More on the CIA Scapegoat Hunt
By Larry Johnson on August 30, 2009 at 10:35 PM in Current Affairs
The churning in the media and blogosphere about the CIA’s dastardly deeds is largely smokescreen. The Blackwater stuff, particularly the allegation that they were hired assassins to kill Al Qaeda (which, if it were true, would not be a bad thing) is a red herring. Blackwater is a convenient villain and they certainly made money out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but when the truth comes out it will be evident that they were not hired assassins. Guarding a CIA installation or running a security detail for a dignitary is one thing (which they did).
The key point I think is that the CIA Inspector General’s report (John Helgerson) has been available to members of the intelligence committees on the Hill for at least 4 years, maybe five. The 2009 “discovery” that there was gambling in the casino strikes me as very self-serving, especially for members of Congress. The Democrats have now been in control of the Congress since 2006, so let’s start the clock at 2006 and ask why Congress has refused to press the Executive branch on these matters?
There were two types of abuses–1) abuses carried out with the permission/approval of Tenet and the DDO and 2) abuses carried out in the field with no clear guidance that were subsequently punished. Helgerson’s report makes it pretty clear that there were folks in position of responsibility who did try to blow the whistle and were appalled by some of the activities. I can understand why Bush and his Administration blocked the investigations and exposure of misdeeds but that still does not explain why the Democratic controlled Congress sat on its hands for three years.
Which brings me back to Pelosi. Feigned outrage about being “lied” to when she was too lazy to even ask questions and require answers earns her no sympathy in my book. And what about Rockefeller and Harmon? They knew and did nothing to press the issue.
I’m not arguing that we should ignore wrong doing by CIA officers. There is no excuse for such behavior. But most of the egregious behavior appears to have been carried out by contractors (non-blackwater) who had prior experience with military SERE training rather than career CIA officers. The CIA officers that should be under the magnifying glass–Tenet, McLaughlin, Pavitt, Black, Crumpton, etc.–don’t appear to be facing much heat. What bothers me is that Helgerson did his job and fulfilled the purpose of the IG but, when it came time for accountability, the system on both the Executive and Congressional branches of government brokedown and they did nothing with John’s info. Helgerson is one of the heroes of this sordid tale. It now appears that the scapegoat hunt is going after lower level functionaries rather than hold accountable those responsible for setting up and approving the violations that occurred.
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