The New CIA: Kidnapping, Rendition, Assassination
Dana Priest's lengthy article in today's Washington Post shows in great detail how the current regime has returned the CIA to the days when the CIA freely disrupted the political affairs of Latin America. This new CIA, however, has none of the traditional oversight that it had in the past. Congress has not been allowed to pierce the secrecy to find out just what it's funding.
The effort President Bush authorized shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, to fight al Qaeda has grown into the largest CIA covert action program since the height of the Cold War, expanding in size and ambition despite a growing outcry at home and abroad over its clandestine tactics, according to former and current intelligence officials and congressional and administration sources.
GST includes programs allowing the CIA to capture al Qaeda suspects with help from foreign intelligence services, to maintain secret prisons abroad, to use interrogation techniques that some lawyers say violate international treaties, and to maintain a fleet of aircraft to move detainees around the globe. Other compartments within GST give the CIA enhanced ability to mine international financial records and eavesdrop on suspects anywhere in the world. [Emphasis added]
All of this, of course, is the current regime's response to the 9/11 attacks. Because of the CIA's very nature, just what exactly is going on has been difficult to discover, secrecy being the hallmark of the agency. However, Congress has not been called in to discuss the parameters of the new activities, much less to approve or disapprove of it. Only the White House is in the know and in control.
The administration's decisions to rely on a small circle of lawyers for legal interpretations that justify the CIA's covert programs and not to consult widely with Congress on them have also helped insulate the efforts from the growing furor, said several sources who have been involved.
"Everything is done in the name of self-defense, so they can do anything because nothing is forbidden in the war powers act," said one official who was briefed on the CIA's original cover program and who is skeptical of its legal underpinnings. "It's an amazing legal justification that allows them to do anything," said the official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issues.
Written findings are required by the National Security Act of 1947 before the CIA can undertake a covert action. A covert action may not violate the Constitution or any U.S. law. But such actions can, and often do, violate laws of the foreign countries in which they take place, said intelligence experts.
The presidential finding also permitted the CIA to create paramilitary teams to hunt and kill designated individuals anywhere in the world, according to a dozen current and former intelligence officials and congressional and executive branch sources. [Emphasis added]
The article also mentions a very interesting detail: the decision on who and when to assassinate has been passed down from the White House to the Director of the CIA (George Tenet initially, now Porter Goss), thereby insulating the President from any fall-out from the assassination.
What is so troubling is that the whole set-up and execution has not been the result of discussions and recommendations involving a wide range of security experts (including legal experts). Instead, the regime has relied only on those who already agreed with the White House desires in the matter.
The entire article is well-worth the read. While it is long and complicated, it clearly sets out just what 'justification by self-defense' can result in.
The effort President Bush authorized shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, to fight al Qaeda has grown into the largest CIA covert action program since the height of the Cold War, expanding in size and ambition despite a growing outcry at home and abroad over its clandestine tactics, according to former and current intelligence officials and congressional and administration sources.
GST includes programs allowing the CIA to capture al Qaeda suspects with help from foreign intelligence services, to maintain secret prisons abroad, to use interrogation techniques that some lawyers say violate international treaties, and to maintain a fleet of aircraft to move detainees around the globe. Other compartments within GST give the CIA enhanced ability to mine international financial records and eavesdrop on suspects anywhere in the world. [Emphasis added]
All of this, of course, is the current regime's response to the 9/11 attacks. Because of the CIA's very nature, just what exactly is going on has been difficult to discover, secrecy being the hallmark of the agency. However, Congress has not been called in to discuss the parameters of the new activities, much less to approve or disapprove of it. Only the White House is in the know and in control.
The administration's decisions to rely on a small circle of lawyers for legal interpretations that justify the CIA's covert programs and not to consult widely with Congress on them have also helped insulate the efforts from the growing furor, said several sources who have been involved.
"Everything is done in the name of self-defense, so they can do anything because nothing is forbidden in the war powers act," said one official who was briefed on the CIA's original cover program and who is skeptical of its legal underpinnings. "It's an amazing legal justification that allows them to do anything," said the official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issues.
Written findings are required by the National Security Act of 1947 before the CIA can undertake a covert action. A covert action may not violate the Constitution or any U.S. law. But such actions can, and often do, violate laws of the foreign countries in which they take place, said intelligence experts.
The presidential finding also permitted the CIA to create paramilitary teams to hunt and kill designated individuals anywhere in the world, according to a dozen current and former intelligence officials and congressional and executive branch sources. [Emphasis added]
The article also mentions a very interesting detail: the decision on who and when to assassinate has been passed down from the White House to the Director of the CIA (George Tenet initially, now Porter Goss), thereby insulating the President from any fall-out from the assassination.
What is so troubling is that the whole set-up and execution has not been the result of discussions and recommendations involving a wide range of security experts (including legal experts). Instead, the regime has relied only on those who already agreed with the White House desires in the matter.
The entire article is well-worth the read. While it is long and complicated, it clearly sets out just what 'justification by self-defense' can result in.
posted by Diane at 4:25 AM
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