Inside Cheney’s Secret CIA Program
An impressive scoop by (yes), the Wall Street Journal. Here’s the rundown of Siobhan Gorman’s story:
1. In 2001, President Bush granted authorization to the CIA to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives.
2. The program had not become officially fully operational by the time Panetta terminated it - though “the agency spent money on planning and possibly some training.”
3. “In 2001, the CIA also examined the subject of targeted assasinations of al Qaeda leaders.”
4. According to a former senior intelligence official, the program was an attempt “to achieve a capacity to carry out something that was directed” (in Bush’s authorization).”
5. Congress had been briefed on Bush’s directive.
6. The secret program allegedly seeked “to build teams of CIA and military Special Forces commandos to emulate what the Israelis did after the Munich Olympics terrorist attacks.”
7. The goal was to “kill them all.”
So there you have it, folks. Heavy John LeCarre stuff for yr Monday.
