IG executive report: Actions were legal because of Deputy Sec of Def authorization

:crazy:

Doesn't this put the Deputy Secretary of Defense's ass on the line because HE didn't report the intelligence activity HE authorized, to the appropriate congressional committees?

shades of Downing St. Memo

I thought the same thing. What the office did was "inappropriate" and it was authorized by Feith - therefore, Feith authorized inappropriate activities by that office.

That said, by their own words.

but like...

So Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld authorized Feith to do this, how does that make it right!?!

The key question is remarkably simple. If they were second guessing POLICY to be taken on the basis of intel agency conclusions, that's fine. If they were second guessing CONCLUSIONS on the basis of raw intelligence rejected by intel agencies according to their professional, congressionally authorized analysis processes, that is very much "intelligence activities". My understanding is that what the OVP did was primarily the latter in order that new policies built on conclusions not made by the intelligence agencies could be sold to the President, to the media, and to the country in general.

So how are they not guilty as sin.