smart enough to hit the target

* kleiman:

"The CIA has fired an employee of its IG's office for telling reporters about the secret torture chambers the CIA was running, and presumably still is running, in Eastern Europe.

On the face of it, there's nothing wrong with this. Leaking classified information is sometimes heroic, but it shouldn't be risk-free. A CIA officer signs a contract to keep the secrets. Being fired is an appropriate penalty for violating that contract by leaking information that embarrasses the country.

However, to act on that logic in any particular case assumes a judgment on the part of those doing the firing that the release of information was, on balance, undesirable. In this case, the firing amounts to a confirmation of the underlying story, and a ratification of the decision to violate the Constitution, domestic statute, and the law of nations by holding prisoners in secret and inflicting torture. (One reason to have the torture chambers outside the country is to put the activities there beyond the reach of the courts, which might otherwise be asked to enforce the Eighth Amendment's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment.")

By firing the whistleblower, Porter Goss has made himself an accessory after the fact to some very serious crimes. Of course, as CIA Director he is also, presumably, a principal or a co-conspirator in committing those same crimes on an ongoing basis."

* the "hawkishly-inclined Democrats" motto: "Tough enough to pull the trigger, smart enough to hit the target"