CIA

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Jailed US Spy Tries to Collect From Russia

Ex-CIA agent sends son to get money, faces more time

(Newser) - A jailed spy who shared CIA secrets with Russia has improbably gotten himself into more hot water while behind bars, the Washington Post reports. Harold Nicholson, currently in the middle of a 23-year sentence, figured that Moscow still owed him money, so he got his son to travel around the...

CIA Official Accused of Raping Two Muslim Women

Station chief in Algeria under investigation

(Newser) - A CIA station chief in Algeria is under investigation for allegedly raping two Muslim women after knocking them unconscious with date-rape drugs, ABC News reports. The agency sent him back to the US in October after the women came forward a month earlier about the separate attacks. The allegations surface...

US Airstrikes Signal Tough Approach in Pakistan

(Newser) - US airstrikes on suspected terrorist camps in Pakistan yesterday signal that the Obama administration will continue the aggressive US strategy against extremists in the region, the Washington Post reports. In fact, early signs suggest a tougher approach—and less patience—with the Pakistani government. The attacks, carried out by Predator...

'Google-like' System to Link US Intelligence Agencies

Overhaul includes databases, email

(Newser) - The computer databases of the 16 US intelligence agencies soon will be linked, the Wall Street Journal reports. The system comes nearly 5 years after the spy agencies got heat for failing to "connect the dots" before the Sept. 11 attacks. Analysts will be able to search through secret...

Prez to Shut Gitmo, Secret CIA Prisons

Orders directing sweeping detention, interrogation overhaul expected today

(Newser) - The president will sign orders today ordering the Guantanamo Bay detention center shut down within a year—and directing the CIA to dismantle its network of secret prisons overseas, government officials tell the New York Times. The CIA will still be allowed to detain terror suspects in foreign countries, but...

Obama Will Ban Torture— But Considers a Loophole

(Newser) - Barack Obama is set to prohibit waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques by mandating the CIA follow the US Army Field Manual when questioning suspects, the AP reports. But as the president-elect debates whether to make the changes through legislation or presidential fiat, the incoming administration is also considering a...

Libby Deserves Bush Pardon
 Libby Deserves 
 Bush Pardon 
OPINION
Jan 16, 2009 4:16 PM CST

Libby Deserves Bush Pardon

Conviction a 'miscarriage of justice,' writes Fred Barnes

(Newser) - “Simple justice” should compel President Bush to pardon Lewis “Scooter” Libby, writes Fred Barnes in the Weekly Standard. “Libby has either been punished far too severely for a very small offense,” writes Barnes “or he is an innocent man.” Libby was convicted of perjury...

Obama Picks CIA Veteran as Terror Adviser

Controversial Brennan backs harsh tactics, has contractor ties

(Newser) - The rumors are true: Barack Obama has picked John O. Brennan as his top counterterrorism adviser, the Washington Post reports, just six weeks after Brennan was forced to back out of the hunt for the CIA directorship. Brennan has made public statements about controversial CIA tactics such as extraordinary rendition—...

CIA Missile Strike Kills 2 al-Qaeda Leaders

(Newser) - A secret CIA airstrike on New Year's Day killed two high-ranking al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan, the Washington Post reports. The missile strike took out al-Qaeda's chief of operations in Pakistan and his lieutenant. The men were linked to high-profile suicide bombings throughout the nation—including a blast at the Islamabad...

Panetta Pick Raises Intel Hackles

Obama defends CIA choice from critics who call him inexperienced

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s choice of former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to run the CIA is catching some flak from intelligence professionals, the Washington Post reports. Panetta has no direct experience with intelligence-gathering; says an anonymous official who worked with Bill Clinton’s national-security team while Panetta...

Feinstein Disses Panetta as Pick for CIA Chief

Surprise pick has no intelligence experience, committee concerned

(Newser) - Dianne Feinstein hinted yesterday that she had reservations about Barack Obama’s choice of Leon Panetta to head the CIA—which could be a problem for Obama, since Feinstein is the new chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “I was not informed about the selection,” she said. “...

Panetta Tapped to Helm CIA
 Panetta Tapped to Helm CIA 
Jan 5, 2009 2:31 PM CST

Panetta Tapped to Helm CIA

Former Clinton adviser has little intelligence experience

(Newser) - Barack Obama will name Leon Panetta, a former congressman and chief of staff to Bill Clinton, director of the CIA, the New York Times reports. Observers were split on the choice of Panetta, who is well-respected for his Beltway savvy but has no specific intelligence experience. Panetta will report to...

Viagra Helps CIA Win Over Afghan Chiefs

Sexual performance drugs make aging warlords true-blue pals against Taliban

(Newser) - Little blue pills are proving to be a potent weapon in the CIA's efforts to win support from Afghan chieftains in the battle against the Taliban, the Washington Post reports. The notoriously fickle warlords—often aging men with up to four wives to satisfy—usually expect to be paid for...

Torture a Dead End: Intelligence Experts
Torture a Dead End:
Intelligence Experts
Glossies
Dec 21, 2008 6:20 AM CST

Torture a Dead End: Intelligence Experts

Intelligence often false and comes at great cost to US reputation

(Newser) - Governments have known for centuries that torture yields questionable intelligence, and none of the evidence accumulated during US grilling sessions contradicts that argument, David Rose writes in Vanity Fair. Rose carefully documents the inaccurate and even falsified information obtained from suspects Abu Zubaydah, Binyam Mohamed, Jose Padilla, and Khalid Sheikh...

Tenet Denies Drunken Rant About 'the Jews'

Pressured CIA chief spilled fears to Saudi prince

(Newser) - George Tenet is vehemently denying a report in a new book that the then-CIA director railed against Bush administration neocons, "referring to them with exaxperation [sic] as, 'the Jews,'" the Atlantic reports. The incident took place in Saudi Prince Bandar's pool after Tenet downed half a bottle of...

Five Best Jobs Left in Obama Administration
Five Best Jobs Left in Obama Administration
ANALYSIS
Dec 5, 2008 1:12 PM CST

Five Best Jobs Left in Obama Administration

Highest-profile unfilled slots are energy, intelligence positions

(Newser) - State and Defense are taken, but Barack Obama has yet to fill several high-level administration positions. Politico looks at the top five open jobs:
  • Energy Secretary: Sustainable energy will remain a priority, despite the attention the economy will draw away. Key candidates: Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm; Dan Reicher and
...

Obama's In for an Awkward CIA Transition
Obama's In for an Awkward
CIA Transition
ANALYSIS
Dec 3, 2008 12:08 PM CST

Obama's In for an Awkward CIA Transition

His tough campaign rhetoric sets tone as left looks for change

(Newser) - On the campaign trail, Barack Obama frequently railed against the CIA’s secret jails and harsh interrogation techniques. Now, he must lead the agency, and the transition’s already proving rocky, the New York Times reports. Liberal outcry derailed his rumored pick for director, John Brennan. Brennan was chief of...

Obama's Top CIA Pick Drops Out

Obama's Top CIA Pick
Drops Out
Nov 26, 2008 4:46 AM CST

Obama's Top CIA Pick Drops Out

Brennan withdraws under pressure but denies backing torture

(Newser) - Barack Obama's top intelligence adviser and his first choice for CIA director has withdrawn his name from consideration, the Los Angeles Times reports. John Brennan, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, was branded by some liberal groups as a proponent of the harsh interrogation techniques used against terrorist suspects...

Bin Laden Isolated, Struggling: Hayden

CIA: He's forced to move from place to place, isolated from his terror network

(Newser) - Seven years after 9/11, terror chief Osama bin Laden remains alive and free, but he's struggling, CIA director Michael Hayden said in a speech yesterday: "He appears to be largely isolated from the day-to-day operations of the organization he nominally heads." Hayden said bin Laden spends much of...

Obama Likely to Keep Bush Intel Policies

Positions likely to be filled with pragmatists

(Newser) - Barack Obama isn’t likely to deliver the radical intelligence policy overhaul many civil liberty groups are craving, advisers tell the Wall Street Journal. Those advisers include former Republican supporters and centrist Clinton officials. “He’s going to take a very centrist approach,” said an ex-Bush and Clinton...

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