Cia

Obama's New Counterterrorism Message Is Good, But the Messenger Has Problems

Frank Naif | Posted 09.10.2009 | Politics


Frank Naif

John Brennan's role as a top national security honcho in the Obama administration shows the limitations of Obama's "look to the future, not to the past" mantra.

CIA Director Panetta: Reform Suffers for Bush Apparatchiks and Spy Chiefs

Frank Naif | Posted 09.10.2009 | Politics


Frank Naif

Panetta's -- and Obama's -- instincts are correct when they promise to protect the CIA's rank and file from prosecution. But protecting the troops from prosecution is not the same as resisting accountability.

Obama Administration Still Fighting Release of Torture Evidence

The Washington Independent | Posted 09.10.2009 | Politics


This case has dropped a off the radar screen lately, but Bob Egelko at the San Francisco Chronicle today reminds us that the Obama administration is s...

Baitullah Mehsud Reportedly Dead, CIA Behind The Strike: Officials

AP | NAHAL TOOSI and ISHTIAQ MAHSUD | Posted 09.07.2009 | World


ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Taliban chief was killed by a CIA missile strike, a militant commander confirmed Friday – a severe blow to extremis...

Obama's Second Hundred Days

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.06.2009 | Politics


Chris Weigant

Our look back at Obama's second 100 days will begin with a short overview, and then move on to the categories: "the best of times," "the worst of times," and "the age of (media) foolishness."

Brennan Suggests He Played Role In Domestic Surveillance

The Washington Independent | Posted 09.06.2009 | Politics


I'll have a broader piece up soon about John Brennan's speech about counterterrorism, which in many ways represented a stark departure from several ke...

Guantanamo As Hotel California: You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave

Andy Worthington | Posted 09.03.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

Prisoners who do not face ill-treatment on return to their homelands are still held, no matter how many times their release is approved by various representatives of the U.S. government.

US, UK on Collision Course Over Detainee Court Cases

Frank Naif | Posted 08.31.2009 | World


Frank Naif

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is pressing the UK to protect US detention and torture secrets, but British courts may have the last word as two major torture cases move ahead.

Honduras: Term Limits When Governments Benefit People

Nelson P. Valdes | Posted 08.29.2009 | World


Nelson P. Valdes

Congress and Courts belong to the rich and powerful who also control the military in cooperation with the Pentagon. Washington provided aid.

Guantanamo Justice Center: Ex-Detainees Launch Gitmo Inmates' Rights Group

AP | Posted 08.29.2009 | Politics


GENEVA — Former Guantanamo Bay detainees have launched an organization to help released inmates return to normal life and to lobby for the relea...

War and Pieces: A Review of Kamila Shamsie's Burnt Shadows

Adrienne Celt | Posted 08.27.2009 | Living


Adrienne Celt

The book is complex and sweeping in scope, seeking to tie together not just the disparate lives of its inhabitants, but also several of the most noted international tragedies in recent history.

Federal Reserve Has Lowest Job Approval Rating; CDC, NASA Top List: Poll

Gallup | Posted 08.27.2009 | Politics


At a time when Americans are discouraged about the direction of the country and hesitant about the scope of President Barack Obama's federal budget pl...

Did the CIA Assassinate? What We Need to Know

Michael Brenner | Posted 08.24.2009 | Politics


Michael Brenner

A serious examination of the CIA/assassination story should begin by sweeping aside the rubbish cluttering the electronic ether on this issue.

Don't Turn the Page on History: Facing the American World We Created

Tom Engelhardt | Posted 08.23.2009 | Politics


Tom Engelhardt

Given the last eight years of disaster piled on catastrophe, who in would want to look backward? The urge to turn the page in this country is palpable, but -- just for a moment -- let's not.

Congressional Investigations of CIA Move Ahead, Republicans Flipflop to Score Political Points

Frank Naif | Posted 08.23.2009 | Politics


Frank Naif

Is the House Intelligence Committee's investigation the beginning of a new round of far-reaching Congressional inquiries into intelligence activities?

Sam Stein

Obama's Top Intelligence Hand: Our Default Position Is To Brief Congress

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 08.22.2009 | Politics


Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair declared on Wednesday that it was the default position of the intelligence community to keep Congress f...

Holder's Possible Inquiry On CIA Interrogation A Defining Gesture Of Independence From Obama

NY Times | Posted 08.22.2009 | Politics


As the attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., debates whether to appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate the interrogations of terrorism suspects ...

Judge Rules CIA Committed Fraud In Court

AP | NEDRA PICKLER | Posted 08.20.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ruled that CIA officials committed fraud to protect a former covert agent against an eavesdropping lawsuit and ...

US May Create Terror Interrogation Unit, Looking Into Alternative Interrogation Techniques: Official

AP | DEVLIN BARRETT | Posted 08.18.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering creating a special unit of professional interrogators to handle key terror suspects, focusi...

Roy Sekoff Discusses Dick Cheney Ordering CIA To Keep Congress In The Dark About Hit Squad Program (VIDEO)

Huff TV | Posted 08.16.2009 | Politics


Huff TV

HuffPost Editor Roy Sekoff joined Ed Schultz on his eponymous MSNBC show to discuss the revelation that Dick Cheney ordered the CIA to keep secret fro...

Torture, Wiretaps, Lies to Congress: Old Spy Cronies a Drag on Obama's "Look to the Future"

Frank Naif | Posted 08.16.2009 | Politics


Frank Naif

Over the past week, a triple-whammy of developing national security stories reminded Americans and the Obama administration that the past is a stubborn thing.

CIA Supervisor Claimed He Used Fire Ants On Detainee

Aram Roston | Posted 08.16.2009 | Politics


Aram Roston

A recently released legal memo describing interrogation techniques showed that Bush Administration lawyers had approved the use of "insects" in interrogations.

CIA Was About To Train Anti-Terror Hit Squads When Panetta Ended The Program

Washington Post | Joby Warrick | Posted 08.15.2009 | Politics


CIA officials were proposing to activate a plan to train anti-terrorist assassination teams overseas when agency managers brought the secret program t...

The Democrats' Selective Amnesia on Assassination: Clinton Did It and Obama Does It Too

Jeremy Scahill | Posted 08.15.2009 | Politics


Jeremy Scahill

The "secret" CIA assassination program that Dick Cheney allegedly concealed from Congress sounds a lot like the assassination policy implemented by President Bill Clinton.