Posted on 08/17/2007 6:19:12 AM PDT by Kaput
CIA Post Mortem by: Matt Hadro, August 16, 2007
In the final decade before the new millennium, the overall CIA budget plummeted, training bases closed, and the number of recruits for the clandestine service steadily dropped. The agency is still recovering from that decade of decline, said reporter Rowan Scarborough at the Heritage Foundation recently. Since then, the organization’s ability to effectively collect intelligence has been hampered, Scarborough said.
However, since new members became agents during the Clinton years, the organization developed a political bias, not to mention a widespread resort to leaking inaccurate information and the use of “smear” tactics against public figures.
Scarborough, a journalist who reports on national security issues for the Washington Examiner, is the author of the new book Sabotage: America’s Enemies Within the CIA. The work presents a number of examples of recent CIA mishaps, culminating in the leak of information to the press that spurred the Valerie Plame investigation and conviction of Louis Libby.
A “smear,” Scarborough described, is the leakage of unsubstantiated charges that degrade a person’s standing. Though leaks may be good for a reporter or for the education of the people, inaccurate or unnecessary leaks of information may degrade public persons, and even have an adverse effect on a major policy issue.
For example, Vice-President Dick Cheney visited the agency often in the wake of 9/11, to gather valuable information and oversee the intelligence-gathering policies. News sources soon reported that Cheney went to the CIA to “browbeat” them in order to get the information he “really wanted” to hear.
All of these accusations were completely false, however. A Senate bipartisan report concluded that Robert Joseph, the Arms Control officer, never even talked about his information with the CIA. “This, to me, is how you sabotage people,” Scarborough asserted.
An even more damaging leak occurred, however, and on national television. Tyler Drumhelder appeared on “60 Minutes,” representing the CIA. Drumhelder announced that before the Iraq War, the U.S. had a cabinet-level defector who passed the information that Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction. Actually, the defector had confirmed that Saddam did possess weapons of mass destruction. This was a smear that, if it elicited enough public outcry, could very well have led to the impeachment of a President.
Scarborough also remarked that the CIA is the only organization he knows of with an alumni agency that publicly frames Bush as a war criminal. The organization has accomplished some positive goals in the past, such as the creation of the Office of Target Surveillance and Survey, but the facts do not lie. Numerous smears and bad leaks have marred the achievement of the CIA.
As to the current concerns about the agency, a recent investigation into certain clandestine services overseas found a situation considered “appalling.” Untested agents, some of whom could not effectively intermingle for an extended period of time into their respective foreign environments, made up much of the force overseas. Such a policy, combined with a growing mistrust by foreign countries of American intelligence, has spelled a recession in American gathering of information overseas. “Iranians don’t trust the CIA,” Scarborough stated, eliciting spontaneous applause from certain members of his audience at the Heritage Foundation. “That is why we know so little [about Iran].” If the CIA has developed a reputation for bad leaks and a volatile foreign policy, how can they be trusted when seeking vital information from foreign sources?
Matt Hadro was an intern this summer at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.
If you would like to comment on this article, please e-mail mal.kline@academia.org
Yep, another Klinton legacy we’ll be decades purging out of our system.
Iranians don’t trust CIA-—neither do I.
We should level Langley, close CIA, and buy a Magic Eight Ball.
The Magic Eight Ball has just as much accuracy as the CIA’s CYA estimates, and offers the additional value of being unable to leak to the New York Times, Washington Post, or CNN/MSNBC/ABC/CBS/NBC.
Think about it.
I have zero confidence in those that said ‘slam dunk’ then leaked the opposing viewpoint to damange ANOTHER Administration.
The simple fact is CIA leaks have undermined every Administration since the 1960’s at one point or another.
The only thing they seem to be competent at is leaking, shifting blame, and hiding behind ‘Our successes must remain secret’.
Sorry, that dog stopped ‘hunting’ when the Soviet Union collapsed, and CIA had NO CLUE.
Come on, we give the C.I.A tens of billions of dollars a year and they didn’t know the Soviet Union was in free fall even while it was happening.
For the most part it has become just another government agency with folks watching to clock waiting for retirement.
Bickering with themselves.
“In the final decade before the new millennium, the overall CIA budget plummeted, training bases closed, and the number of recruits for the clandestine service steadily dropped....”
Gee, whoda thunk that one men (or woman) could undermine strategic security for the U.S. If we elect Hillary, maybe she can complete the job.
Meanwhile, she’ll increase surveillance on us. ‘1984’, just delayed a few years. Instead of ‘Big Brother’, we’ll get ‘Big NASTY Sister’.
“News sources soon reported that Cheney went to the CIA to “browbeat” them in order to get the information he “really wanted” to hear.”
One of a president’s first duties is to protect his citizenry from foreign threats. To do that he needs the best foreign intelligence possible. A politicized “intelligence” agency is worthless. Our president, no matter who he is, needs to be able to trust his tax payer provided information sources.
Well said, Joe.
After 9/11, I thought what was needed was an organization akin to the O.S.S., the CIA’s predecessor, and an organization that actually had a record of success under very difficult circumstances. The CIA is correctly labelled a bureaucracy, with the interests and inertia of a bureaucracy.
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