Secret CIA Program Was "Intelligence-Collection Activity"

The Washington Post has more details on the secret program that CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed this week had been hidden from Congress since 2001.

Current and former administration officials familiar with the program said it was not directly related to previously disclosed high-priority programs such as detainee interrogations or the warrantless surveillance of suspected terrorists on U.S. soil. It was a intelligence-collection activity run by the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, officials said. It was not a covert action, which by law would have required a presidential finding and a report to Congress.

"This characterization of something that began in 2001 and continued uninterrupted for eight years is just wrong. Honest men would question that characterization. It was more off and on," said a former top Bush administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the issue.

A Bush administration official told the paper he was certain that, if the nature of the program could be revealed, it would be seen as "no big deal."

However, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) told the Huffington Post that when she and other members of the House Intelligence Committee found out what was kept secret "the whole committee was stunned, even Republicans." And Newsweek reported that while an official said, "'You could argue that it never really took shape' ... The implication is that whatever the details of the program, it carried risks that some officials at the agency strongly felt might not be worth taking."

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Comments

[POLINUT]

So...where are all those millions of Americans who voted for Bush...TWICE? Please stand along the abyss and take a bow.

[xansam]

like all cowards, they are hiding and denying.

[annie g]

And justifying

[mostlyharmless]

if that's all they'd done i'd let it slide . . . but i clearly remember being excoriated for voicing any criticism of the man and his policies . . . i know they finally got it when the economy tanked, but i still haven't received my apology . . . i guess that good ol' republican personal responsibility and personal accountability aren't the same thing

[Clearing-Brush]

Who is running this country? Why is a government agency working independently from senior command branches of government? I find this even more troubling.

[MillinMn]

My default is to believe nothing at all that is said by any former Bush Administration official. Given the breadth and depth of lying to the American people by Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney and their minions, if they say it is dark out I fully expect to see sunshine.

No big deal? Why did the CIA mislead Congress about it? Lying to Congress is a VERY BIG DEAL. I suspec t that what was being covered up is also A VERY BIG DEAL.

Mr Bush should spend the rest of his days going door-to-door across America, apologizing for his disasterous governance.

[Grunty1]

[My default is to believe nothing at all that is said by any former Bush Administration official.]

A very wise and intelligent position.

[kindGSL]

He comes to my door, I don't know...

[brandnewstuff]

yep nothing say intel garthering like torture rape and extortion embezzlement....exploitation for a defense contractor..

[CitizenJ]

You know it must be bad if even Republicans had a reaction.

[maggienash65]

The Repubicans are saying they weren't "stunned", I believe they were but are now saying "no big deal". Hard to believe they would still cover for these people

[Clearing-Brush]

Exactly why the Repugs have lost all credibility and continue to lose the trust of America. The mafia has more integrity than the GOP.

[Grunty1]

They were stunned at the likely heineousness of the act and how it would impact their reelection campaigns.

[Konnie]

would someone please tell us exactly what pelosi's position was in the 2003 period and what
committies she sat on, and if she was the chairman or not..............this would help those of us
out here in the hinterlands trying to sort thru the she said/he said mess. that was well before
she was speaker...............

[helonias]

Said the lying Bush official

[brandnewstuff]

Yep - Killing your family for disagreements on domestic soil ... phone reocrds matter!

[ebanks84]

Secrets and more secrets. The people of this country WILL NEVER know all the secrets of this country because everyone BUT the people will end up being liars, manipulators, and cohorts in hiding their secrets.

[scjk67]

well this is going to be more bombs that are going to be dropped on Bush-Cheney and company. i got a strong feeling this whole 9-11 was an inside job. man, this just sickening me right now.

[kindGSL]

It was an inside job.

There were lots of reasons, cover ups etc involved, but the sickest part of it all was the simple desire to create an excuse for a series of wars to rape, kill and maim as many Islamic people as possible.

Bush and company are fighting a Holy War.

That is a goal a lot of 'christian' Americans actually agree with. I think it is sick.

[kindGSL]

Do I have to document my claims to get them accepted?

[jimfl]

Our government is rotten to the core.

[Grunty1]

Yes it is, mostly because Republicans have voted for extremist positions for decades. And this helps keep corrupt Democrats safe as well, because people would rather vote for a corrupt person than an insane person.

[kindGSL]

Media gives us no other choice.

[Derelict outlaw]

If Harry Truman (who authorized the creation of the CIA in 1948) was concerned that it had become a "policy making arm" of government by 1963, what had occurred since then?

Could any force in government have opposed the overthrow of the government since then?

I mean not just the assassination of a Liberal President but the total subversion of the United States of America to a secret agenda.

Seems profoundly simple now, and we've just been scared and in denial.

[kindGSL]

"If Harry Truman (who authorized the creation of the CIA in 1948) was concerned that it had become a "policy making arm" of government by 1963, what had occurred since then?"

They took over.

The supreme court put Bush in office, he was not duly elected by the people.

[afgail]

What if the alleged Cheney assassination squad not only killed people in other countries, but what if they killed people on American soil, like Paul Wellstone and other liberal senators who died in mysterious circumstances?

[littlechuckie]

Thought something was up with Senator Wellstone's death for a long time.

[kindGSL]

How about when I emailed Senator Feinstein about the Drug War and it's connection to the holy war in Iraq?

Instead of asking me more about it like I expected, the local airport was closed, she rushed off to Iraq, I was buzzed by an unmarked, ARMED shiny black helicopter, and cased by the police everywhere I went.

She finally answered my email just as she was announcing a new drug policy that was going to lead to major warfare in Mexico. I never recognized that helicopter until I saw a picture of a Blackwater helicopter, then I knew what it was.

What does that tell you?

It tells me a lot, but the authorities told my husband it was because I was insane. They put a lot of effort into that campaign, he believed it. Eventually my whole family believed it.

[Gregj]

Why if it was no big deal,why was the Congress even the republicans "STUNNED".Also why was Mary and Dick Cheney the only people out defending their actions.

[Grunty1]

That's the rebuttal of Ch3n3y's official talking points.

[levibatgirl]

Good point.

'Stunned' is very telling.
Probably why their coming out with the 'no big deal' spin now.

So rovian.

[levibatgirl]

'they're'

[LemonMeringue]

David Kelly