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15 Stories

September 2008
- CIA Dreads Another Neocon White House
  
  Mother Jones | Sep 2, 08 1:07 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The CIA has had a rough run under the Bush White House, and its top brass is worried that a John McCain presidency would be just as bad, reports Mother Jones . In recent years, animosity has defined the relationship between neoconservatives and spies, and McCain’s braintrust is full of neocons perceived as cool to the agency. "McCain would be an absolute disaster," says one ex-spy. More »
  
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  John McCain • Central Intelligence Agency • intelligence agencies • neoconservatves
July 2008
- Gitmo 'Torture' Modeled on Chinese Grilling of US POWs
  
  New York Times | Jul 2, 08 3:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Guantanamo Bay interrogators learned their techniques from Chinese Communists who used them on American POWs in the Korean War, the New York Times reports. A 1957 Air Force chart labeled Communist Coercive Methods for Eliciting Individual Compliance detailed methods like prolonged standing and exposure to cold, and was used as a training aid by military trainers. The chart was copied verbatim for use at Guantanamo. More »
  
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  Guantanamo Bay • Guantanamo prisoners • interrogation techniques • interrogation • Carl Levin • Central Intelligence Agency • harsh interrogation • Senate Armed Services Committee
May 2008
- Showdown Looms Over Cheney Staffer
  
  Reuters | May 7, 08 10:13 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Whether a key Dick Cheney aide can be forced to testify is at the heart of a pending blow-up between Congress and the White House over a probe into interrogation techniques, Reuters reports. The House Judiciary Committee plans to subpoena Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington—but the vice president insists Addington, a key interrogation-policy player, can't be forced to testify. More »
  
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  Dick Cheney • waterboarding • interrogation techniques • executive privilege • subpoena • John Ashcroft • House Judiciary Committee • Central Intelligence Agency • Josh Bolten • harsh interrogation • David Addington
April 2008
- CIA Can Skirt Torture Laws, Justice Claims
  
  New York Times | Apr 27, 08 8:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - International anti-torture laws don't necessarily apply to CIA agents fighting terrorism, the Justice Department has explained to Congress in letters recently made public, reports the New York Times . The letters reveal the White House position that interrogators have some legal "latitude" outside the Geneva Conventions protecting detainees from "outrages upon personal dignity." More »
  
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  interrogation techniques • Justice Department • Central Intelligence Agency
- US Spies Surf Internet for Open Secrets
  
  USA Today | Apr 1, 08 12:56 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Where do America’s spies go to get their most useful information? The Internet, mostly. Intelligence reports are increasingly filled with “open-source intelligence,” or information that’s available to nearly anyone, USA Today reports. The much-publicized December report on Iran’s nuclear program, for example, relied heavily on public photos from Iran’s Natanz nuclear reactor. Details like the size of certain pipes gave spies crucial insight. More »
  
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  Internet • national security • spying • Central Intelligence Agency • spies • intelligence agencies • classified information
February 2008
- How US Tried to Whack Castro
  
  CNN | Feb 21, 08 2:09 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Despite several assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, the Cuban president stepped down Tuesday on his own terms. The CIA came up with at least eight sometimes-kooky ways to oust the leader, CNN reports, most of which were not carried out: Chemical attack on the air of his radio station. Cigars treated to cause disorientation or his beard to fall out. More »
  
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  list • Cuba • Fidel Castro • John F. Kennedy • assassination attempt • Central Intelligence Agency • Lyndon Johnson
January 2008
- CIA Chief Names Groups Behind Bhutto Assassination
  
  Washington Post | Jan 18, 08 12:41 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The CIA director blames a cooperative effort by al-Qaeda and a group of Pakistani militants for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the Washington Post reports. The conclusion jibes with the explanation Pervez Musharraf has offered, though some Pakistanis still suspect the president and his government had a hand in the ex-PM’s murder. More »
  
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  Pakistan • Pervez Musharraf • Benazir Bhutto • assassination • militant • Michael Hayden • Baitullah Mehsud • Central Intelligence Agency
December 2007
- CIA Tapes Were Made—and Destroyed—for PR
  
  New York Times | Dec 30, 07 1:30 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Concern over its image prompted the CIA to first secretly create—and later destroy—tapes depicting the harsh interrogation of detainees, the New York Times reports. In spring 2002 the agency decided to document every moment of senior al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah's custody so that perceptions of mistreatment—by prosecutors, Congress, Americans, and Muslims worldwide—could be countered. More »
  
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  al-Qaeda • CIA • torture • waterboarding • interrogation techniques • Abu Ghraib • Central Intelligence Agency • CIA videotapes • Abu Zubaydah • interrogations
- House Subpoenas Top Ex-Spy
  
  New York Times | Dec 21, 07 4:20 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The former head of the CIA's clandestine service has been subpoenaed to testify about the destruction of videotapes of the harsh interrogations of two al-Qaeda suspects. The subpoena for Jose Rodriguez was issued after the House Intelligence Committee staff studied documents on the interrogations that the CIA had surrendered to the panel. Rodriguez may seek immunity in exchange for his testimony. More »
  
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  George W. Bush • al-Qaeda • CIA • Michael Hayden • Central Intelligence Agency • harsh interrogation • Abu Zubaydah • House Intelligence Committee • Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri
- CIA to Surrender Tape Records
  
  New York Times | Dec 20, 07 4:32 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The CIA will provide documents on the destruction of interrogation videotapes to the House Intelligence Committee and allow the agency's top attorney to testify, the New York Times reports. It's unclear whether the man who ordered the videos destroyed, clandestine service chief Jose Rodriguez, will also testify. The tapes showed al-Qaeda suspects being subjected to water boarding. More »
  
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  Department of Justice • Senate Judiciary Committee • Central Intelligence Agency • harsh interrogation • House Intelligence Committee • water boarding • Jose Rodriguez • Peter Hoekstra
- Mukasey Tells Congress to Back Off CIA Tapes Inquiry
  
  Washington Post | Dec 14, 07 3:44 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Michael Mukasey isn't about to open up to Democratic lawmakers who want details of the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes, the Washington Post reports. In letters sent today, the new AG also restated his objections to appointing a special prosecutor to investigate, as Joe Biden and other Senate Democrats have demanded. More »
  
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  Congress • Department of Justice • Michael Mukasey • Patrick Leahy • interrogation techniques • Senate Democrats • Arlen Specter • Central Intelligence Agency
- Congress Kept in Dark, CIA Chief Admits
  
  New York Times | Dec 12, 07 5:41 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden acknowledged today that the agency did not inform Congress about the creation or destruction of videotapes of harsh interrogations of al-Qaeda detainees, the New York Times reports. “We could have done an awful lot better at keeping the committee alert and informed,” Hayden said after a three-hour, closed-door meeting with the House Intelligence Committee. More »
  
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  al-Qaeda • torture • waterboarding • Central Intelligence Agency • House Intelligence Committee
- Ex-CIA Agent: Waterboarding Useful Torture
  
  ABC News | Dec 11, 07 8:09 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The highly controversial use of waterboarding in terrorist interrogations has "probably saved lives" but is torture, a former CIA officer told ABC News last night and the Today show this morning. John Kiriakou watched a prisoner break down under waterboarding in 35 seconds, he said, and "from that day on, he answered every question." The information "disrupted maybe dozens of attacks," he said. More »
  
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  terrorism • torture • waterboarding • Central Intelligence Agency
November 2007
- National Book Awards Go to Spook Stories
  
  Reuters | Nov 15, 07 6:54 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Spy stories took National Book Awards last night, as a history of the CIA by New York Times reporter Tim Weiner took non-fiction honors and Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke, a sprawling thriller about a CIA agent in Vietnam, led the the winners. Joan Didion accepted a medal for distinguished contribution, noting the absence of Norman Mailer, a revered regular at the annual NBA festivities who died at 84 on Saturday. More »
  
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  CIA • Central Intelligence Agency
October 2007
- CIA Probes Its Own Watchdog
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 12, 07 2:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In an unprecedented move, the director of the CIA is challenging the agency's own inspector general by ordering an internal investigation of his investigation, reports the Los Angeles Times . CIA Inspector General John Helgerson has issued a series of scathing reports about the agency; now director Michael Hayden has ordered a probe into whether Helgerson was impartial in his findings. More »
  
  Tags
  
  terrorist • prison • counterterrorism • Michael Hayden • Central Intelligence Agency • George J. Tenet • Porter J. Goss

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