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Saturday, January 5, 2013

News Former C.I.A. Officer Is the First to Face Prison for a Classified Leak

Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sat, Jan 5, 2013 at 11:46 AM

That's the headline of this fascinating New York Times profile of John C. Kiriakou, who was the first C.I.A. officer to speak out about waterboarding. He later gave a reporter the name of covert C.I.A. officer he thought had retired, but hadn't, an operative who had a supervisory role in the C.I.A.'s rendition program. (The reporter didn't even publish the name, but the F.B.I. found the disclosure by going through Kiriakou's email.) Kiriakou fully admits he shouldn't have given the name, and pleaded guilty to a deal that will see him locked up for 30 months.

One retired C.I.A. officer quoted in the piece describes Kiriakou as "an exceptionally good intelligence officer" who does not deserve to go to prison:

“To me the irony of this whole thing is, very simply, that he’s going to be the only C.I.A. officer to go to jail over torture,” even though he publicly denounced torture... “It’s deeply ironic under the Democratic president who ended torture.”

The whole thing is worth a read if you like spy stuff, journalism stuff, and spies-talking-to-journalists stuff. And who doesn't?

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Comments (11) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

I always imagined working for the C.I.A. was a bit like being a cook for a monster. You never know when you might end up on the menu yourself.

Posted by Pope Peabrain on January 5, 2013 at 3:14 PM

And Cheney will never face a modicum of accountability for smearing Valerie Plame. So frustrating.

Posted by six five on January 5, 2013 at 3:16 PM

and obama violated international law, decency, etc., plus his oath, in not prosecuting torturers.

Posted by rightward ho we go on January 5, 2013 at 6:10 PM

@2
Exactly what I was going to post. He didn't smear her - he outed her as an operative while she was in place on duty. He didn't even have the excuse that he thought she had retired.

Posted by Lymis on January 5, 2013 at 6:33 PM

And of course, Obama didn't end torture; he merely outsourced it to Afghanistan.

Posted by cheakamus on January 5, 2013 at 6:49 PM

Not to mention Obama's set things up so that not only the programs under which he's killing people, including American citizens, is secret, the American people can't even know what the law (or legal interpretation) is he's using to justify it is.

Secret laws that only the government knows. I like Obama in a lot of areas, but on this count he's an oathbreaker shredding the Constitution.

And more people ought to be reading Glenn Greenwald and Conor Friedersdorf on this issue. And then screaming bloody murder to their representatives about it.

Posted by Corydon on January 5, 2013 at 6:57 PM

So here I am in Puerto Villarta all this week.

I've been noticing a trend when I visit restaurants. The Free Shot of Tequila. The owner comes out with a big flourish, slams the bottle down with a couple of glasses and says "I am going to give you a free shot of tequila". Wow..this is the Old Country right. Except the "tequila" barely tastes more alcoholic than water. Want another shot of tequila...completely free? Why..so I can feel even less drunk that I am now?

Only question is whether the Free Shot of Tequila is a tourist thing or a practical joke. They love that here.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on January 5, 2013 at 7:57 PM

Prez Drone KIlla. I wonder how many more kids he has killed then Lanza. Has any President shit on a peace prize more than he?

Posted by Lew Siffer on January 5, 2013 at 8:46 PM

@6, The Stranger used to quote Glenn Greenwald quite a bit....until January 2009 that is

Posted by Last of the Time Lords on January 6, 2013 at 6:23 AM

Yup, another of the many victims of Obama's War On Whitleblowers the WOW War of the Bush-Obama administration.

Unfortunately, it didn't garner much publicity when that lady scientiest over at the EPA was finally reinstated, and she blasted the holy hell out of Obama and his administration (and yes, the good doctor is a registered democrat) for their continuation of Bush's attack against her, and all the other whistleblowers, but that's why they call it the Bush-Obama administration, after all!

Keep on, keeping on there, Drone Master Obama (and his Nobel Peace Prize) . . . . .

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/01/e…

Posted by sgt_doom on January 6, 2013 at 12:33 PM

Speaking of the War On Whistleblowers, I'm trying to remember where I came across this:

29C3 Panel: Jesselyn Radack, Thomas Drake, William Binney on whistleblowing and surveillance - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDM3MqHln…

Enemies of the State: What Happens When Telling the Truth about Secret US Government Power Becomes a Crime -- Blowing the Whistle on Spying, Lying & Illegalities in the Digital Era

Panel presented at 29C3 (29th Chaos Communication Congress), 27 December 2012.... Q&A afterward is not included in this video.

Posted by PCM on January 6, 2013 at 2:59 PM