The CIA Just Went To War

[Teresa Heilevang]

This is hard to believe but, the Washington Post has quite a story to tell.  Atty Gen. Eric Holder and the Obama Administration took a shot between their beady little eyeballs.  It seems that extremely high value information was extracted from a few al Qaeda terrorists through so-called harsh interrogation tactics. The Washington Post's lead story today was an extraordinary one cutting against the conclusions of a series of recent government and media reports to cast as straight news -- with a few hedges and qualifications --  that waterboarding and sleep deprivation worked like a charm to turn Kalid Sheik Mohammed, master-mind of 9/11, from an enemy into an "asset."

(Washington Post Story)
After enduring the CIA’s harshest interrogation methods and spending more than a year in the agency’s secret prisons, Khalid Sheik Mohammed stood before U.S. intelligence officers in a makeshift lecture hall, leading what they called “terrorist tutorials.”
In 2005 and 2006, the bearded, pudgy man who calls himself the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks discussed a wide variety of subjects, including Greek philosophy and al-Qaeda dogma. In one instance, he scolded a listener for poor note-taking and his inability to recall details of an earlier lecture.
Speaking in English, Mohammed “seemed to relish the opportunity, sometimes for hours on end, to discuss the inner workings of al-Qaeda and the group’s plans, ideology and operatives,” said one of two sources who described the sessions, speaking on the condition of anonymity because much information about detainee confinement remains classified. “He’d even use a chalkboard at times.”
These scenes provide previously unpublicized details about the transformation of the man known to U.S. officials as KSM from an avowed and truculent enemy of the United States into what the CIA called its “preeminent source” on al-Qaeda. This reversal occurred after Mohammed was subjected to simulated drowning and prolonged sleep deprivation, among other harsh interrogation techniques.
“KSM, an accomplished resistor, provided only a few intelligence reports prior to the use of the waterboard, and analysis of that information revealed that much of it was outdated, inaccurate or incomplete,” according to newly unclassified portions of a 2004 report by the CIA’s then-inspector general released Monday by the Justice Department.

Read rest of story at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082803874_pf.html


Here’s my take on this story - literally:  The CIA just went to war.  Eric Holder’s play to punish low level CIA operatives in a trumped up series of show trials has just backfired - badly.  Let me put it this way.  If the CIA just leaked this to the Post (and who else would have) this is embarrassing for the Obama administration.
 
That means the CIA has something in reserve that will humiliate the administration.  You can bet your bottom dollar on that.  The CIA is a very, very ugly enemy, as George Bush found out.  I am not completely happy about that on several levels but it is still somewhat amusing to see that the CIA is quite willing to go right up against the  Obama administration.
 
It is possible that Holder and company made a terrible mistake.  Obama is very likely to be hammered a lot worse if he does not call Holder off - right now.  This was a warning shot by the CIA and I have all ideas they have a lot more in reserve.

( I got this from my friend Warph)

[mudman]

No LINK?

[tombogan03884]

 It's also a warning to CIA Director and Obama lackey Leon Paneta, another retread from the Clinton administration.
J Edgar Hoover wasn't the ONLY one in DC with access to blackmail material, and the Agency has far better sources.

[WaltGraham]

Try this one:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082803874.html?wprss=rss_world&sid=ST2009082804015

We've got some of the local pantswetters hereabouts looking forward to Holder's witch hunt. I say, bring it on, it's a loser for the 'HO administration. It's obvious that they're in trouble and need to revert to the blame Bush mantra.

Buchanan sums it up nicely:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/08/28/the_rough_men_at_the_cia.html

[mudman]

Thanks Walt

[Sponsor]

[Pathfinder]

Part of bho and his minions naivete in trying to take on the CIA. They are pros in being spooks, and probably have dirt on bho's momma at this point. Not that most of the dirt ain't already public.

Not a good thing for the CIA (and NSA and FBI et al.) to have that kind of power, but they do, and no way klintoon's monkey Paneta will ever be able to control them.

And BTW, anyone int he Bush gummint could have leaked this story, including Cheney who I think did it to protect the folks at the CIA. Plausible deniability and all that for the spooks not operating on US soil.

[fightingquaker13]

Part of bho and his minions naivete in trying to take on the CIA. They are pros in being spooks, and probably have dirt on bho's momma at this point. Not that most of the dirt ain't already public.

Not a good thing for the CIA (and NSA and FBI et al.) to have that kind of power, but they do, and no way klintoon's monkey Paneta will ever be able to control them.

And BTW, anyone int he Bush gummint could have leaked this story, including Cheney who I think did it to protect the folks at the CIA. Plausible deniability and all that for the spooks not operating on US soil.

Path for once we are in agreement. It's not a good thing that the CIA has that power, but then again, we wouldn't be getting our money's worth if they didn't.  If anyone hangs it should be Cheny or Goss or however else gave the orders. This is not a political hit either. Its just me sympathizing with the grunts who are given the rules of engagement and follow through. As long as they acted in good faith and did not exceed their orders, and as long as those orders did not appear to be unlawful (like say Mai Lai), then the grunts should get a pass and the ones who issued them should be held to account.
FQ13

[mudman]

Their account is paid in full as in PROTECTING AMERICA.

[jnevis]

I have an uncle who spent most of the Bush Presidency trying to get an investigation into 9/11 to determine if Bush was responsible for the attacks and UBL was just a flunky.  He even went so far as to repeatedly travel from Boston to DC to pass out flyers at various Congressional offices asking for them.  I have no doubt that if he ever actually got them the indictments would go further back than most of Bush's administration.  My guess is Paneta and some of the other Clinton people OBummer has surrounded himself with don't want the Intel Community stirred up.  It will all go away quietly and quickly when they pull open some of the files and say "STOP!"

[Pathfinder]

Path for once we are in agreement. It's not a good thing that the CIA has that power, but then again, we wouldn't be getting our money's worth if they didn't.  If anyone hangs it should be Cheny or Goss or however else gave the orders. This is not a political hit either. Its just me sympathizing with the grunts who are given the rules of engagement and follow through. As long as they acted in good faith and did not exceed their orders, and as long as those orders did not appear to be unlawful (like say Mai Lai), then the grunts should get a pass and the ones who issued them should be held to account.
FQ13

WRONG!

No one has yet to come up with a clear explanation as to what exactly was done that was illegal? We waterboarded 3 people? Or rather 3 people were waterboarded at our hands or maybe through proxies? Out of how many thousands we picked up? According to this article, that technique worked miracles on a scumbucket lowlife like Mohammed  and helped us dismantle a part of al-Qaeda. And this is from the WaPo, not exactly a big fan of Bush's.