The intel committee

I agree, in part, with those who argue that hyper-scrutiny of Nancy Pelosi's every move only makes life easier for the Republicans. It is in our interest to keep the rightist propagandists from transforming well-meaning criticism into the stuff of one of their witch hunts.

Never forget that Pelosi is third in line for the presidency, should impeachment of Bush and Cheney occur. We don't want the national debate over Bush's very real sins to be sidetracked by a debate over the much smaller decisions made by Nancy Pelosi.

That said, this is a democracy, and we all have both the right and the obligation to take an interest in the new House intel committee. A growing number of people agree that neither Jane Harman nor Alcee Hastings would make the best first choice. The Homer Simpson-esque plea "Can't someone else do it?" has turned into a cry heard nation-wide.

Some have hinted that racism underlies our oft-voiced discomfort with the Harman/AIPAC connection. That charge is unfounded.

Israel is a foreign government, and AIPAC has been at the center of an espionage scandal which has already sent one man to prison for thirteen years. That man, Lawrence Franklin, met with Iran's notorious Manuchar Ghorbanifar at the behest of the equally-notorious Michael Ledeen. Many suspect that Ledeen is trying to foment war with Iran, although he denies the accusation.

Some believe that AIPAC helped to arrange the transfer of American-made dual-use technology -- including "case management software" -- to Israel. Israel, in turn, is said to have passed this technology on to other parties, including Russia and China -- even to terrorist organizations. This accusation, if true, means that history has repeated itself: Back in the 1980s, Israeli technicians placed a back door into the PROMIS case management software, which was then sold (via third parties) to a number of foreign governments. As a result, Israel could peek at the data passing through intelligence bureaus around the world.

A neat trick, no doubt about it. But did it work to our benefit?

The answer to that question depends on how much you trust the Israelis. If, like me, you do not extend them much trust at all, you may prefer to keep the AIPAC-associated Harman well away from the intelligence committee chairmanship.

So. Who else?

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A growing movement favors Rush D. Holt of New Jersey. As we've noted before, Holt made an early, forceful call for the use of paper trails in elections, and his stance gives us good reason to trust his instincts and his honesty. Holt has also announced his opposition to the appointment of Robert Gates as the new Secretary of Defense. Holt believes -- with no small amount of justification -- that Gates has a history of tailoring intelligence to fit predetermined policy, and Lord knows we've seen way too much of that in recent years.

You may also be interested in what Holt had to say about warrantless NSA wiretapping:

One congressman said he was actively misled. In a letter released Friday, Representative Rush D. Holt, a New Jersey Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, complained to the N.S.A. over what he described as deception by its director, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander of the Army.

Mr. Holt, a physicist who has worked as an arms control specialist at the State Department, visited the agency on Dec. 6 for a briefing by General Alexander and agency lawyers about protecting Americans' privacy. The officials assured him, Mr. Holt said, that the agency singled out Americans for eavesdropping only under warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

After the program was disclosed, Mr. Holt wrote a blistering letter to General Alexander, expressing "considerable anger" over being misled. An agency spokesman, Don Weber, declined to comment on the letter.

In a previous post, I freely confessed my discomfort with the third-ranking Democrat on the committee, Silvestre Reyes. That discomfort stems entirely from his Texas background. Dang ol' George Bush done made me sick of dang ol' Texans, I tell ya whut.

But Reyes does have a rep for honesty, and the appointment of Reyes would be applauded by Hispanic voters, a constituency Democrats cannot afford to alienate. We should note that he did take an early interest in the Able Danger story, which I, for one, do not dismiss as tin-foil stuff. Unfortunately, the public (or that section of the public which follows such things) associates Able Danger with the disgraced Republican Curt Weldon.

At any rate, I guess I can live with Reyes. Dang ol' Reyes. Tell ya whut.