Secret CIA Interrogation Tapes Found Under Desk

Agency says releasing Bush-era documents will undermine national security

(NEWSER) - The CIA has refused to hand over any more documents relating to its Bush-era interrogation and detention programs, the New York Times reports. The agency told a federal judge that dozens of documents, including communications from secret prisons and agency assessments of the programs' legality, must remain secret in the interests of national security. More»

(NEWSER) - After being waterboarded 183 times and deprived of sleep for a week, self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Kalid Sheikh Mohammed transformed from an avowed enemy of the US into a sort of CIA guest lecturer, the Washington Post reports. Two anonymous sources, looking to build the case that harsh interrogation worked, say that in 2005 and 2006, KSM gave what CIA officers called “terrorism tutorials,” expounding on al-Qaeda’s structure and even reprimanding his “class” for poor note-taking. More»

Panetta warns that releasing records would benefit al-Qaeda

(NEWSER) - The head of the CIA urged a federal judge yesterday to keep records of harsh interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects under wraps, CNN reports. The ACLU is suing to make the files, which describe the content of destroyed CIA tapes, public. But Leon Panetta warned that doing so would have "exceptionally grave" consequences for national security, and would give al-Qaeda a huge propaganda boost. More»

In new effort to publicly honor officers

(NEWSER) - CIA agents killed in the line of duty over the last 30 years finally got their due yesterday. The agency revealed the names of 15 such operatives in a ceremony, reports the Los Angeles Times . Many of the fallen officers had been working under the guise of State Department employees. Among the 15 were five killed in the 1983 US Embassy bombing in Beirut and one who was aboard the Lockerbie flight of 1988. More»

Draft volume reportedly critical of the agency

(NEWSER) - The CIA doesn't need to reveal a probably-embarrassing Bay of Pigs investigative report to the public, a judge ruled yesterday, because it was never finalized. The National Security Archive, a private group promoting government transparency, had sued for the release of a volume entitled the "CIA's Internal Investigation of the Bay of Pigs Operation," which the CIA describes as "a polemic of recriminations against CIA officers who later criticized the operation." More»