Sunday, December 21, 2014

Americans Side With the CIA


The New York Post offers an editorial that points out that most Americans support the CIA's enhanced interrogation program.

To the likely astonishment of Senate Democrats, it turns out the American people aren’t as horrified by the CIA’s interrogations of terrorist suspects as they were supposed to be.

To the contrary, two recent polls confirm that Americans overwhelmingly endorse interrogation methods Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Dianne Feinstein, denounced as torture in their recent report.

It’s not even close.

Two recent polls — one by The Washington Post/ABC News and one by the Pew Research Center — report Americans overwhelmingly support what the CIA did to keep us safe.

In the Pew survey, slightly more than half of Americans say the CIA’s methods were justified, against only 29 percent who said they were unjustified.

The Washington Post/ABC News poll found Americans endorsing the tactics by a two-to-one ratio.

You can read the rest of the editioral via the below link:

http://nypost.com/2014/12/19/americans-side-with-the-cia/

Note: Over the course of my more than 37 years doing security work in the U.S. Navy and the Defense Department, I received numerous CIA briefngs and I received CIA training. As a writer, I've covered the CIA and I've interviewed a good number of current and former CIA officers.

I found CIA people to be as patriotic and dedicated as the military and civilian employees I worked with in the Defense Department.

While under normal circumstances I would not approve of the enhanced interrogation methods - called "Torture-Lite" by one CIA wit. But one must remember that the days and months following the horrific 9/11 terrorists attacks were a time of uncertainty and there was a realistic fear that the terrorists would follow up with an even greater attack on America.

Like most Americans, I thank the CIA, along with the U.S. military, other goverment agencies and law enforcement, with keeping us safe both then and now.

6 comments:

  1. There is an interesting challenge: for purposes of keeping the CIA within the law -- if that is the goal -- who keeps an eye on those who must work in covert ways? In other words, does anyone have the need to know what the CIA does?

    ReplyDelete
  2. R.T.,

    The CIA has oversight by the National Intelligence Director, the White House and the Congress.

    The CIA's enhanced interrogation progam was vetted and approved by all three.

    Government lawyers (and there were many) all approved the program and said the methods were legal.

    President Obama's Justice Department took a second look at the program and even they had to approve the legality (though I'm sure this made them sad).

    All of today's Congressional critics who were then in office were briefed on the program and the only objection was that the CIA should do more.

    Looking back on the CIA's history, every action the agency took, including the attempts on Castro's life, were approved and ordered by the White House. One should lay blame (it blame is warranted) on the presidents, not the CIA officers.

    They are not now, nor have they ever been, a "rogue" agency.

    The CIA gets a bum rap from the left and from bad and silly movies, TV shows and books.

    I was serving as a Defense Department Command's security guy during 9/11 and I recall how we all scrampled to upgrade our security and intelligence methods to prevent another attack. It was a tough time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I am not faulting the CIA, and I have a lot of negative things to say about the recent report and the political motives, but I still think the problem remains: who spies on the spies, and how shall that be done effectively and appropriately?

      Delete
  3. R.T.,

    As I noted above, the National Intelligence Director, the White House and the Congress "spy" on the spies.

    I think the current oversight is both effect and appropriate.

    As a reporter and a former DoD investigating officer, I'd like to know more about the Senate's investigators.

    Just how much expierence and knowledge do they have? The fact that they did not interview a single current or former CIA officer or CIA official makes the report a non-starter for me.

    Paul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Answer: entrenched political staffers committed to slash and burn liberal ideology. How's that for analysys of the Senate "investigators"!

      Delete