The CIA: A Bad Rap?

The agency is imperfect, but we need it—now more than ever.

By Evan Thomas | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Dec 10, 2007 | Updated: 11:18  a.m. ET Dec 10, 2007

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  • Posted By: awalsh8174 @ 12/20/2007 7:09:49 PM

    I've suspected for some time that the CIA is just like all other government agencies; choked in bureaucracy and paranoidly-focused on it's own survival.

  • Posted By: ghostcommander @ 12/10/2007 5:32:31 PM

    For the most part the CIA has done a good job if they are left alone from the political whims of the Presidency. There should be no political control of any department of government. They should have a mandate/constitution and possible a board of intelligent and knowledgeable people to oversee same.

    • Posted By: Braes @ 12/12/2007 1:52:32 PM

      Good Friend,

      See Ron Suskind's book, The One Percent Doctrine. I understand your sentiment toward politicians.

  • Posted By: nawawimohamad @ 12/12/2007 7:40:31 AM

    I agree with ghostcommander. But what about the covert operations by the CIA, are those operations sanctioned by the president himself?

    • Posted By: Braes @ 12/12/2007 1:45:57 PM

      Good Soul,
      Please look up "plausable deniability" where the job is to always protect the decisionmakers from the results of their actions. See also obfuscate, lie, National Command Authority, Chain of Command, NOC, and covert operations. Otherwise, No Comment ;)

  • Posted By: Maxstake @ 12/11/2007 4:16:35 PM

    Subject: Water Boarding

    Sir,
    Frankly this whole "Secular Progressive" opposition to "Water Boarding" smacks of a deliberate attempt to sabotage our intelligence gathering efforts. Check with those in Military Survival Schools and other volunteers and you will find that they all survived with no residual effect. Senator McCain keeps telling us that the rest of the world will not respect us and will then use "Water Boarding", does that mean we are free to use stoning, whipping, mutilation used by all, that's every other nation uses during interrogation. God Forbid that we use "Water Boarding" that does not cripple or mutilate.
    I say Damn the rest of the world, lets stop the next 9/11.

    Maxstake

    • Posted By: Braes @ 12/12/2007 1:41:21 PM

      Good Man,
      When you open with a tag like Secular Progressive, you falsely assume everyone who might disagree with you is non pious and not Conservative. Opening up an argument going 0 for 2 is hardly going to persuade anyone. If you omit the ad-hominem from the sentence, you lose no meaning and likely get more attention to your point. I attended SERE. Waterboarding is a form of torture. The baseline for a Geneva convention violation is not cripple or mutilate. God Bless you. (Southern Conservative Democrat, Disabled Veteran, Retiree.)

  • Posted By: Braes @ 12/12/2007 1:30:26 PM

    The KGB also missed the coup against Gorbachev. They also didn't shoot the Democracy advocates surrounding Yeltsin, in violation of orders to do so. While the USSR and Yeltsin were both failures, neither were predicted by the local team.
    Our CIA under Porter Goss is what needs a close looking at. The second section of the report on stove-piping of data around agency analysts to Cheney's cabal will be another.
    If you want to stop another 9/11, change our energy model. Torture is just one of many things we have sank to in the name of preventing another 9/11.

  • Posted By: Maxstake @ 12/11/2007 4:15:44 PM

    Subject: Water Boarding

    Sir,
    Frankly this whole "Secular Progressive" opposition to "Water Boarding" smacks of a deliberate attempt to sabotage our intelligence gathering efforts. Check with those in Military Survival Schools and other volunteers and you will find that they all survived with no residual effect. Senator McCain keeps telling us that the rest of the world will not respect us and will then use "Water Boarding", does that mean we are free to use stoning, whipping, mutilation used by all, that's every other nation uses during interrogation. God Forbid that we use "Water Boarding" that does not cripple or mutilate.
    I say Damn the rest of the world, lets stop the next 9/11

  • Posted By: Lets Move Foward...Not backward @ 12/10/2007 5:06:57 PM

    If the CIA is so good, why didn't they know of the 911 attack before hand to prevent that? Afterall intelligence is thier business. If I recall, the Pheonix office of the FBI had pretty good info that something was coming, but FBI and CIA were not talking at that time. Then, the FBI alerted Washington, but they ignored it, and Bush went on vacation.

  • Posted By: deans1 @ 12/10/2007 1:21:56 PM

    Why must we wait for another terrorist attack? Shouldn't 9/11 be enough or does it have to be your office building or home before waterboarding to prevent an attack is ok? I prefer it to be before my home or family is harmed.

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