MetaFilter posts tagged with Cia

Deep politics

Abiezer — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:57:33 -0800

Lobster: The Journal of Parapolitics was started in 1983 by Robin Ramsay and Stephen Dorril, two conspiracy enthusiasts who weren't actually nuts and believed in proper research. The magazine primarily covered the activities of the British security and intelligence services and what they term 'parapolitics'. They've had a brochure website for a while with some sample articles, but starting from the current issue the full journal will be free online (PDF download). The pair had a falling-out some time ago and have gone their separate ways. On his personal site Dorril, now also the author of a well-received study of Mosley and the Blackshirts, offers early back issues of the magazine for free download too.

The MagiCIAn

Abiezer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:02:02 -0800

When the CIA tried its hand at magic A top-secret 1950s training manual for CIA field agents, based on the knowledge of famous magician John Mulholland, has been made available to the public. Via

Former Blackwater CEO Claims He was a CIA Operative

workerant — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:58:35 -0800

Blackwater (now known as Xe) has had a rough few years. The company, and its former CEO Erik Prince, have been the subject of allegations including murder, arms smuggling, child prostitution and wholesale massacre. Erik Prince has told Vanity Fair that he was a CIA operative and that someone has turned against him and "thrown him under a bus" by leaking his CIA associations to the public. He even compared his public outing to that of Valerie Plame. Mr. Prince has also been an outspoken and generous contributor to mostly-Republican political candidates. Previously on MeFi: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and many more.

Maziar Bahari

netbros — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:43:55 -0800

118 Days, 12 Hours, 54 Minutes — On June 21, reporter Maziar Bahari was rousted out of bed and taken to Tehran's notorious Evin prison—accused of being a spy for the CIA, MI6, Mossad…and Newsweek magazine. This is the story of his captivity. CBS 60 Minutes feature. "Mr. Rosewater was to be my nemesis for 118 days, 12 hours, and 54 minutes. He never told me his name. I saw his face only twice. The first time was when he led the team that arrested me. "This prison can be the end of the line for you if you don't cooperate" were his welcoming words. The second and last time was after I was freed—and warned by him never to speak of what had happened to me in jail. If I disobeyed, he said, I would be hunted down. "We can put people in a bag no matter where in the world they are," he said menacingly. "No one can escape from us." I did not believe him. I do not believe him. But the doubt lingers, which is what he wanted—what the regime he serves wants from all of us, in fact. They are masters of uncertainty, instilling it among their enemies, their subjects, their friends, perhaps even themselves." via niacINsight

Japan's Media Environment

armage — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:21:13 -0800

Japan -- Media Environment Open; State Looms Large (August 2009, PDF) A detailed, 67-page overview and analysis of Japan's traditional and new media environment published by the Open Source Center, an office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Borderline Human Experimentation

scrutiny — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:06:33 -0800

PHR (Physicians for Human Rights) have released a new report (pdf) that details the extent to which doctors were involved in monitoring and recording data on detainees subjected to waterboarding and other techniques [via] From the article:

A team of PHR doctors authored the white paper, which details how the CIA relied on medical expertise to rationalize and carry out abusive and unlawful interrogations. It also refers to aggregate collection of data on detainees’ reaction to interrogation methods. Physicians for Human Rights is concerned that this data collection and analysis may amount to human experimentation and calls for more investigation on this point. If confirmed, the development of a research protocol to assess and refine the use of the waterboard or other techniques would likely constitute a new, previously unknown category of ethical violations committed by CIA physicians and psychologists.

Federal prosecutors to investigate abusive interrogation cases

grobstein — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:57:07 -0800

Big Newsfilter: US Attorney General Holder appoints a prosecutor to investigate abusive CIA interrogations in the War on Terror. Obama was reluctant to investigate Bush admin wrongdoing, and he still insists "he thinks that we should be looking forward, not backward" (per his deputy press secretary). But Holder managed to get the go-ahead. Previously.

The CIA in Tibet

nickyskye — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:06:35 -0800

The CIA in Tibet l the Cold War in ShangriLa l The CIA's Secret War In Tibet by Kenneth Conboy and James Morrison, the entire book online. The CIA Circus: Tibet's Forgotten Army Tibet, the 'great game' and the CIA (Wikipedia's definition of "the Great Game" and "the new Great Game") Review of The CIA's Secret War in Tibet

CIA Director Leon Panetta has terminated a "very serious" covert program the spy agency kept secret from Congress for eight years, Rep. Jan Schakowsky says.

pallen123 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:15:31 -0800

CIA Chief Panette ends "very serious" program hidden during Bush years from Congress CIA Director Leon Panetta has terminated a "very serious" covert program the spy agency kept secret from Congress for eight years, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a House Intelligence subcommittee chairwoman, said Friday. Schakowsky is pressing for an immediate committee investigation of the classified program, which has not been described publicly. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has said he is considering an investigation. "The program is a very, very serious program and certainly deserved a serious debate at the time and through the years," Schakowsky told The Associated Press in an interview. "But now it's over."

Operation Midnight Climax

homunculus — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:00:27 -0800

Operation Midnight Climax is a new web series about how the CIA used prostitutes to test LSD on unsuspecting American citizens. "Operation Midnight Climax was a CIA mind-control research program that began in the 1950's. The project consisted of CIA-run safehouses in San Francisco, Marin and New York. It was established in order to study the effects of LSD on unconsenting individuals. Prostitutes on the CIA payroll were instructed to lure clients back to the safehouses, where they were given a wide range of substances, including LSD, and monitored behind two-way mirrors." [Via]

Big Spook On Campus

Joe Beese — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:11:46 -0800

The 2004 Intelligence Authorization Act included funding for a pilot program that provided scholarships in exchange for recipients completing at least one summer internship in the intelligence agencies. The Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program (PRISP) was praised in National Review but criticized by humanities organizations as a threat to academic integrity. The 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act [400kb pdf] submitted to Congress by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair makes the program a permanent budget item. Program applicants are encouraged to use discretion before disclosing their interest in the Agency to friends and family.

Leon Panetta and the C.I.A.

homunculus — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:20:09 -0800

The Secret History: Can Leon Panetta move the C.I.A. forward without confronting its past?

Be all that you can be

Joe Beese — Tue, 19 May 2009 06:52:11 -0800

The Department of Veterans Affairs has reported that military scientists tested hundreds of chemical and biological substances on them, including VX, tabun, soman, sarin, cyanide, LSD, PCP, and World War I-era blister agents like phosgene and mustard. The full scope of the tests, however, may never be known. As a CIA official explained to the GAO, referring to the agency's infamous MKULTRA mind-control experiments, "The names of those involved in the tests are not available because names were not recorded or the records were subsequently destroyed." Besides, said the official, some of the tests involving LSD and other psychochemical drugs "were administered to an undetermined number of people without their knowledge."

Just Following Orders

empath — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:49:46 -0800

Torture Memos Released

As we explained in the Section 2340A Memorandum, "pain and suffering" as used in Section 2340 is best understood as a single concept, not distinct concepts of "pain" as distinguished from "suffering"... The waterboard, which inflicts no pain or actual harm whatsoever, does not, in our view inflict "severe pain or suffering". Even if one were to parse the statute more finely to treat "suffering" as a distinct concept, the waterboard could not be said to inflict severe sufering. The waterboard is simply a controlled acute episode, lacking the connotation of a protracted period of time generally given to suffering.

Ambinder breaks it down, Greenwald rants.

Voices from the Black Sites

shoesfullofdust — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:38:59 -0800

Interrogation techniques used by the CIA on al-Qaeda suspects "constituted torture", according to a report by the International Red Cross.

"Secrecy, being an instrument of conspiracy, ought never to be the system of a regular government."

saulgoodman — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:46:49 -0800

In yet another case of possible criminality within The Company ranks, the CIA's station chief in Algeria is facing investigation for sexual assualt, accused of having drugged and sexually assaulted at least two Algerian women. Though recent events have raised doubts about the prosecution of other possible crimes at the CIA, this case may actually lead to an eventual conviction. After all, he made tapes.

Cyberbattles in the shadows

msalt — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:16:52 -0800

Hacking Al-Qaeda's websites: Hacker wars are the latest front in the fight against Al Qaeda. CNN says here that AQ may be unable to post propaganda videos as a result. But who is attacking? As far back as 2002, people speculated that Western intelligence agencies had compromised them, and a pornographer claimed he did. More recently, there are Shiite vs. Sunni battles, as when Ayatollah Sistani's website was cracked. In 2004, Zarqawi's site was breached.

"I don't talk about techniques"

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:30:17 -0800

In a new article in the Washington Post: "The Bush administration issued a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 that explicitly endorsed the agency's use of interrogation techniques such as waterboarding against al-Qaeda suspects". These documents were requested by then CIA director George Tenet, who told 60 Minutes last year (in conjuction with the publication of his book, In the Center of the Storm), ""The image that's been portrayed is, we sat around the campfire and said, 'Oh, boy, now we go get to torture people.' Well, we don't torture people. Let me say that again to you. We don't torture people. Okay?"

Julia Child, Superspy

mynameisluka — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:55:12 -0800

Julia Child apparently liked to mix cooking and covert operations. What did the beloved chef have in common with Arthur Schlesinger and baseball's Moe Berg? A career with the OSS, that's what. The CIA precursor's papers have recently been released, revealing Child's involvement in the agency. Unfortunately, Julia's secret service could not be mentioned in her autobiography, My Life in France, which is currently being adapted into a movie starring Meryl Streep.

Ron Suskind Says White House Forged Iraq-Al Qaeda Letter

ericb — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:04:53 -0800

In his new book, 'The Way of the World' "Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind claims that, after the Iraq war began, the White House ordered the CIA to forge a back-dated, handwritten letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam Hussein, in an attempt to tie Hussein to the 9/11 attacks."^* Suskind writes: "'It said that 9/11 ringleader Mohammad Atta had actually trained for his mission in Iraq' and that Iraq bought yellowcake uranium from Niger with the help of al Qaeda. Suskind also claims that the Bush administration had information from a top Iraqi intelligence official "that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq – intelligence they received in plenty of time to stop an invasion." After the fake letter was released in late 2003, press outlets reported it as evidence of a Saddam/al Qaeda link. "Now, if this is true, that blows the lid off al Qaeda—Saddam," said Bill O’Reilly at the time. "The White House plans to push back hard," Politico reports. Former CIA Director George Tenet today called the charges 'ridiculous' and questioned whether Suskind is a 'serious journalist.' 'There was no such order from the White House to me,' he said. On NBC’s Today Show [video|01:34], Suskind said Tenet simply does not remember the letter — but Tenet’s staff does:

'I think this is part of George’s memory issue....He seems not to remember it. That’s at least what he claims. In this book, instead of going to George, I went to all the people around George, close to George, who remember because they were involved in the thing, and they remember what George says to them.'

After a White House meeting, Tenet went back to the CIA and ordered his staff to forge the letter. 'Listen Marine, you’re not going to like this, but here goes,' Tenet told Rob Richer, former head of the CIA’s Near East Division, according to Richer.^*

Death of a Banana

cinemafiend — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:34:23 -0800

The world loves the banana - they are the world's most popular fruit and the fourth most consumed food on our planet. According to Johann Hari in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, it appears that the variety of bananas loved the world over - the Cavendish - is headed for extinction due to Fusarium oxysporum (Panama disease). Apparently, this is not the first time that a variety of bananas has gone extinct. Before 1960, the Gros Michel was the world's most popular banana - it was said to have been bigger and tastier than the Cavendish -until Fusarium oxysporum wiped it from the face of the earth. By the way, the U.S. Government used Fusarium oxysporum, as a biological weapon in South America in an attempt to eradicate the coca plant. As you may have gleaned from the articles above, troubled and violent history of the business of bananas (involving the C.I.A.and United Fruit) as well as the future of the seemingly innocuous yellow fruit are explored in David Koeppel's Banana:The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World.

Vang Pao

homunculus — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:05:22 -0800

Gen. Vang Pao’s Last War. "The U.S. government relied on Vang Pao and his Hmong soldiers to battle Communism in the jungles of Laos. Why is the Justice Department now calling him a terrorist?" The Hmong in America and Vang Pao were previously discussed here and here.

Bad Company

msalt — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:26:25 -0800

The CIA's Odd Man Out: CIA station chief Bob Lady coordinated the secret kidnapping of Islamic militant Abu Omar in Milan and Omar's "extreme rendition" to Egypt where he was tortured. Italy indicted various CIA agents; Lady is on the run in Central America, abandoned by the agency. The twist: Lady opposed the mission all along. And Abu Omar will probably end up with Lady's home in the foothills of the Alps. Lady's boss -- Jeff Castelli, then head of intelligence operations in Italy -- simply received a reprimand and is being groomed for promotion, despite the arrest warrant out for him in Europe. (See "Backchannel Chatter" at end of this article. ) More on Lady's situation from the March, 2007 GQ; Omar's description of these events from the Chicago Tribune.

When we go to win a war, we win it.

Smedleyman — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:42:06 -0800

American Drug War - The Last White Hope (in case you missed it on Showtime) Includes footage of and interviews with gang members, narcs, prisoners (like Tommy Chong), and other folks on the front lines of the drug war including Freeway Ricky Ross (infamous for starting the crack epidemic) and DEA Agent Celerino Castillo who both wound up working for the CIA. Drug WarRant site mentioned in the film.

Archangel, the CIA's Supersonic A-12 Reconnaissance Aircraft

cog_nate — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:22:06 -0800

Quick, identify this plane. SR-71 Blackbird, right? Wrong. It's the A-12. Hundreds of documents pertaining to the A-12 program (codenamed OXCART) were declassified last September, and the CIA has rolled out a series of historical articles dedicated to development of the plane and its derivatives, including the SR-71 (Blackbird on left). There are some really cool photos, too, including this one of an engine test.