Obama nervous over a new witch hunt

The American President does not want to get embroiled in a fight over Bush administration policies, especially while pushing his own agenda forward, believes RT guest Doug Bandow, Senior Fellow at Cato Institute.

The U.S. has launched an investigation into controversial CIA interrogation methods.

The attorney general has announced that the federal prosecutor will be investigating the CIA’s interrogation tactics. The CIA has been linked to questionable activities in recent days, including using members of the Blackwater private military contractor (nowadays Xe) to assassinate top Al-Qaeda leaders.

Meanwhile, a new unit to question terror suspects has also been established and prisoner abuse cases are reportedly being reopened.

Now, with all eyes on the CIA, many believe that it’s high time to check high-ranking American officials who may have helped to create such policies.

Speaking about torture allegations, Doug Bandow said “At the very least, we need to investigate and expose this and have a discussion about what happens in America.”

Bandow recalled the American Constitution and pointed out that “The President has operational control – he is Commander-in-Chief. But the Congress is entitled to set the rules of the game. The U.S. Constitution gives the Congress the power to set the rules of war. The Constitution says the Congress creates the military, Congress decides “I’m going to war”.”

He added, “In fact, the Congress can set the ground rules, which include whether or not to be able to torture. The President has an obligation to follow. He cannot be lawless.”