Pelosi, Obama and the Facts

The next episode of everyone's favorite political game show "What did she know and when did she know it? -- Pelosi Edition" is brought to you by factcheck.org.

Claim: Pelosi has asserted that she was never informed that the enhanced interrogation technique waterboarding was being used.

Fact: According to a CIA memo released earlier this month, Pelosi was told in September 2002, of the specific times of techniques that were employed.

Bonus Fact: If you choose not to believe the CIA memo -- and we can't pin her down to 2002 -- she's not off the hook. Because she has, since her original flat out denial, now admitted that, yeah, she was informed back in 2003 by an aide. I guess it all just slipped her mind for the past six years.

Yes, Pelosi lied. As my favorite mendacious character on Lost would say about himself, "It's what I do." Well, lying is what Pelosi does as well. I'm not sure that's even the point any more. The more serious matter is that our country is so timorous that we suddenly care whether we're liked. The world is high school and we're the new transfer student.

The bottom line is a year after the devastating attacks by Al Qaeda, virtually no one would object to any enhanced interrogation techniques (short of actual torture, which waterboarding -- while certainly extreme -- does not equal) if they would prevent any further such attacks. Now, almost eight years since the 9/11 attacks, memories fade and we become comfortable and complacent again and suddenly our interest in the safety and security of our country is no longer de rigueur.

Today President Obama claims that these enhanced techniques, and indeed our holding and trying suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay has made us less safe. Prove it. Release the data. And release the data that purports to show the opposite, that planned attacks were discovered and stopped by these methods.

Obama has instead put our moral standing in the world above our safety. How we look to other countries, especially our enemies, is more important that how we keep ourselves safe and strong.

This is scary stuff. I keep hearkening back to Teddy Roosevelt, who, yes, did want to be friendly and accommodating and didn't seek to make enemies of the rest of the world. But he understood you could do that so long as you maintained a strong and determined resolve. Ronald Reagan was affable and courteous, but no country questioned his resolve to take whatever action was necessary to protect the U.S.

We cannot risk appearing weak or fearful or eager to please. We are the greatest country in the world, not the world's lap dog.