Ex-CIA Director Deems Dianne Feinstein Too Emotional for Objectivity
LatestTorture is very serious business. And with the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation of a secret report that claims the CIA engaged in torture practices during George W. Bush’s presidency—and lied to Congress and the public about it, it has become even more serious.
Today, Former Director of the CIA, the NSA and National Intelligence Michael Hayden spoke with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday discussing the report. They also briefly discussed Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee for five years, who is working to declassify the report and who last month publicly accused the CIA of spying on members of Congress and destroying documents regarding the CIA’s use of torture.
Hayden claimed Feinstein’s statement that releasing the full report on the CIA’s torture practices would “ensure that an un-American, brutal program of detention and interrogation will never again be considered or permitted” renders her emotional and therefore not objective. Via Salon:
“That motivation for the report,” Hayden said, “may show deep emotional feeling on part of the senator. But I don’t think it leads you to an objective report.”
Oh yes daaaahling, we delicate women are faaaar too emotional to discuss the rather base nature of unauthorized government actions. Oh dear will someone please fetch my handkerchief—simply thinking about all this has put me right in the doldrums.
When pushed to elaborate on the “emotional business,” Hayden kept mum saying, “No one responsible for that report has spoken a word…so it’s very hard for me to make a judgment.”
This whole thing makes me tired. First, I’m tired of having to explain that trying to take a woman down a couple pegs on the basis of her emotionality is sexist. Because it is. Second, I’m tired of the idea that people who don’t stand for state-backed inhumane treatment of real-life people are emotional yellow-bellied saps. Because we aren’t.
If anything, this kind of sounds like a last-ditch effort by former man of power to discredit a 6,000+ page government document that alleges some type of corruption on the part of that man’s organization.
Image via AP.