Translated material
Take back control of the CIA
A new spy scandal is breaking out in the US
A new scandal has erupted around the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The reason for it was given by the current head of the spy agency himself, 71-year-old Leon Panetta (pictured) . It became public knowledge that it was only in early June, that is, in the fifth month of his tenure in this position, that he was informed by subordinates of the existence of a secret electronic surveillance program. It was adopted during the presidency of George W. Bush to combat terrorism. But even Congress, which supervises the activities of intelligence officers, did not know about its existence. The details of the program are unknown, but there are suggestions that human rights may have been violated during more sophisticated than usual surveillance of people and organizations.The CIA director, according to rumors, upon learning about the program, which was secret even to him, became furious. He immediately shut down the program and ordered an internal investigation. Now it has become known that on June 24 he went to Capitol Hill, where he reported to congressmen about this story in the relevant committees of the Senate and House of Representatives. He explained that he does not rule out the former CIA leadership concealing other information from legislators.
All this happened behind closed doors, and no sparks of a potential fire reached the press. But recently an open letter appeared from six Democratic legislators who decided to make this story public. House Intelligence Committee member Jane Schakowsky said this is a "very, very serious program that deserves serious discussion." According to her, the time has come to remind intelligence officers “spoiled by the previous administration” of the prerogatives of legislators: “Many times I felt their (CIA representatives - Ed. ) reluctance to come to Congress and give answers to our questions.” Upon learning of the program, “the entire ( Intelligence ) Committee was stunned,” adds her colleague Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.
Leon Panetta's revelations with the subsequent “letter of six” are little by little becoming the subject of partisan confrontation between Republicans and Democrats. According to the former, the revelations are “disproportionately exaggerated” and are intended to help opponents push through their amendment to the CIA budget for the 2010 fiscal year. The amendment would expand the audience for the intelligence community's regular briefings on the Capitol beyond just the top leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives -- eight in total -- to include members of the intelligence committees. Republicans see the story as an attempt to give more weight to loud statements by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said she was not informed of the CIA's "tough interrogations" of terrorist suspects, including simulating drownings.
Republican Congressman Mike Rogers says Democrats are "engaging in political theater." House Minority Leader John Boehner added: “I work closely with intelligence professionals, and they are professionals. I don't believe the CIA lied to Congress. I'm still waiting for Speaker Pelosi to either provide the facts or retract her statement (about interrogations she didn't know about) and apologize."
Democrats are putting forward the idea of creating a “commission with special powers” or “some other” investigative body. This authority should investigate “illegal practices in intelligence activities.” An argument in support of their initiatives may be the conclusions of the report of the inspectors general of five intelligence agencies on the effectiveness of the anti-terrorism program, including operational surveillance and wiretapping. The program was adopted by the George W. Bush administration shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks .
Parts of the report were made public over the weekend. It said that the benefits of the program, shrouded in a veil of “unprecedented secrecy,” turned out to be much less than expected, and its role was “very limited.” This program was allegedly also hidden from Congress for a long time. Moreover, this was done by decision of the country’s top leadership, with “special persistence and activity” of then Vice President Dick Cheney.
The inspectors' findings received a public rebuke yesterday from previous CIA director Michael Hayden. He rejected the tenets of their report, especially the part that talks about the “tactics of concealing” intelligence activities from Congress. Hayden insists that key members of Congress "were kept fully informed at all times."
However, Congress is committed to a serious investigation. Then in the United States the question will inevitably arise about the responsibility before the law of the country’s former leadership, primarily those who were responsible for the activities of the “knights of the cloak and dagger.” The new investigation into the CIA's anti-terrorist practices has every chance of ranking with the famous investigations of the second half of the 1970s - the Pike Commission (House of Representatives) and the Church Commission (Senate). After all, it was based on the results of their work for the CIA that a ban was introduced on activities within the country and committees were created to oversee the activities of this agency: in May 1976, such a committee appeared in the Senate, and a year later - in the House of Representatives.