The buck stops where?
The Washington Post provides revealing details (if true) about the destruction of those CIA interrogation tapes. Here is what I took away from the story:
First, the CIA professionals who were involved in the interrogations wanted the tapes destroyed early on, before anyone was worrying about terrorist rights. They were sure the tapes would eventually leak, and did not want pictures of the interrogations (or themselves) to appear on television. However, the CIA’s station chief in Bangkok, where the tapes were kept, was unable for several years to obtain approval to destroy the tapes.
Second, the Bangkok station chief is a stand-up guy. In 2005, he was set to retire. The easy thing would have been to let things slide. Instead, he was determined to resolve the matter before he left, especially given the attention the interrogations were starting to receive. Thus, he pushed Jose Rodriguez, the CIA's director of clandestine operations, for permission to destroy the tapes. Rodriguez granted permission even though this ran counter to the past "advice" of at least five senior CIA and White House officials.
Third, the buck probably stops with Rodriguez. The efforts of his lawyer, Robert Bennett, to persuade the Post that Rodriguez obtained "implicit support" for the destruction of the tape strike me as lame (but read the piece and draw your own conclusion).
Fourth, even if the buck doesn't stop with Rodriguez, it doesn't seem to reach the White House. Nothing in Rodriguez's account (at least as set forth via Bennett in the Post) suggests that the alleged "implicit support" came from the White House.
In short, the Post’s article suggests that there may not be much of a scandal here. It does appear that the CIA didn’t disclose the tapes in response to legal process in at least one criminal case involving a terrorist. Whether those who provided the answers to that process had any idea of the existence of the tapes is unclear. Unless there is evidence to that effect, this will be a dead-end. Don’t expect the CIA as an institution to be prosecuted for obstruction of justice.
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