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CIA Tag

Posted by Mike LaChance on December 11, 2014 14 Comments
Senator Mitch McConnell has characterized the new CIA report on "torture" as a last ditch effort by outgoing Democrats to stick their thumb in the eye of the George W. Bush administration and of course, he's right. Where were all these Democrats when Obama was pulverizing suspected terrorists into dust with drones if they happened to be on his personal kill list? It's convenient for Obama to kill terrorists with drones because they're enemy combatants he'll never have to place in Gitmo. Vice President Dick Cheney was interviewed by Bret Baier on FOX News Wednesday night and was asked about the highly partisan CIA "torture" report. He didn't hold back: Dick Cheney understands something Obama will never get. People want to know the truth, no matter how ugly it is.

Posted by Amy Miller on December 10, 2014 10 Comments
Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) may have lost his Senate seat to underdog candidate Cory Gardner in this November's elections, but he hasn't let that stop him from making some explosive statements on the Senate floor about the recently-released "torture report" detailing interrogation techniques used during the George W. Bush Administration. Today, Udall called for the resignation of CIA director John Brennan, and lambasted the Administration for the apparent lack of accountability on the part of the CIA and other intelligence agencies who used the enhanced techniques the early Obama Administration promised to discontinue and investigate. From The Hill:
“It’s bad enough to not prosecute these officials but to reward and promote them is incomprehensible,” Udall said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “The president needs to purge his administration.” Udall reiterated his call for the resignation of CIA director John Brennan, saying he should no longer lead the agency because officials hacked into the Intelligence Committee’s computers during their investigation and deleted a file. He also spilled some findings from the so-called Panetta review, which was not included in the Senate panel’s report but is expected to paint a damning picture of the CIA’s public statements about the interrogation program. “Director Brennan and the CIA today are continuing to willfully provide inaccurate information and misrepresent the efficacy of torture,” Udall said. “The CIA is lying. This is not an issue of the past, this is going on today.” “To date there has been no accountability for the CIA’s actions or the actions of Director Brennan.” Udall criticized Obama, saying he has failed to live up to his campaign promises about transparency and accountability for the CIA’s techniques. “The White House has not led on transparency, as then-Sen. Obama promised in 2007,” he alleged.

Posted by Bruce Carroll on July 31, 2014 18 Comments
In extraordinary backtracking today, Central Intelligence Agency chief John Brennan apologized to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) because some CIA officers improperly accessed computers used by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. A declassified CIA inspector general's report released to the Senators on Thursday revealed that agency officers improperly accessed Senate computers, read emails of Senate committee staff, and tried to hide their actions from agency investigators. From the Los Angeles Times:
In a statement issued by the agency, a CIA spokesman said Director John Brennan had apologized to Senate Intelligence Committee chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and other committee leaders for the computer search. The spokesman said the agency’s inspector general had found evidence that CIA officers’ actions were “inconsistent with the common understanding” between the agency and committee. “The director is committed to correcting any shortcomings related to this matter,” CIA spokesman Dean Boyd said Thursday. The CIA has set up an accountability board, led by former Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, to review the inspector general’s findings and recommend disciplinary actions, if necessary, Boyd said.
Feinstein raised eyebrows in March when she made the original snooping allegations against the CIA during a speech on the Senate floor. It turns out she was right and Brennan had to eat crow today. The big question now is will Brennan remain as the head of the CIA. He has always been a controversial player in Washington, DC, and today's revelations may be the beginning of his end.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2013 3 Comments
The first American killed in the Afghan war, during a prisoner uprising in northern Afghanistan.  On November 25, 2001. We have written of Mike Spann several times before, Remembering Johnny “Mike” Spann:
The story of this small band of men has been told, but not told enough. Spann was killed during the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi when Taliban prisoners gained access to weapons and attacked. Spann was killed during that uprising (see video).  One of the prisoners was the so-called American Taliban, John Walker Lyndh, who Spann interrogated shortly before Spann’s death. Spann’s wife Shannon also worked for the CIA.  In addition to his wife, Spann left behind two daughters and an infant son Spann’s family established a website to honor his life, and there is a wealth of information and photos at his Arlington National Cemetery page. There is an interesting honor paid to Spann at the website of Afghan General and Warlord Abdul Radhis Dostum, including a link to a photo of the memorial to Spann at the site of the uprising in which he died.
We also had follow up posts: Now meet his oldest child, daughter Alison:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 25, 2011 5 Comments

The first American killed in the Afghan war, on November 25, 2001.  I've told his story before, but it is worth remembering every year. This interesting video by The Daily Caller recalls the group of special forces similar to Spann, who worked with Afhan warlord Abdul Rahdis...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 03, 2011 4 Comments

Hearing the news of Osama bin Laden's death brought forward many emotions and memories.One of those memories for me was the story of Johnny "Mike" Spann, from Winfield, Alabama, the first American killed in the Afghanistan war, on November 25, 2001.Spann was a CIA operative,...

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