CIA, get back to the hunt

This may seem strange for a newspaper editor to write, but there are some things I don't want to know and don't think are in the best interest of the country for the public to know.

And, maybe the CIA putting together a plan to kill al-Qaida leaders falls into those categories.

There's a lot of congressional posturing going on about former vice president Dick Cheney ordering the CIA not to tell Congress about a secret program to track down and kill terrorist leaders. Congress is threatening full-blown investigations and the House Intelligence Committee has demanded the CIA provide documentation on the now-canceled program.

Well, big surprise ... the American government wanted Osama bin Laden and his terrorist cohorts dead. Gee, didn't the government place a huge bounty on bin Laden dead or alive? Didn't the American people demand bin Laden's head after the 9/11 attacks? Didn't the president repeatedly pledge to track down and kill bin Laden and his terrorist cell? Which, by the way, hasn't been done, yet.

So, why is Congress so surprisaed the CIA was under orders to find and kill al-Qaida terrorists? Sounds to me like the CIA was doing what it is paid to do ... protect America.

OK, maybe the CIA sound have informed the House and Senate intelligence committees that it was on the hunt and maybe it even should have shared some of the details of that hunt considering Congress legally has oversight of the CIA, but sharing that info undoubtedly would have leaked, which also undoubtedly would not have been in the best interest of the nation.

Personally, I wish the CIA would get back -- if it ever left -- to tracking down and killing terrorists.