Cheney Told CIA to Hide Counterterror Program

(NEWSER) - Not only was the CIA's “targeted killing” program an “open secret,” but there's also “less to it than meets the eye,” Robert Baer writes for Time. The former intelligence officer notes that the Washington Post broke the story in 2001, and a New York Times reporter's book gave the name of the project, "Box Top." “So why all the fuss?” Baer wonders, given that no killings took place and a team was never even assembled. “Very likely because of that word assassination.” More»

(NEWSER) - Democrats plan to investigate the CIA program Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly ordered be kept secret from Congress, reports the Washington Post. The 8-year-old covert operation only came to light June 24 after CIA officials briefed spy-chief Leon Panetta, who then canceled the program. A day later, Panetta notified Congress, as mandated by law. More»

(NEWSER) - CIA director Leon Panetta today denied Nancy Pelosi’s claim that the agency misled lawmakers in a 2002 briefing, the Hill reports. In a memo to employees, Panetta said “CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing ‘the enhanced techniques that had been employed.’” Moreover, “we are an agency of high integrity,” he said. “Our task is to tell it like it is.” More»

Fighting over defunct Bush-era programs only hurt CIA, chief says

(NEWSER) - It's time for the toxic air of recriminations and mistrust in Washington about the CIA’s post-9/11 intelligence programs to blow over, Leon Panetta writes today in the Washington Post. “I've become increasingly concerned that the focus on the past, especially in Congress, threatens to distract the CIA from its crucial core missions,” the agency chief says. “My agency continues to pay a price for enduring disputes over policies that no longer exist.” More»

Panel Republicans decry inquiry as partisan politics

(NEWSER) - The House Intelligence Committee will investigate whether the CIA lied to Congress and violated the National Security Act, the Hill reports. The probe stems from claims by new CIA chief Leon Panetta and Rep. Nancy Pelosi that the agency regularly misled Congress. More»