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28 Nov 2009 12:18

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U.S., World: The U.S. still has an operational secret prison in Afghanistan

  • The black jail was the most dangerous and fearful place. They don’t let the ICRC officials or any other civilians see or communicate with the people they keep there. Because I did not know what time it was, I did not know when to pray.
  • Detained Kandahar spare-parts dealer Hamidullah • Describing the scary situation he faced when he was held at a secret prison at the Bagram Air Base. Hamidullah, who doesn’t use a last name, faced a windowless concrete cell lit by a single light bulb and twice-daily interrogation sessions – the only contact he had with the outside world. Obama had shut many of these secret prisons down in January, but his order only applied to those run by the CIA. This prison is run by Special Ops forces. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Nov 2009 11:14

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U.S.: The CIA wants to hire more Arab Americans. Good luck, guys

  • People have been told, ‘Your name is Mohammed; your name is Ahmed; you must be a terrorist.’ How do you bring people into the government when they have been subjected to a great deal of discrimination?
  • Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani • Discussing the CIA’s plan to try to hire Arab-Americans in Dearborn, Mich. The Detroit suburb, currently the heart of the U.S.’ Middle Eastern community, is being targeted by the CIA to help boost its intelligence ranks and diversity. Many applaud the decision but question the trust Arabs can have with the organization, especially considering the way they’ve been treated by the government post-9/11. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Nov 2009 10:30

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U.S., World: We’re already dumping a lot of money into Pakistan’s intelligence

  • ⅓ of the Pakistan intelligence agency’s cash comes from the CIA source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2009 10:12

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U.S.: CIA: The Fort Hood shooter tried to contact al-Qaeda

  • It’s the first real evidence of a terrorist link so far if true. Yesterday, the Associated Press wrote about a story linking the Fort Hood shooter to a mosque where thousands of people go daily to pray. We didn’t run it because the link seemed very thin, and in fact found it offensive that the AP would make such a link. This, however, is something. The CIA told ABC News today that the shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, tried months ago to get in touch with people related to al-Qaeda. And they’ve known about it for a while. No word on whether he succeeded. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Aug 2009 10:12

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Politics: Cheney: That silly CIA investigation? Pssh, whatever!

  • I’m very proud of what we did in terms of defending the nation for the past eight years, successfully. And it won’t take a prosecutor to find out what I think. I’ve already expressed those views.
  • Dick Cheney • Defending the Bush administration’s record on detainee treatment. Regarding the CIA investigation, which he calls a “political act,” Cheney says “it will depend on the circumstances” whether he cooperates. Why didn’t Cheney talk this much when he was vice president? • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Aug 2009 09:19

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U.S.: The Justice Dept. wants to investigate Bush era prisoner-abuse cases

  • Talk about a can of worms. Just when it seemed like the CIA under the Bush administration would get a pass, the Justice Department has sent recommendations to Attorney General Eric Holder for investigations into nearly a dozen prisoner abuse cases. The cases are mainly based in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama has said he’d like to look forward, not back, but the investigations may force his hand at a bad time. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Aug 2009 23:23

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U.S., World: Know that secret CIA operation? Blackwater was helping out

  • The goal: Kill al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq. Blackwater (now called Xe), which had a huge role in the Iraq conflict for years only to see it fall under the weight of criticism, apparently was involved in that secret CIA operation which freaked out Leon Panetta. The reason Panetta reacted the way he did was due to the fact that private company was involved. That’s right, the CIA had an agreement with American citizens (with no military ties) to find and kill al-Qaeda leadership. We had to write it out to make sure we understood the ramifications of that statement. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

13 Jul 2009 11:09

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Politics, U.S.: Oh great. They’re comparing the Bush-era CIA to Jason Bourne

  • A lot of people thought they were Jason Bourne and came up with ideas. There were programs that were kind of wild that were considered in 2001, but to my knowledge, within six months . . . people kind of gave up on those ideas.
  • A former senior CIA officer • Describing the secret program that Dick Cheney told the CIA to hide from Congress. It was there but never became fully operational, according to the anonymous source. OK, we like the movies. Matt Damon’s never been better (if you forget that he was in “The Departed”). But it’s still not what we should be comparing our covert operations to. There’s a reason why those movies are such good entertainment. They’re not real. (And co-star Julia Stiles is kinda cute.) • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jul 2009 21:29

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Politics: Max Headroom: We wanna know which senator felt up David Brooks

  • Looking back For some stupid reason, the Bush administration’s dirty laundry with the CIA keeps coming up. Neocon icon Bill Kristol builds an intelligent context around the start of this Fox News panel chat.

  • Having her backJohn McCain, pretty much our favorite talking head ever, says some nice, supportive things about his former running mate, the soon-to-resign Sarah Palin, on “Meet the Press.”

  • Touchy-feelyNew York Times reporter David Brooks discusses the time an unnamed senator was feeling up his inner thigh at a dinner a couple years ago. Anyone wanna guess who it was?

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jul 2009 10:06

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U.S.: Bush’s intelligence and torture policies: Getting extra-scrutinized

  • lying The CIA’s friendship level with Congress just went way down. Apparently, former veep Dick Cheney ordered the organization to hide an intelligence program from legislators. This is after the whole lying-to-us fiasco earlier this week with current CIA director Leon Panetta.
  • torture If that wasn’t enough bad PR for both the CIA and Bush administration, Obama Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly looking into investigating their torture policies. Obama doesn’t want the trouble, but Holder’s looking anyway and will decide in the next couple of weeks. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink
 
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