AP has a powerful new report out this morning on the CIA’s failure to hold employees accountable for misdeeds. For example:
When a suspected terrorist froze to death in a CIA prison in Afghanistan in 2002, the CIA inspector general faulted Matt, the spy running the prison, and expressed concerns about Paul, the top officer in the country, according to former officials… Paul has risen to become chief of the Near East Division, overseeing operations in the Middle East. Matt has completed assignments in Bahrain, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he was deputy chief of tribal operations.
The CIA has a long history of struggling to defend its personnel against the perceived vagaries of politics. But this time even GOP backers are criticizing the agency. AP quotes Kit Bond: “”Someone who made a huge error ought not to be working at the agency,” former Sen. Kit Bond said in November as he completed his tenure as the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “We’ve seen instance after instance where there hasn’t been accountability.”