Morning Must Reads

Now that the Obama administration has released the memos that detail interrogation techniques waterboarding and putting a bug near an Islamist with an insect phobia, Cheney and others are moving beyond their original calls to keep the tactics secret and saying the rest of the memos should be released – particularly the ones that show the times terrorists gave up information that was used to thwart a plot or capture a comrade.

Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen sums up the position in a Washington Post op-ed:

“Critics claim that enhanced techniques do not produce good intelligence because people will say anything to get the techniques to stop. But the memos note that, ‘as Abu Zubaydah himself explained with respect to enhanced techniques, ‘brothers who are captured and interrogated are permitted by Allah to provide information when they believe they have reached the limit of their ability to withhold it in the face of psychological and physical hardship.’ In other words, the terrorists are called by their faith to resist as far as they can — and once they have done so, they are free to tell everything they know. This is because of their belief that ‘Islam will ultimately dominate the world and that this victory is inevitable.’ The job of the interrogator is to safely help the terrorist do his duty to Allah, so he then feels liberated to speak freely.”
 
New York Times – Pressure Grows to Investigate Interrogations
 
While President Obama seems to have ruled out prosecutions of CIA agents who interrogated terrorists, writers Peter Baker and Scott Shane get the scoop from White House sources on who will be prosecuted and where the investigation will go from here.

“Three Bush administration lawyers who signed memos, John C. Yoo, Jay S. Bybee and Steven G. Bradbury, are the subjects of a coming report by the Justice Department’s ethics office that officials say is sharply critical of their work. The ethics office has the power to recommend disbarment or other professional penalties or, less likely, to refer cases for criminal prosecution.

The administration has also not ruled out prosecuting anyone who exceeded the legal guidelines, and officials have discussed appointing a special prosecutor. One option might be giving the job to John H. Durham, a federal prosecutor who has spent 15 months investigating the C.I.A.’s destruction of videotapes of harsh interrogations.”
 
Wall Street Journal — Geithner Weighs Bank Repayments
 
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner gave an interview to the Journal’s Deborah Solomon hoping to build support for a “global stimulus” in advance of the meetings in Washington Friday of finance ministers of the G7 and the G20 countries.

But the thing that people are interested now is when, if ever, will the Treasury allow bailed-out banks to repay the money to the government. And with news that the loans may be converted to ownership shares, that question is turning to concern for some in the financial world. While Geither waits for stress test results, he’s not saying too much. But even though he ducked Solomon’s question, the evasion was revealing. He would only say that the ability to repay the money wouldn’t be the only example. And that individual bank’s desires to operate without government intervention may be subsumed by the needs of the financial system overall.

“‘We want to make sure that the financial system is not just stable, but also not inducing a deeper contraction in economic activity. We want to have enough capital that it’s going to be able to support a recovery,’ Mr. Geithner said.”
 
Los Angeles Times — Crimes suspected in 20 bailout cases — for starters
 
Writers Ralph Vartabedian and Tom Hamburger explain the holes in Treasury’s TARP, explaining that there are already 20 criminal investigations underway into fraud and abuse associated with the $3 trillion program.

Originally conceived as a way to quarantine $700 billion in toxic assets, the plan has grown in size and scope to include banks, insurers, brokerages, auto companies, car parts makers and homeowners.

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the bailout program. warned Congress in a report of kickbacks, collusion, price-fixing and maybe worse were expanding along with the complexity of the program. He said he couldn’t keep up with the fraud.
“In a series of recommendations, Barofsky asked the Treasury Department for greater transparency and greater fraud protections.
The Treasury Department’s bailout chief, Neel Kashkari, said in a letter dated April 14 that the recommendations would be ‘considered.’”
 
Washington Post — Health-Care Dialogue Alarms Obama’s Allies
 
With health insurance companies offering considerable concessions about who and how they will willingly cover, some Democrats are worried that President Obama will back a bi-partisan compromise on health care that doesn’t include a state-run option.

Drowning in red ink and looking to spend trillions more, the president may find the prospect of private insurers taking on sick or struggling clients and pumped up Medicare and Mediciad to be a very palatable alternative.

Writer Ceci Connolly suggests that the government health care crowd won’t stand for such a break from orthodoxy that calls for a Medicare-style plan available to all Americans, not just seniors.

Bt what Connolly never gets around to is the fact that the Left will likely lose the debate, just as they have on war funding, and, so far, a truth commission.

“In comments last week, Nancy-Ann DeParle, head of the White House Office of Health Reform, said the ultimate solution may rest in how a public plan is defined.

‘There are different breeds of public plans that could be part of this,’ she said, explaining that the Medicare model is not the only approach.’”