The Obama administration’s war on the CIA continued in force this week. The result may be prosecution of CIA interrogators who work to uncover threats to national security. This witch hunt does not make America safer.

Ignoring strong objections from CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. appointed special prosecutor John H. Durham to examine the potential for criminal charges against CIA interrogators. ….

The attorney general … (says) he has a duty to “examine the facts and follow the law.”

However, there is more than a hint of political grandstanding on display, particularly because the most severe allegations in the 2004 report already had been investigated by career Justice Department prosecutors during the George W. Bush administration.

Operatives found to have committed violations were reprimanded, administratively punished or forced out.

The difference between now and then is that the Bush team pursued the matter in a low-key way that ensured accountability but did not embarrass the CIA. …

The Obama administration refuses to discuss the product of interrogations and only focuses on the means by which information was received.

This is because certain ends can justify certain means. …

Mr. Holder’s vendetta against the CIA undermines national security by taking seasoned professionals out of the fight in the war on terror.

-The Washington Times