Topic: CIA

Obama's Forever War Doesn't End Today

Reuters

President Obama will say he sees a day when the War on Terror comes to an end in a much anticipated speech Thursday afternoon. But when-ish will the War on Terror really end? It's going to be a while — maybe long after Obama has left office.

By Elspeth Reeve

Nov 12, 2012

What We Know About the Petraeus Affair

As more details come out about the alleged affair between former CIA director David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell, it's beginning to look like the story is about more than two married people cheating on their spouses.

Comments | 6,272 Views

By Connor Simpson

Nov 10, 2012

There's a Mystery Third Woman in the Petraeus Affair

New reports coming out about the affair between former CIA director David Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell reveal there was a third woman involved that led the FBI to discover the affair.  

Comments | 45,738 Views

By Connor Simpson

Nov 10, 2012

The Ethicist Letter Wasn't About Petraeus After All

The conspiracy theory that thought the husband of CIA Director David Petraeus' mistress wrote to Chuck Klosterman, the New York Times Magazine's Ethicist, asking whether or not he should expose the affair has been debunked.

Comments | 28,591 Views

By Connor Simpson

Nov 1, 2012

The CIA Gives Its Most Detailed Account of the Benghazi Attack Yet

On the night that militants in Benghazi attacked the U.S. consulate and a U.S. ambassador was killed along with four others, the CIA did nothing wrong during the rescue mission, the Washington Post's David Ignatius reports

Comments | 4,747 Views

By John Hudson

Oct 30, 2012

Pentagon Denies Fox News Benghazi Report

Following a pair of denials by the CIA and the National Security Council to a Fox News story published Friday, the Pentagon has come under scrutiny for its response to the assault on the U.S. compound in Benghazi. However, in a statement to The Atlantic Wire, a senior defense official says the Pentagon never denied requests for military intervention in Benghazi. 

Comments | 9,351 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Oct 15, 2012

Did the CIA Arrange a Marriage in Order to Kill Al-Awlaki?

A Danish spy claims that the third marriage of terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki was actually part of a CIA plot to set up the al-Qaeda leader for a CIA assassination attempt.

Comments | 6,830 Views

By John Hudson

Oct 11, 2012

Should the CIA Share Some of the Blame for Benghazi?

For the last month, the media and Congress have been grilling the State Department for the security failures during the deadly assault on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. But what if the State Department is the wrong target of scrutiny?

Comments | 2,269 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Sep 11, 2012

Bush Knew More About Bin Laden's Plans Than We Realized

Now, 11 years later, new details of the attack on the World Trade Center continue to emerge from the government's vault of classified documents and the journalists who've gained access.

Comments | 57,317 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Sep 6, 2012

U.S. Accused of Torturing Opponents on Behalf of Muammar Qaddafi

Human Rights Watch has released a new report claiming that CIA agents arrested and tortured opponents of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi before turning suspects over to his regime.

Comments | 1,178 Views

By John Hudson

Aug 31, 2012

Navy SEAL Author Rejects the Pentagon's Legal Threat

Former Navy SEAL author Matt Bissonnette is going to tell his version of events surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden, even if the Pentagon sues him for every last penny. 

Comments | 261,687 Views

By John Hudson

Aug 30, 2012

The Government Won't Bring Charges in CIA Detainee Deaths

Nothing to see here: The Justice Department closed its investigation into the deaths of CIA detainees overseas and will not bring any charges, Attorney General Eric Holder announced today.

Comments | 5,101 Views

By John Hudson

Aug 29, 2012

On His Way Out, Arthur Brisbane Rebukes The New York Times Again

He's only got three days left on the job and New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane is making them count: For the second time in a week, he's dinging the Grey Lady's ethical standards.

Comments | 4,148 Views

By John Hudson

Aug 28, 2012

CIA Emails Reveal Winners and Losers of National Security Access

For everyone who didn't get special access to information about the Osama bin Laden raid, today was a little bit discouraging as new e-mails revealed CIA officials gushing over Hollywood filmakers at the expense of trained reporters and documentarians.

Comments | 10,492 Views

By Adam Martin

Aug 28, 2012

New York Times Reporter Ran a Maureen Dowd Column by the CIA

In an example of the kind of cooperation with sources a New York Times editor encouraged reporters to "push back" against earlier this summer, Times reporter Mark Mazzetti shared a Maureen Dowd column with the CIA to assuage concerns before its publication.

Comments | 8,525 Views

By John Hudson

Jun 8, 2012

Israeli Spies Want Credit for Stuxnet

Israel's officials have a message for anyone praising the CIA for its sophisticated cyber attack on Iran: It was our baby.

Comments | 3,943 Views

By John Hudson

Jun 5, 2012

Why Is the Government Now Investigating a Leak It Probably Knew About?

It's the story of the most sophisticated state-sponsored cyber attack in history and now the FBI wants to know how it leaked. The trouble is: It appears the Obama administration permitted the leak in the first place.

Comments | 4,483 Views

Dissecting Obama’s Standard on Drone Strike Deaths

ProPublica's Justin Elliott tries to lay out exactly what's known (not much) about President Obama's policy on drone strikes, what's not (a lot), and what the White House is saying in response to a New York Times report.

Comments | 2,451 Views

By John Hudson

Jun 1, 2012

The Doctor Who Tracked Bin Laden Isn't Safe Anywhere

The jailed Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden is in quite the bind: if he stays inside his Peshawar prison, his fellow inmates won't hesitate to take him out, if he gets released, the Taliban will assassinate him.

Comments | 713 Views

By Cora Currier, ProPublica

May 31, 2012

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Drones

Everyone is talking about drones. Domestically, their surveillance power is being hyped for everything from fighting crimeto monitoring hurricanes or spawning salmon. Meanwhile, concerns are cropping up about privacy, ethics and safety. ProPublica has rounded up some of the best coverage of drones to get you oriented.

Comments | 8,794 Views

By John Hudson

May 24, 2012

Home News From Afar

In Pakistan, No Tears for Imprisoned Doctor

The Pakistani press does not share the outrage of U.S. lawmakers at the 33-year prison sentence of the doctor who helped the CIA locate Osama bin Laden. In fact, Dr. Shakil Afridi, charged with running a fake vaccination clinic to collect bin Laden's DNA, should be glad he wasn't executed according to some Pakistani dailies.  

 

Comments | 747 Views

By John Hudson

May 24, 2012

U.S. Counter-Terrorism Hackers Fight Al Qaeda One Prank at a Time

It's not often we learn about the secret world of government-paid hackers, but when we do, it's fascinating to see how they they leave their mark.

Comments | 2,759 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

May 9, 2012

Latest Underwear Bomber Was Actually a CIA Spy

In a shocking revelation from intelligence sources, the suicide bomber reportedly thwarted trying to blow up a U.S. airliner last month, was actually an informant who willingly turned over the bomb and a top al-Qaeda operative to the CIA. 

Comments | 5,056 Views

By John Hudson

May 8, 2012

Some Dare Call It Conspiracy: What Killed an IAEA Agent in Iran?

There's a perfectly rational explanation for why a U.N. nuclear inspector was killed in Iran today but it's much less intriguing than the conspiracy theories spreading online.

Comments | 2,414 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

May 7, 2012

The CIA Stopped Another Underwear Bomber

Somewhere, secretly, some American spies deserve a pat on the back and a hero's high five for thwarting an Al Qaeda bomb plot that was supposed to bring down a United States-bound plane.

Comments | 5,143 Views

By John Hudson

Apr 30, 2012

Ex-CIA Interrogator: Obama's War on Terror Is Less Ethical Than Bush's

The former head of the CIA's Clandestine Service Jose Rodriguez says President Obama is waging the nation's war against radical Islam in a far more brutal manner than his predecessor President George W. Bush.

Comments | 8,474 Views

By John Hudson

Apr 27, 2012

Ex-DOJ Official: Decision Withholding Bin Laden's Death Photos Was 'Flawed'

A federal judge overlooked a key legal requirement in his ruling rejecting the a lawsuit seeking the release of Osama bin Laden's death photos, says Dan Metcalfe, the former director of the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy.

Comments | 1,956 Views

By Adam Martin

Feb 10, 2012

Anonymous Claims Credit for Taking Down the CIA's Website

The Central Intelligence Agency's website CIA.gov is unresponsive in what looks a lot like a denial of service attack, and Anonymous is taking credit.

Comments | 1,022 Views

By Adam Martin

Feb 6, 2012

The C.I.A.'s Silence on Drone Strikes Is Getting Awkward

The C.I.A.'s policy of silence around its drone program has really gotten in the agency's way as it tries to defend against a scathing new investigative report that found U.S. drones target rescuers and funerals in Pakistan.

Comments | 2,029 Views

By Eric Randall

Jan 26, 2012

After Scandal, CIA Is Removing Agent from the NYPD

After a probe resulted from reports that the CIA was helping the New York Police Department set up surveillance programs in the Muslim community, the CIA is removing its agent from the NYPD, reports the Associated Press.

Comments | 1,552 Views

By Adam Martin

Jan 25, 2012

Accused Leaker's Wife Quits CIA

The former C.I.A. analyst accused of leaking classified information to journalists faces 30 years in prison, but his wife's already feeling the fallout, having been forced to quit the agency, insiders told The Washington Post.

Comments | 981 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 23, 2012

CIA Clearly Doesn't Like Ex-Agents Talking to Journalists

The CIA announced the arrest of John Kiriakou, a former agent, for leaking classified information, marking the second time this month the agency is sending the message that it doesn't like its ex-agents to be talking to reporters.

Comments | 1,459 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 9, 2012

Iran Gives Death Sentence to American Accused of Spying

Amir Hekmati, an American citizen who was accused by Iran of being a spy for the CIA, has been sentenced to death by that country's Revolutionary Court.

Comments | 2,186 Views

By John Hudson

Dec 8, 2011

A Guide to the Federal Government's Holiday Parties

It's not something the federal government likes to admit but every December, the faceless men and women of the U.S. government are allotted a holiday party to toast the year's successes. 

Comments | 14,985 Views

CIA Had a Secret Prison in a Romanian Suburb

In one of the more bizarre things you'll read about the CIA today, the secret Romanian prison the agency had been suspected of running has been found -- not in a some remote location tucked in the country's mountainside but in a tree-lined suburb of the nation's capital, Bucharest.

Comments | 1,205 Views

By Adam Martin

Dec 6, 2011

That Secret Drone Lost in Iran Was Flying for the C.I.A.

The U.S. lost one of its most advanced surveillance drones on a C.I.A. mission in Iran, unnamed "U.S. officials" said on Monday, which means Tehran now likely possesses the stealth aircraft.

Comments | 6,478 Views

By Adam Martin

Nov 21, 2011

Hezbollah's Shoe-Leather Approach to Exposing U.S. Spies

An Associated Press story Monday on the CIA's "badly damaged" operation in Lebanon gives a rare glimpse into the methodology used by opposing intelligence networks to track down U.S. spies, which look a lot like old-school P.I. work. 

Comments | 2,130 Views

By Ted Mann

Nov 20, 2011

A Spy's Family Is Divided by His Portrayal on Film

Former CIA Director William Colby comes off as cold, mysterious and ultimately suicidal in his son's documentary, The Man Nobody Knew. The rest of Colby's family disagrees.

Comments | 1,552 Views

By Ray Gustini

Nov 14, 2011

What the Tweet?

Smooth Segues, Aggressive Kids, and Negotiating with Jerks

After a day of staring at Twitter, we're sharing our favorite tweets that made no sense.

Comments | 246 Views

By Ted Mann

Nov 13, 2011

Bachmann Thinks the ACLU Runs the CIA (It Doesn't)

Rep. Michele Bachmann doubled down on her claim that the ACLU dictates CIA policy on Sunday morning talk show appearances. Commentators would beg to differ.

Comments | 6,207 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Nov 4, 2011

Now the CIA Is Spying on Twitter

Meet the Open Source Center, the unassumingly-named CIA offshoot that spies on the world through "pores over Facebook, newspapers, TV news channels, local radio stations, Internet chat rooms -- anything overseas that anyone can access and contribute to openly," the Associated Press's Kimberly Dozier reports.

Comments | 1,291 Views

By Erik Hayden

Nov 4, 2011

Pakistani Complaints Led to New Rules for U.S. Drone Strikes

It seems that some top U.S. officials were concerned about our roaming, Hellfire missile-equipped Predator drones in Pakistan--so some concessions have been made about when they can and can't target terrorists, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Comments | 1,694 Views

By Ted Mann

Sep 3, 2011

Files Show CIA Worked Closely with Libyan Spy Agency

Documents suggest the agency sent terrorism suspects, despite reports of torture

Comments | 837 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Aug 31, 2011

CIA Renditions Airplanes Previously Transported Sports Teams

Washington Post uncovers strange, chilling details of the murky program

Comments | 3,276 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Aug 25, 2011

The CIA Is Helping the NYPD Spy, Probably on Muslims

Police confirmed that an agent is teaching officers espionage techniques

Comments | 631 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Aug 11, 2011

Richard Clarke Makes New 9/11 Coverup Allegations

Bush's former counterterrorism czar says a failed recruiting operation blinded the CIA

Comments | 2,773 Views

By John Hudson

Aug 4, 2011

The U.S. Blew a Chance to Tap Bin Laden's Cell Phone Before 9/11

Inter-agency squabbling doomed an Afghan wireless network intelligence project

Comments | 4,501 Views

By Uri Friedman

Jul 12, 2011

Did the CIA Do Enough to Protect Bin Laden's Hunter?

An analyst has gone "under cover" amidst speculation about his identity

Comments | 22,844 Views

By Ray Gustini

Jul 11, 2011

CIA Set Up Fake Vaccination Drive to Gather Bin Laden Intel

The Guardian says the Pakistani doctor who worked with the agency has been arrested

Comments | 1,562 Views

By Uri Friedman

Jul 5, 2011

Profiling the CIA Analyst Behind the Bin Laden Raid Isn't Easy

The analyst, identified only as "John," spent ten years hunting the al-Qaeda leader

Comments | 10,863 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jun 30, 2011

Criminal Investigation Into Bush-Era Prisoner Deaths Announced

The Department of Justice is extending its probe into the CIA's post-9/11 activities

Comments | 924 Views

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