In praise of … Senator Dianne Feinstein

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/12/in-praise-of-senator-dianne-feinstein

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America finds itself in an extraordinary position. Castigated the world over for the appalling acts of torture by CIA operatives in the wake of 9/11. Praised for a system of government that revealed to the world that those abuses occurred. And yet this exceptional act of transparency was not a given: there was and continues to be fierce opposition from both the US security services and much of Washington. Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate intelligence committee, has never been a radical Democrat. She supported the Iraq war and co-sponsored a 2002 law banning entry to the US from nations that promote terrorism. Nevertheless, she fought to discover what was done in the name of US democracy, post-9/11, and to give it wide circulation. “Nobody wants to do something that is going to bring on any kind of attack,” she said. “But I came to the conclusion that America’s greatness is being able to say we made a mistake and we are going to correct it and go from there.” Now 81, Feinstein will relinquish the intelligence committee chair when Republicans take the Senate in January. But she has set a standard for transparency that is the stuff of legacy, and an example we would do well to replicate in the UK.