanwhile, Mark Mazzetti writes in the New York Times: "A records search by the Central Intelligence Agency has found no evidence that the agency violated a judge's order when, in 2005, it destroyed videotapes that showed harsh interrogations, the C.I.A. said in a court declaration this week.

"The agency destroyed interrogation videotapes in November 2005, months after a federal judge issued an order for the government to preserve all evidence relevant to the trial of Hani Saleh Rashid Abdullah, a Yemeni challenging his detention at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. . . .

"The court filings do not explain how the C.I.A. reached its conclusion, or by what standard it judged whether documents were covered by the order."

Bush and Brown

Jennifer Loven writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried to dispel doubts about their relationship Thursday, showcasing personal bonhomie as well as common ground on vexing issues such as the Iraq war, a showdown with Iran, global trade and the crises in Sudan and Zimbabwe.