The New York Times reports that congressional Democrats are asking for an investigation into the Bush administration because a secret CIA operation to kill al-Qaida leaders was not previously disclosed to Congress.

Is the state of our news media so deteriorated that they no longer conduct basic research? The Times has conveniently forgotten their own previous reporting on this operation. On Dec. 15, 2002 the Times headlined an article "Bush has widened authority of CIA to kill terrorists." Within five minutes I found dozens of other articles similarly titled, but then I'm just a housewife and not a big shot reporter for the so-called "paper of record."

Congress conveniently has forgotten that they authorized this program on Sept. 18, 2001, with Public Law 107-40, Joint Resolution, Section 2, which permitted the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against those who planned, aided or harbored the terrorists involved with 9-11.

It's almost as though congressional Democrats aren't serious about national security. Or maybe they're just trying to ensure we all forget that when Republicans lost control of Congress in 2006, unemployment was only 4.5 percent, and it now stands at about 10 percent nationally. Michigan and a handful of other states are looking at 15 percent unemployment.

Mary Beth Seaha, Aiken, S.C.