In the waning days of the Clinton administration, its members went on a vandalism spree. Destroying property and making messes, most memorably they removed the W’s from all the keyboards. A childish swipe at the incoming George W. Bush. The folks inside the Clinton White House were known for childish antics and dressing like they were going to a picnic while at work, but no one expected such immaturity to be manifested to such a degree.

The Democrats in the Senate have done the congressional equivalent, making every effort to make a political mess and vandalize the agenda of the incoming party by releasing the CIA torture report. A completely partisan report meant from the onset to be a swipe at President Bush, it was hidden from view to protect Americans abroad. Not one Republican was involved in compiling the report nor was the so much as one person interviewed. All of the sensationalized claims made in the report were based on documents obtained by the committee, some of it hearsay, with no collaborative evidence to back it up.

The tactics known to be used, while mild in comparison to what is done by most of the world, were intense. Of course, if one is to get information from dedicated Islamist a mere conversation over tea and biscuits isn’t going to work. While tales of water boarding, sleep deprivation and loud music played for days seems cruel to many, no limbs were severed, bodies stretched or bamboo put under fingernails. This is not to say interrogations at times did not go too far, there were some stories of untrained agents whose amateurish antics crossed the line, but, if true, they were unauthorized acts by rogue individuals, not policy. Beyond what the report says or even its legitimacy, is the fact that it is being released at all and being released at this exact moment. The release of a report kept under wraps for years was not a long preplanned event, it was a cold calculated political move. The report was kept in safes of the Senate’s inner sanctum because it could be used as an Islamist recruitment tool and even incite violence against innocent Americans abroad. That is, it was kept under wraps until the violence the report caused would seem to be advantageous to Democrats.

Senate Democrats are callously ambivalent to the ramifications of the reports release and the carnage it might inspire or the lives it could destroy. They saw no benefit in collaborating the events they read about or giving those accused the chance to have a say. Accuracy was not part of their agenda but damaging Republicans was. Even now, foreign governments, unfriendly to the U.S., are plotting to use the report to go after Americans they think can be connected to the interrogations, no matter how remotely. With the shadow of President Bush again darkening the skies over Republican heads, the Democrats are reveling in their childish act of revenge. American lives to them do not matter, but political fallout does. This report was released solely for the purpose of inflicting damage to the incoming Republicans. In short, they are releasing it not in spite of the carnage it might do, but precisely because that is what they are hoping for. Damage that they pray the public will blame on Republicans via the actions of the defunct Bush administration and a complacent media.

While the actions of the outgoing Clinton administration will long be symbolic of how petty and childish Democrats can be, the actions of the outgoing Senate Democrats will forever be representative of the vindictiveness and callousness of their party. There are plenty of Republicans of questionable character as well, but no one can imagine the Republican party intentionally putting American lives at risk for some perceived political gain. The Republicans at least seem to have some limit to the level of treachery they are willing to partake in, for the Democrats no such limit exist.

Now, as Americans working abroad hold their collective breath, allies of the U.S are hoping the spill over will not effect them. As for Harry Reid and Dianne Feinstein, they like Al Sharpton, hope to be safely out of reach of the any wreckage they have inspired. For the rest of those who can’t escape to ivory towers, one can count whatever happens as a heartfelt Merry Christmas from the Democratic Party.

“The Conservative Mind”

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