CIA News Updates -- September 5, 2009

CIA Wants DOJ to Investigate Assassinations Leak -- Washington Independent

The CIA is none too happy about the recent disclosure of apparently inchoate “significant actions” canceled by Director Leon Panetta. After the activities’ initial disclosure to Congress in late June, additional reporting determined that these actions were a never-operational effort at assassinating members of al-Qaeda and were contracted to the controversial firm Blackwater. Now, Eli Lake and Sara Carter report for The Washington Times that the CIA has requested that the Justice Department open an inquiry into the expanding leaks. Both the CIA and Justice neither confirm nor deny an investigation is taking place.

Read more ....

More News On The CIA (Week In Review)

Officials: CIA chief Panetta staying put -- AP
PANETTA COMPLEX: A Liberal Down The Rabbit Hole -- OpEdnews
CIA Asks Justice to Probe Leaks of Secrets -- FOX News
Report: Gonzales Backs Holder on Prosecutor Appointment -- Washington Post
CIA Works to Limit Number of Contractors -- U.S. News And World Report
Obama Administration Argues Against Releasing Bush-Era Detainee Information -- ABC News
CIA refuses to release torture probe documents -- AFP
C.I.A. Resists Disclosure of Records on Detention -- New York Times
The War on CIA's Inspector General -- Middle East Online
Assessing CIA culpability in detainee deaths will be tricky -- McClatchy News
CIA doctors face human experimentation claims -- The Guardian
CIA used Blackwater-linked mercenaries as journalists -- Online Journal
Torture's fallout -- L.A. Times Editorial
In the War on Terror, how far is too far? -- Madeline Lambelet, The Guilfordian
Do Whatever It Takes, We'll Punish You Later -- Strategy Page
CIA Tests DoJ Priorities -- Weekly Standard
What the CIA Documents Show: Yes, Virginia, enhanced interrogation works. -- Stephen F. Hayes, Weekly Standard
Panetta's Empty Promise -- Jennifer Rubin, Weekly Standard
Strange bed fellows on CIA probe -- Martin Schram, Washington Times opinion

CIA News Updates -- September 1, 2009

Cheney: CIA Probe Distracts From Real Threats -- Christian Science Monitor

The former vice president said agents will now have to focus on hiring lawyers instead of watching figures like A.Q. Khan, the Pakistani who sold nuclear technology to Iran and North Korea and was freed last week.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney doesn’t want President Barack Obama looking into the CIA’s secrets, but there’s one thing he does want Mr. Obama to do: keep an eye on A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear program.

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More News On The CIA

CIA won't reveal more interrogation secrets -- AP
CIA: Stops Releasing Interrogation Secrets -- Time Magazine
Unplugged: CIA "Freaking Out" Over Investigations -- CBS News
Interrogation drama plays on -- Politico
White House battles Cheney on security -- AFP
Liz Cheney on Her Father's Criticism of Obama: 'He's Not Afraid ... He Feels Very Strongly About This' -- FOX News
Cheney touches a nerve at the White House -- Reuters
Ex-Attorney General Gonzales backs CIA prison abuse probe -- Reuters
Doctors had 'central role' in CIA abuse: rights group -- AFP
Role of physicians and psychologists in interrogation of terrorism suspects reexamined -- Scientific American
Physicians' Group Seeks Criminal Investigation of Torture Docs -- Mother Jones
My Conversation with Former CIA Officer Robert Baer -- Huffington Post
CIA Counterterrorism Expert: Obama and Holder 'At War' with Agency -- Newsmax
Kidnapped! Extraordinary Rendition and the Fight for Civil Liberties -- Political Affairs
Dialogue Of The Deaf Over CIA Probe -- Charles Cooper, CBS News
The War Against the CIA -- Captain's Journal
Torture's Unanswerable Questions -- Richard Cohen, Washington Post
National security versus CIA ethics -- Dan Drake, Online Journal

CIA News Updates -- August 31, 2009

CIA's Black Sites, Illuminated -- L.A. Times

The facilities were never meant to be 'ordinary prisons,' recently released documents reveal in meticulous detail.

Reporting from Washington - Their transformations took place in a sensory cocoon: aboard a CIA aircraft, shackled in place, deprived of sight and sound by blindfolds, headsets and hoods.

They emerged into an existence that was hidden for most of the last eight years, but now is possible to glimpse through dozens of declassified files released by the Obama administration last week.

Read more ....

More News On The CIA

Ex-Intelligence Officials Cite Low Spirits at CIA -- Washington Post
Ex-CIA official: Probes hurting morale -- UPI
'The Agency Went over Bounds and Outside the Rules' -- Spiegel Online
Blackwater recruits used in CIA squads -- Washington Times
Blackwater Founder Accused in Court of Intent to Kill -- Washington Post
Blackwater moves to dismiss lawsuit -- UPI
Cheney Offers Sharp Defense of C.I.A. Interrogation Tactics -- New York Times
Cheney shrugs off CIA-torture investigation -- Christian Science Monitor
Ridge, Cheney Assail Holder's Decision -- ABC News
Democratic lawmaker questions probe of CIA interrogations -- AFP
Is Cheney Right? -- FOX News
'Special Report' Panel on the Obama Administration's CIA Probe -- FOX News
McCain Denies Giving O.K. to a CIA Torture Tactic -- Time Magazine
Ex-Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff sees risk in current anti-terror policies -- L.A. Times
The 'Most Prolific' Detainee -- Thomas Joscelyn, Weekly Standard opinion
Acknowledging the Obvious -- Stephen F. Hayes, Weekly Standard opinion
Eric Holder's Anti-CIA Witch Hunt -- Jennifer Rubin, Weekly Standard opinion
Eric Holder’s Hidden Agenda -- Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review opinion
No Cause for Shame -- Marc A. Thiessen, National Review opinion

WNU Editor: I have listed a few commentaries from conservative pundits who are critical of the CIA probe and investigation. Tomorrow, I will list those who are in favor of such a probe and investigation.

CIA News/Commentary Updates -- August 30, 2009

Aerial view of the CIA headquarters in Virginia.
Glowimages / Getty

Ex-Intelligence Officials Cite Low Spirits At CIA -- Washington Post

IG Report's Release, Looming Investigation Into Detainee Interrogations Blamed.

Morale has sagged at the CIA following the release of additional portions of an inspector general's review of the agency's interrogation program and the announcement that the Justice Department would investigate possible abuses by interrogators, according to former intelligence officials, especially those associated with the program.

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More News On The CIA

Transcript of Cheney on 'FOX News Sunday' -- FOX News
Cheney: Enhanced Interrogations 'Essential' in Saving American Lives -- FOX News
Cheney Slams Obama's 'Politicized' Probe of CIA Interrogations -- FOX News
Cheney: Politics driving CIA interrogation probe -- AP
Go-ahead for torture inquiry plunges CIA into turmoil -- Times Online
Special Prosecutor for CIA Interrogation Probe Described as Relentless -- FOX News
CIA head in furious torture row -- The Telegraph
On National Security, We're Talking Tough Guys Vs. The Wimps -- CBS News
A.C.L.U. Lawyers Mine Documents for Truth -- New York Times
The CIA and Interrogations: A Bad Fit from the Start -- Time Magazine
All We Ever Do Anymore is Fight -- Newsweek
Blackwater tapped foreigners on secret CIA program -- AP
CIA Internal Report Hints at Impact of Harsh Interrogations on 9/11 Mastermind -- FOX News
WaPo: How CIA interrogation turned KSM into an intelligence asset -- Hot Air

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials On The CIA

It's Never a Quick Fix at the CIA -- Loch K. Johnson, Washington Post opinion
Intelligence Dilemmas -- Arthur I. Cyr, Korea Times opinion
The CIA in Double Jeopardy -- Jospeh Finder, New York Times opinion
It's almost torture to watch Leon Panetta & the CIA's slow, steady decline -- S.E. Cupp, New York Daily News opinion
Torture inquiry needed, however inconvenient -- Eugene Robinson, Kansas City opinion
President Obama should pardon CIA interrogators -- Debra J. Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
The Fall Guy -- Kimberly Strassel, Wall Street Journal
Eric Holder's Hidden Agenda -- Andrew C. McCarthy, CBC/NRO opinion
It's Never a Quick Fix at the CIA -- Loch K. Johnson, Washington Post
Does It Matter Whether Torture Worked? -- Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic

CIA News Updates -- August 28, 2009

Abuse Issue Puts The C.I.A. And Justice Dept. At Odds -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — With the appointment of a prosecutor to investigate detainee abuses, long-simmering conflicts between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Justice Department burst into plain view this week, threatening relations between two critical players on President Obama’s national security team.

The tension between the agencies complicates how the administration handles delicate national security issues, particularly the tracking and capturing of suspected terrorists overseas. It also may distract Mr. Obama, who is trying to move beyond the battles of the Bush years to focus on an ambitious domestic agenda, most notably health care legislation.

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More News On The CIA

CIA Will Cover Legal Fees -- Washington Post
US will pay for lawyer in Italian kidnapping trial -- AP
Inside Story of Leon Panetta's Tirade Over CIA Probe -- FOX News
Holder's Decision To Probe CIA Hints At a New Dynamic -- Washington Post
'06 Memo Cites Food Strike by Detainees -- Washington Post
Obama Could Face Trouble Over CIA Investigation -- U.S. News And World
CIA interrogations and the Blackwater affair: The underside of war -- The Economist
Judge's order challenges executive branch secrecy -- McClatchy News
Blackwater: CIA assassins? -- ZNet
Torture and the CIA: Investigate White House higher-ups? -- L.A. Times opinion
The Fall Guy: CIA Director Leon Panetta getting sacked by his own team. -- The Wall Street Journal
Commentary: Prosecuting CIA a foolish move -- CNN opinion

CIA News Updates -- August 27, 2009

The Real CIA News -- Wall Street Journal Commentary

Interrogations were carefully limited, briefed on Capitol Hill, and yielded information that saved innocent lives.

Whoever advised people to be skeptical of what they read in the papers must have had in mind this week's coverage of the documents about CIA interrogations. Now that we've had a chance to read the reports, it's clear the real story isn't the few cases of abuse played up by the media. The news is that the program was thoughtfully developed, carefully circumscribed, briefed to Congress, and yielded information crucial to disrupting al Qaeda.

In other words, it worked—at least until politics got in the way.

Read more ....

More News On The CIA

CIA contractors will be a focus of interrogation investigation -- L.A. Times
CIA Interrogation Report Could Lead to Prosecution of Interrogators -- Voice of America
CIA Probe Reignites a Partisan Battle Over Spy Agency's Activities -- FOX News
Obama Administration Urged to Consider Expanded Interrogation Methods -- FOX News
CIA prisoners faced chilling interrogation methods -- AFP
Memos: CIA pushed limits on sleep deprivation -- Yahoo News/AP
Inside the Ring -- Washington Times
Rationalizing torture -- Chicago Tribune
Pain and Truth -- The New Yorker
A chilling effect on CIA agents? -- L.A. Times opinion
Probe shows 9/11 is, sadly, forgotten -- AJC opinion
Editorial: Tortured lessons on CIA abuses -- Dallas News editorial

CIA News Updates -- August 26, 2009

Report Shows Tight C.I.A. Control on Interrogations -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — Two 17-watt fluorescent-tube bulbs — no more, no less — illuminated each cell, 24 hours a day. White noise played constantly but was never to exceed 79 decibels. A prisoner could be doused with 41-degree water but for only 20 minutes at a stretch.

The Central Intelligence Agency’s secret interrogation program operated under strict rules, and the rules were dictated from Washington with the painstaking, eye-glazing detail beloved by any bureaucracy.

The first news reports this week about hundreds of pages of newly released documents on the C.I.A. program focused on aberrations in the field: threats of execution by handgun or assault by power drill; a prisoner lifted off the ground by his arms, which were tied behind his back; another detainee repeatedly knocked out with pressure applied to the carotid artery.

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More News On The CIA

CIA memo details procedures for breaking detainees -- Reuters
CIA Releases Its Instructions For Breaking a Detainee's Will -- Washington Post
U.S. at a loss on detainees' foreign protection -- Washington Times
CIA's police ploys nabbed terrorists -- Washington Times
CIA report: operatives given just two weeks' training -- The Telegraph
CIA interrogation memos provide fodder for both sides -- L.A. Times
Interrogation probe steams those on right and left -- AP
GOP, Democrats both find fault with CIA inquiry -- San Francisco Chronicle
Cheney Criticizes Obama Over CIA Probe -- Voice of America
Lithuania to probe CIA prison claims-president -- Reuters
Lithuania probe into 'CIA prison' -- BBC
CIA Abuse Investigator John Durham -- Time Magazine

COMMENTARIES, OPINIONS, AND EDITORIALS

Liberals and the CIA -- Wall Street Journal opinion
A spy 'outing' game for real -- Washington Times
The Obama National Security Team's Civil War -- U.S. News And World Report opinon
Probe of CIA Imperils Interagency Trust -- Wall Street Journal
Obama administration couldn’t ignore evidence of torture -- AJC
CIA Torture Indictments? No Thanks. -- Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times opinion
A Spy 'Outing' Game for Real -- John Armor, Washington Times opinion
Inquest of CIA None Too Smart -- Peter Brookes, Boston Herald opinion
Obama Versus the CIA -- Marc Thiessen, Wall Street Journal opinion
A Sigh Of Relief At the CIA -- David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion
Probing the CIA -- L.A. Times editorial
The Torture Papers -- New York Times editorial
Obama vs. the CIA -- Washington Times editorial

CIA News Updates -- August 22, 2009

Report Reveals CIA Conducted Mock Executions -- Newsweek

A long-awaited report on post-9/11 interrogation tactics will reveal harrowing new details about treatment of suspected terrorists.

A long-suppressed report by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general to be released next week reveals that CIA interrogators staged mock executions as part of the agency's post-9/11 program to detain and question terror suspects, NEWSWEEK has learned.

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More News On the CIA

CIA Used Gun, Drill in Interrogation -- Washington Post
New Reports of Harsh C.I.A. Tactics -- New York Times
CIA staged mock executions to frighten terror detainees into spilling their guts, mag reports -- New York Daily News
Report shows CIA interrogation methods -- AP
Bombshell report on CIA interrogations is leaked -- The Guardian
CIA used mock execution to get Al-Qaeda info: report -- AFP
Blackwater Disclosure Adds to CIA Worries -- Washington Post
U.S. Still Using Security Firm It Broke With -- New York Times
C.I.A. Said to Use Outsiders to Put Bombs on Drones -- New York Times
Blackwater’s ‘License to Kill’ under the Lens -- The Danger room
Reports Revive Debate on Contractor Use -- Washington Post
Making Sense Of The Blackwater Connection -- CBS News
CIA's Use Of Contractors Draws Fresh Scrutiny -- NPR
Blackwater's dark heart -- The Economist
Hitmen and Spies -- New Yorker
Blackwater Hit Squads: What Was the CIA Thinking? -- Time Magazine
Ex-CIA Director Defends Agency Over Contractor Controversy -- Wall Street Journal
Outsourced: Extreme Prejudice Edition -- The Danger Room
The Rise and Fall of the Mercenary Formerly Known as Blackwater -- Newsweek
Detainees Said to Be Shown Photos of C.I.A. Agents -- New York Times
Guantanamo Defense Lawyers Being Investigated Over CIA Photos -- Threat level
Officials: Lithuania Hosted Secret CIA Prison To Get "Our Ear" -- ABC News
Civil Liberties Groups Prepare Delicate Message on CIA Probe -- Washington Independent