An Argument as to Why the CIA is Ill-Informed about World Events

CIA’s Deadly Cultural Ignorance, Philip Giraldi, The American Conservative, September 25, 2013

 "Fear of officers "going native" keeps our intelligence agencies ill-informed about Somalia, Syria, and other hotspots." 

The Unending Saga of the CIA's Failures

Decades of failures: Why the CIA keeps blowing it, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, The Salon, August 24, 2013 

CIA Closes Historical Collections Division

CIA closes office that declassifies historical materials, Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times, August 21, 2013

Internal CIA Report: Bad Management Drives Away Talent

Bad management drives talent from CIA, internal reports suggest, Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times, July 29, 2013

Ex-CIA Operative Detained in Panama and Later Released

Ex-CIA operative convicted in Italy of kidnapping Muslim cleric is detained, Greg Miller, Washington Post, July 18, 2013


Panama releases former CIA operative wanted by Italy, Greg Miller, Washington Post, July 19, 2013  

CIA's Black Bag Squads

When wiretaps won't do, the CIA's 'black bag' squads get data the old-fashioned way 
Joshua Kopstein

The CIA's abuse of intelligence ethics

"Melvin Goodman, who spent 24 years at the CIA, says the agency has lost its way. In a recent speech at the University of St. Thomas, Goodman argued that intelligence analysts should be telling "truth to power," but instead he said the CIA has become politicized."  

The CIA's abuse of intelligence ethics, audio broadcast (Real Player), Minnesota Public Radio, 2007

Report on Detainee Treatment Released

The Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment released their 602-page report on April 15, 2013.

The Report of The Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment

A Report on the CIA's Detention and Rendition Program

Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition, Open Society Foundations, February 2013

The CIA's Self-Serving Use of Secrecy

A short editorial piece on the selective use of secrecy by the CIA. 

Secret Double Standard, Ted Gup, New York Times, January 8, 2013

The Moral Choices on Interrogations

The new movie "Zero Dark Thirty" and a yet-to-be-released report approved by the United Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the CIA interrogation program have turned the media spotlight once again on the issue of enhanced interrogation methods. While this article by David Ignatius doesn't cover new ground, it does raise once more the issue of whether the key factor in determining whether enhanced interrogation methods are permissible is the effectiveness of these methods to obtain valuable information. Perhaps certain interrogation methods are never justifiable despite their alleged effectiveness.

Executive Order 13491, signed by President Obama on January 22, 2009, limits interrogation techniques to those "authorized by and listed in Army Field Manual 2 22.3". Certain interrogation techniques deemed "enhanced interrogation methods" used by U.S. officials in the aftermath of the attacks of 9/11 would not be permitted under Executive Order 13491. However, this has not stopped the public debate. Amy Zegart has pointed out, in her recent article "Torture Creep", that surveys indicate that the American public in 2012 is more accepting of enhanced interrogation methods than was the case in 2005. One possible reason for this is that many people might not believe claims that the most vital information can be derived from detainees through non-coercive means. Additionally, in their minds, harsh interrogation methods might demonstrate a level of seriousness in stopping terrorism that other methods do not.

Ultimately, the general public is forced to view the issue as outsiders not privy to the full account of methods used or the actual information obtained. Therefore, outsiders are not in a position to decide what is effective or even whether non-coercive means would have obtained or did in fact obtain the same information. Reliance by the general public on expert opinion or the experiences of "insiders" is hardly unique to intelligence work. However, the secrecy surrounding intelligence work complicates exponentially any attempt at an informed decision on matters such as enhanced interrogation methods. This fumbling in the dark heightens the need for the robust internal oversight of activities whose impact few members of the general public feel directly and for which public information is scarce. 

The Moral Choices on Interrogations, David Ignatius, The Washington Post, December 12, 2012

CIA's Ex-Con Code Thief Reflects On His Career

From NPR:

"NEAL CONAN, HOST:
An elite team of CIA operatives flies overseas, breaks into foreign embassies and steals secret codes, all without leaving a trace. While that might sound like the plotline of a Hollywood film, former CIA officer Doug Groat conducted such missions until he questioned his superiors about sloppy procedures on one operation that almost cost him and his team their freedom or maybe their lives. The battle that ensued between Groat and the CIA led to charges of espionage and extortion and four years in prison. Doug Groat joins us now from member station WUOT in Knoxville. Nice to have you with us today."

CIA's Ex-Con Code Thief Reflects On His Career, National Public Radio, October 15, 2012

The CIA Burglar Who Went Rogue, Smithsonian Magazine, October 2012

1977 CIA Bibliography on Ethics and Intelligence

The following CIA bibliography was released in 2009 as a result of a request made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The bibliography emphasizes resources on secrecy.

Morality and ethics/intelligence and secrecy in our democracy.

Ongoing lawsuit by Vietnam War Veterans against the CIA for drug experimentation

Here's a link to an extensive resource on an ongoing lawsuit originally filed in 2009 in a federal court in the Northern District of California for the alleged experimentation on military personnel of a wide variety of drugs for purposes such as behavior modification and enhancing the ability to withstand torture.

Vietnam Veterans of American, et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency, et al. Case No. CV-09-0037-CW, U.S.D.C. (N.D. Cal. 2009