We Cannot Afford This

Yesterday Attorney General Eric Holder announced the initiation of a "limited" inquiry into the actions of CIA officers in interrogating Al Qaida terrorists captured and detained in the course of the "war on terror." In explaining his actions, Holder noted that he agreed with President Obama's desire to avoid getting mired in disputes regarding the policies of former President George W. Bush, but that his review of information on the CIA interrogation program left him no choice. "As attorney general, my duty is to examine the facts and to follow the law," said Holder. "Given all of the information currently available, it is clear to me that this review is the only responsible course of action for me to take."

I have no doubt that the Attorney General is a good man. I have no doubt that he is acting in what he believes to be the country's best interest. I also have no doubt that this action of his in launching this inquiry will have an absolutely catastrophic effect on the CIA and the entire intelligence community.

I am a staunch supporter of this president. I voted for him, and I campaigned for him.

I am also absolutely convinced that our use of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" was wrong. I do not believe we ever should have used them. I do not believe they were ever as productive as claimed. It is good news that we have moved away from the use of these measures and imposed some control over the action of interrogators. I conducted a lot of interrogations in the field, as did personnel under my command. Such "enhanced" techniques were never utilized. Everyone we ever questioned talked.

All that said, initiating this inquiry, directed as it is at serving CIA officers in the field, is a disaster.

The CIA is critical to the defense of this nation. Particularly, in the kind of "war" we are now fighting, what we desperately need is a tough, aggressive, small and flexible intelligence organization which can go after the terrorists who wish us harm. The Department of Defense, with its massive bureaucracy and seemingly endless levels of command and review cannot perform this task with nearly the agility of the CIA. Neither can any of the other members of the intelligence community.

Over the last several years, however, we have seen that the CIA is not a healthy organization. While it has notched some impressive successes, it has also experienced some massive failures. There are many incredible, dedicated individuals serving in the CIA, but they are increasingly functioning within a broken, dysfunctional bureaucracy. When they succeed, which they do more often than most Americans realize, it is often despite the structure within which they work, not because of it.

What we need to be doing is undertaking serious reform of this critical organization. We need to be restructuring its leadership, toughening its standards and training and pushing it to become more innovative and more effective. We should be pursuing all of this with the sense of urgency that the world situation demands, moving now, before a group releases the plague in Washington or detonates a nuclear device in Manhattan.

None of this is possible, however, without rock solid political support. No CIA officer, no matter how well trained or equipped, is going to push the envelope operationally or undertake a dangerous, risky operation while simultaneously having to look over his shoulder for the next prosecutorial inquiry. Agency officers are overwhelming patriotic, hard working Americans. They are also fathers and mothers. They too have mortgages and car payments and familial obligations. When the ground is constantly shifting under their feet and no one is quite clear which way the wind is blowing, they will react predictably.

They will slow down. They will become increasingly cautious. Fewer ops will be run. Fewer agents will be recruited. At a time when we desperately need to be accelerating our ops tempo, we will be doing exactly the opposite.

We all know this new inquiry will not remain limited in any sense of the word. It will grind on and expand and command attention. The Washington Post will run endless front page articles on its progress. Television pundits will discuss the status of the inquiry day after day and night after night. Within the agency, officers will hear one message. "There is no net. There is no support. Move and act at your own peril."

We cannot afford this. We will pay in lives for this mistake when the next attack comes. We need to put the actions of the Bush administration behind us, and we need to move forward. Rapidly. Before we find ourselves once again counting bodies, hunting for survivors amidst the wreckage and wondering why we had no warning.

Charles S. Faddis is a former CIA operations officer who served for twenty years in the Near East, South Asia and Europe. He retired in May 2008 as head of the CIA's WMD terrorism unit. His most recent book,Beyond Repair, will be published in October, 2009.

Comments

[David John]

In the immortal words of Jon Stewart (paraphrased from memory)

If you don't stick by your values when they are tested, they are not values, they're hobbies.

Thanks for demonstrating your weakness of character.

[jsgaetano]

The CIA should find this kind of logic VERY offensive.

Faddis is essentially smearing slime all over the CIA, and saying they are collectively guilty of torture... and thus shouldn't be investigated.

I'm sure the CIA would like their reputation cleared up as much as anyone. For sake the 99.9999+% of the brave men and women working for the CIA, let's allow the bad apples to be held responsible, and clear the names and reputation of the REAL CIA people who keep America safe.

[clevelandchick]

How can the US tell Iran, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan, China, North Korea, et al not to torture if we let those who developed and executed torture in our name off the hook?

I don't want to bust the low level agents/man­agement...­.Rumsfeld, Cheney, Yoo, Gonzales, Addington, Rove, Bush......all of those men must be tried and prosecuted for this crime against humanity and our Constitution. The damage they've done is hopefully reparable....but not without their prosecution.

[Berettasskeeter]

Sorry, you've bought into the narrative of the Left! Torture as practiced by the countries you listed leaves permanent physical and mental scars, if it leaves one alive at all. Our interrogation techniques do not, although if you believe our enemies, they are ruined for life.
Semper fi

[research]

"The CIA is critical to the defense of this nation"

BS.

The CIA covert operations are the roots of most of the problems we have today.

CIA covert operations are a litany of disastrous failures.

The CIA's actions are contrary to US law and weaken our standing in the world.

You cannot be sneaking around the world, deposing democratically elected governments, proping up tyrant and dictators and have ANYTHING to do with a democratic nation.

It's time to STOP nearly all covert ACTIONS.

Back to the reasonable mission of intelligence GATHERING.

[Wake-up]

Funny... everyone (left and Right) will tell you we could not survive with out an intellefgence agency... it's not like the movies, they save lives (ours and others) everyday. If you don't believe that then you need to examine how you rationally think and conclude. There's frankly no debate about the value of the CIA...

[research]

Frankly, there is a huge debate about the CIA as you well know.

I'm your friend, but I have a security guy, and he may kill you, and replace your democracy with a dictator. Is that a reasonable stance in the governmnet anymore?

http://www.google.com/search?q=CIA+disasters&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

But you think force solves everything.

Hearts and Minds always wins.

[cbvani]

I disagree. Showing that we punish wrongdoers sends a powerful message. A country that does not stand by its principles in times of hardship has no principles.
The CIA will work without the torturers in their midst. It will work better, smarter, and less brutally.

[TheIndependenceParty]

It is clear that, for whatever reason, leadership in the White House and CIA was all too willing to swallow Yee's excusatory memos, hook line and sinker, ... and set in motion what they knew were illegal interrogation practices. KNEW! Else why did you not employ those techniques during your time ni service?

Why is it that we are so willing to give blanket amnesty to spooks in the CIA? Some are worthy, and others not. It must be the same there as in any organization.

When I have been a part of an organization in which there was wrongdoing, and those who perpetrated it were called to task, it RAISED my morale rather than lowering it. It confirmed what I had known to be the values of our team, ... which they had violated.

I appreciate your arguments, but resolutely disagree. It is precisely for the good officers in the CIA and other intelligence agencies that we need to come down on the criminals in their midst. Asyou said yourself, ... you never needed to act that way to secure information. Why are you so quick to excuse those who did?

[Melanophis]

Mr. Faddis, eleanorhawking, and fellow travelers,

The article asserts that investigating the torturers of the CIA and their superiors will result in our deaths by terrorism.

So be it. I, for one, would sooner die a citizen of an honorable nation of law and justice, than live craven under torturers and hypocrits.

Melanophis

[Chernynkaya]

I thought the CIA was composed of tough, ice-in-their-veins operatives, like Robert Ludlam wrote about. But it turns out they are actually much more sensitive and their feeling are easily hurt? They demoralize pretty quick, from what we have been hearing lately.

The truth about the CIA is that they are not full of James Bond types. The CIA was organized pursuant to the National Security Act of 1947 and that its primary mission is the collection and analysis of foreign intelligence information for use by our nation's leadership; the CIA has no police, subpoena, law enforcement, or internal security functions. They are not trained interrogators.

They are spies, and spies are not dashing- they are inconspicuous, quiet, nondescript types. They are not trained for war, for special-ops, but for analysis. They never should have been involved in interrogations and they behaved as amateurs, so now they are embarrassed. Too bad.

http://www.charter.net/news/read.php?id=15810325&ps=1017&srce=news_class&action=3&lang=en&_LT=UNLC_NKNWU00L3_UNEWS&page=2

[jsgaetano]

Accountability is never a crime.

Without accountability, people lose trust... and without trust, what do we have? Simply a police state ruling through fear- which is precisely what Conservatives have been working so hard to create.

[eleanorhawking]

Thanks for speaking the truth, Charles. No one is saying that mistakes weren't made, but don't endanger the lives of our soldiers and our future by delving into this mess right now.

[BluestateGuyInTX]

How does obeying the law endanger the lives of our soldiers? Do you think that the people who inhabit the countries we occupy are not already aware of our crimes? Do you think punishing these crimes will somehow make the people whose countries we occupy hate us more? Give it some thought.

[DEJM]

This is not the time for this.. the only people who seriously entertain the notion of this are people totally insensitive to the thousands upon thousands of people without jobs living day to day who are being forced from their homes and face the extreme pressure of financial peril.

Delay this and for once do the right thing and spend our government money to help those who have faithfully paid their taxes and now need help.

Who in their right mind wants to see a bunch of politicians sit around, engage in senseless time-wasting hearings, with nothing coming of it except the wasted payment of millions of dollars to staffers and specialists and experts with an end result of zero.

This is why no important laws get passed...

[RickO]

An inquiry like this is not only Holder's obligation under his oath of office, it is the necessary starting point. The CIA is certainly an important agency and if it's members have integrity, they'll be happy to testify against the Bush administration officials who are really responsible. But something tells me they will make this a pity party rather than fully support the rule of law.

That threat about us paying for this mistake when the next attack comes sounds like something Cheney would say. He wanted he and his ilk to be above the law and if he didn't get his way, all hell would be unleashed.

[cardineau]

Sorry, but I disagree with your reasoning entirely. The only reason we have to fight terrorists is because we are terrorists also. When we quit bombing and killing people worldwide, terrorist activity will subside.

[DEJM]

No it won't...there is plenty of documentation of domestic terrorism..

[cardineau]

Yes it will ... worldwide includes the USA.

[lippylaroux]

Having the Democrats in total power will be shown to be the biggest mistake this country has ever made.

[Annieke]

Nope...the biggest mistake the US ever made was electing Bush...TWICE

[jatkins]

An illegal war, torture, illegal wiretapping. illegal rendition, a complete disrespect for the rule of law, all under George W. Bush. It's a surprise the country still exists. He tore at the fabric of the Constitution, and you're scared the new administration is following the law?

[jsgaetano]

Not throwing every conservative in America into GTMO is the biggest mistake this country has ever made.

How foolish, to think conservatives would ever love America.

[kevinabt]

I'm not sure how torturing, kidnapping and spying on people does us common folk any good. Seems like the CIA is in place to harass and overthrow nations which are not in compliance with the wishes of the US empire. The powers that be would have to find another way of shipping in all that opium from Afghanastan too, if the CIA were to be investigated.