American Morning

Tune in at 6am Eastern for all the news you need to start your day.
May 18th, 2009
04:00 PM ET

We Listen!

American Morning’s Monday audience believed the Pelosi/CIA issue was nothing more than a divergence created by the Republicans to veer attention away from the real story – torture under the Bush administration.

  • Jerry: The CIA's existence is built around misleading and lying to people to gain what they want and if the Republicans think that they are all going to tell them the truth then they are as dumb and Bush and Chaney and need to go home and stick their head in the sand.
  • Bob B.: Everyone seems to have selective amnesia over the faulty intelligence flowing from the mouths of most congressional members (mostly Republican), the entire Bush Administration and most of the analysts associated with every news agency. The same ones are apparently now trying to drum up ratings by attacking Speaker Pelosi for what was obvious. Even the head of the FBI in testimony said faulty intelligence, or better yet manipulated or misinformation. Remember the Agent whose correct intelligence was discounted as bazaar.
  • Julian: Why is the media going after Nancy Pelosi? Because she may have or may not have known about what the Bush/Cheney Administration was doing; ordering illegal torture? Why is she being singled out? Why isn't the fact that torture was committed the issue? And the fact that it was illegal? Why is the media doing once again what they did during the run up to war; the Republican's bidding? Please stop it. You are making yourselves look transparent.

Was this, as the viewers above contend, an attempt by the Republicans to transfer blame for torture to the Democrats? Do you believe the government should continue to investigate the former Bush Administration for its part in approving such techniques to gather intelligence?

FULL POST


Filed under: We Listen
May 18th, 2009
11:06 AM ET

Astronaut may head NASA

Retired Shuttle commander and Marine Corps General Charlie Bolden is expected to meet today with President Obama. It is believed Bolden is Obama's choice to head NASA at a time the space agency is at crossroads.


Filed under: NASA
May 18th, 2009
10:06 AM ET
May 18th, 2009
09:30 AM ET

GOP wants Pelosi held accountable

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/18/intv.hoekstra.art.jpg caption="Rep. Peter Hoekstra adds to the criticism of Nancy Pelosi and whether she knew waterboarding was being used."]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might be fighting for her political future this week. Republicans say if the CIA misled Congress on the use of torture on terror suspects as Pelosi has claimed they want to see proof.

Pelosi wants the full transcript of classified notes of a 2002 briefing on waterboarding made public. She says that will prove she was not told the technique was being used. A top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee insists that he read those notes from that briefing and that Pelosi is wrong.

Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) is the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. He says Pelosi needs to be held accountable for what she has said. He spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Monday.

Kiran Chetry: As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, how much information were you or your colleagues given regarding interrogation tactics?

Peter Hoekstra: I expect that what happened is very much like the briefings I received in 2004 when I became chairman of the committee. You get a very, very detailed briefing as to exactly what's going on in the program that the CIA may be laying out for you. When the briefing is complete, there's really a couple of questions that either they ask or that you ask. It's kind of like... is there any other additional information that you feel you need, congressman? And then really the implied question is... do you agree or do you not agree with the program and the tactics that we’ve put in place?

Chetry: So realistically speaking, if Nancy Pelosi at the time was informed about the waterboarding as a potential technique or even currently being used, would it be the proper or the de rigueur thing to do to write a memo expressing your opposition to that?

Hoekstra: Well, actually, the first thing you would do in the briefing, you would express your anger or your disagreement with the policy that you may be briefed on. If you don't get satisfaction from the briefers, because they're not the ones that are really making the decisions, what you would then do is go back to the leadership in your political party, in this case, she would have gone back to the minority leader and said... hey, there's a practice being contemplated or being acted on in the intelligence community that I disagree with and I think that we need to stop it. And then you would go to the president. There's lots of options that you can use.

FULL POST


Filed under: Politics
May 18th, 2009
09:01 AM ET
May 18th, 2009
06:14 AM ET

What’s on Tap – Monday May 18, 2009

Here are the big stories on the agenda today:

  • The battle over what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew about waterboarding, and when she knew it is heating up this morning.  House Minority Leader John Boehner says Pelosi should prove the CIA misled her about harsh interrogation of terror suspects, or apologize to our intelligence officials around the world.
  • President Obama diving right into the abortion debate in face of hecklers at Notre Dame University.  The president urged both sides in the battle to open their hearts and minds and seek common ground.  It’s something that may become harder to accomplish as he chooses his first Supreme Court nominee.
  • An assistant principal from New York may be the city's first swine flu-related death.  Officials say he was hospitalized with the H1N1 virus.  His school is one of 11 now closed in New York due to what the health commissioner is calling a "rising tide" of flu.
  • The Los Angeles area shaken by a magnitude four-point seven earthquake.  It's the largest to hit the area since last year.  The rumbling lasted about 10 to 15 seconds and was felt as far away as San Diego.  The Los Angeles fire department says there are no reports of major damage or any injuries.
  • United and Divided.  The future of the Middle East could rest on a relationship being built today.  In just a few hours, President Obama sits down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  We’ll ask a former adviser to six Secretaries of State about whether the two leaders can work through the roadblocks to peace.

Filed under: American Morning • What's On Tap