Obama's Late Lament on Torture

During a long winded Friday afternoon press conference, President Barack Obama blithely blustered that "we tortured folks" when pursuing the War on Terror.  




The President's imprudent utterance undermines a Senate Intelligence Committee Report which goes out of its way not to declare harsh CIA tactics as torture.   Obama's opinion from the Oval Office could have serious legal, political, diplomatic and criminal implications.  But at least President Obama did not just Blame Bush, he threw the CIA under the bus too.  

Funny how this President is willing to imperil intelligence offers at the tip of the spear who get actionable intelligence to keep us safe, but will execute his forays against militants via drone to get a several news cycle lead headline.

This talk of torture in the War on Terror supposedly confused actor James Woods on Twitter:

It's Raining--Obama Calls in the Marines

Today President Obama held a joint news conference with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House.  It began to drizzle during this Rose Garden presser and POTUS did not hesitate to call in the Marines to hold up umbrellas.

Strangely, one of Mr. Obama's answers touched on the dangers on the outpost in Benghazi, Libya,  where the State Department repeatedly denied additional security and refused to send in the Marines (or special forces) when terrorists killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. 

But of course Mr. Obama alluded to others to blame for all mistakes.  President Obama urged called on Congress to fully fund Embassy Security.  But for the 9/11/2012 Benghazi attack, it was the White House's call to not send in forces to rescue Americans in distress.  It's better to have Marines look good holding an umbrella as well as the bag for foreign failures.

Post Scriptus--  It seems that ordering Marines to carry umbrellas while in uniform is a violation of  Marine Corps regulations.  But what do rules matter in the Obama Administration?