"You are going to have a hurricane coming through Washington that is aimed right at the intelligence community," former CIA director Porter J. Goss said. (By Lucian Perkins -- The Washington Post)
Posted on 08/20/2009 7:21:48 PM PDT by TaxPayer2000
News of 'Targeted Killing' Program Precedes Interrogation Report, Possible Probe
The disclosure Wednesday of the CIA's decision five years ago to let a private security contractor help manage its sensitive effort to kill senior al-Qaeda members drew congressional criticism Thursday on the eve of key decisions by the Obama administration that current and former intelligence officials fear could compound the spy agency's political troubles.
Those decisions include the expected release Monday of newly declassified portions of a 2004 CIA report that questions the legality and effectiveness of the agency's harsh interrogations at secret prisons. Additionally, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. may order a probe of possible criminal actions by CIA officers and contractors during those interrogations.
"In September, you are going to have a hurricane coming through Washington that is aimed right at the intelligence community," warned Porter J. Goss, the CIA's director from September 2004 to May 2006. He noted that a Justice Department inquiry is also pending into whether laws were broken when CIA officers destroyed videotapes of the harsh interrogations.
Democratic House and Senate lawmakers and staff members have already described as inappropriate the Bush administration's decision to hand management and training responsibility for the CIA's "targeted killing" efforts to Blackwater USA, and they have reiterated their intent to press for speedier and more complete disclosure by the agency of such activities in the future. CIA Director Leon Panetta formally terminated the program in June, shortly before he first told Congress of its existence.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the intelligence committee, sharpened her previous criticism of the program. "It is clear to me that the failure to notify before now constituted a violation of law," she said in a statement Thursday.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
"You are going to have a hurricane coming through Washington that is aimed right at the intelligence community," former CIA director Porter J. Goss said. (By Lucian Perkins -- The Washington Post)
So they contracted the hit job planning to Blackwater, huh.
Why not to the Mafia, which would have had more experience with that kind of stuff?
Who would have ever thought killing your enemy would draw criticism from a US congressman?
personally i see no problem in having private contractors take out al qaeda operatives if it saved the single life of anyone.
Their whine is that they were not told about it. Well if you told congress everything, you’d get frig all done, thats why we have spy agencies....to stop the shit before it starts.
So what is bad about hiring Blackwater to kill the people with whom the USA is at war? I do not see an issue here.
Blackwater was hired to kill “man-caused disaster-makers” or whatever it is that Homeland Security calls terrorists now.
Far as I can tell, they should have their contract renewed.
Congress seems fixated on hiring Death Panels to kill our US citizens now, rather than kill terrorists.
I agree.
The real reason the left is up in arms about this is the fact they hate anything that has the nations best interest at heart.
its like, hired mercenaries were used to take out a bunch of murdering terrorist scum.....and the problem is what exactly?
Were they waiting on sending Joe Biden or Bill Richardson in to discuss it over a cup of tea and ask the nasty men to play fair and stop shooting at us.
This administration is playing a very dangerous game with the “agencies”, these guys have a way of making you disappear or setting you up to ruin, i would not piss them off.
No they wouldn't.
Using firms like Blackwater for "sensitive" missions against the enemy is good strategery. Problems only arise when America-hating scumbags like Holder and the Demorats decide to go after intelligence agencies because going straight after the military is too politically risky for those cowards.
I think this is bogus Panetta covering his rear:
Daily Beast: Leon Panetta’s an incompetent moron who’s jeopardizing U.S. security
posted at 9:51 pm on August 19, 2009 by Allahpundit
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The Daily Beast is a center-left/RINO news outlet, so for them to kneecap The One this way is nothing short of shocking. So awful that I don’t even know how to excerpt it. Arguably the most damning story to emerge about Obama’s administrative competence since the inauguration.
Remember a few months ago when Panetta wet his pants about some supposed CIA plan to assassinate Al Qaeda leaders that Congress hadn’t been briefed on (but which had been public knowledge since 2002)?
CIA Director Leon Panetta’s emergency testimony to Congress about an illegal assassination program has set off a crisis at the spy agency. The Daily Beast’s Joseph Finder exclusively reports that:
• The secret assassination ‘program’ wasn’t much more than a PowerPoint presentation, a task force and a collection of schemes—it never got off the ground
• Panetta’s three immediate predecessors—George Tenet, Porter Goss, and Michael Hayden—have spoken to him, and that he now sees that no laws were broken.
• Panetta has frantically tried to rectify his gaffe, but now faces increased Congressional oversight.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-08-18/spy-agency-fiasco/full/
In other words, the Democrats have just blown yet another classified operation during war-time.
I realize the word “treason” doesn’t mean much anymore, especially when you’re dealing with Democrats, but good Lord. Isn’t there anyone left in the Democratic Party that gives a rip about national security? Isn’t anyone left in the Democratic Party who isn’t actively hoping Al Qaeda will win this war?
Because you’re out there, brother, you’re in the wrong party. You’ve been left behind. You may as well admit it and get thee out from among them. If you love your country, and I mean this sincerely, you have no place in that party anymore.
Per article they did NOT contract hit.
“but two former intelligence officers familiar with the effort said the company had received millions of dollars for helping train and equip teams to undertake the killings. “
They contracted training to the CIA for the hits.
This is total BS.
Well I never said that they mercenaried Blackwater.
Yep now the whole jihader world knows that Blackwater has the nitty gritty on how the US picks off al-Qaeda. Way to go Rats!
You are correct. I’m sorry.
Obama and his commie jackboots are out to destroy the CIA. We need to stop them. If this country is to survive, we’ll need the CIA.
“This administration is playing a very dangerous game with the “agencies””
Absolutely. The “agencies” should be considered a national resource, rather than a pinata. The public may not have the goods on Obama, but the intelligence community certainly does. There are even folks within, that are patriots. It is a simple matter to provide the dirt at an appropriate time. After that, you just let the public disapproval over the situation take its course. It would not take a huge amount of unfavorable, but verifiable, information to effectively kneecap Obama and his minions in the popular view.
Any guess on how long it will be before these “items” begin to appear? I’m sure there are those within the community that would view it as a public service.
Cheaper than war in the long run, and practically zero collateral damages.
Have Gun Will Travel
wire Paladin, San Francisco
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