House Intel. Committee to Investigate CIA's Handling of Cancelled Program

by CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.), Staff Writer

The House Intelligence Committee has decided to investigate the CIA’s handling of its recently reported cancelled assasination program.

This is probably the beginning of many American Intelligence Community investigations by the House and Senate.  Whether this is a good or bad thing is a matter of opinion.  But it appears unstoppable now.  Read the Story below…..

House Will Investigate CIA’s Handling of Canceled Program

By Paul Kane

The House intelligence committee decided today to launch an investigation into allegations that the CIA broke the law by not informing Congress about a program launched in late 2001 to capture or assassinate al-Qaeda leadership.

"The committee must be kept fully and currently informed of significant intelligence activities as required by law," Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement.

CIA Director Leon Panetta first learned about the secret program on June 23, as agency officials were considering an effort to relaunch the program. It has been described by officials as an on-again, off-again attempt that has never been fully operational.

Panetta immediately canceled the program, which involved attempting to form small teams of operatives and move them into the mountain terrain of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as opposed to the agency’s main weapon of choice against the terrorist group’s leaders, drone planes.

Panetta appeared on Capitol Hill the next day to inform the House and Senate intelligence committees about the program and his decision to cancel it. Current and former administration officials, as well as sources on Capitol Hill, have said that shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks then-Vice President Cheney gave the order to not inform the committees of the secret program.

Republicans have rejected the need for an investigation, saying that the program was necessary in the effort to go after terrorists. Since the program was never operational, there was no need to inform Congress about it, they contend.

Democrats, however, decided to launch the probe, some of which will be handled by the panel’s investigative subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). Reyes indicated that the probe would explore the full issue of how and when Congress needs to be briefed on intelligence matters.

"This investigation will focus on the core issue of how the congressional intelligence committees and Congress are kept fully and currently informed," he said.

CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said the agency would "work closely with the committee on this review." He added, "Like Chairman Reyes, the agency’s goal is that this new investigation not become a distraction to the men and women of CIA, who have the vital mission of protecting the United States from foreign threats."

For decades Congress and the CIA have battled over the 1947 law that formed the agency and what it requires in terms of congressional briefings. It included a provision mandating that the committees be kept "fully and currently informed" of intelligence issues. Even for covert actions, lawmakers on the committees generally must be notified.

But the law also says such briefings should be done "to the extent consistent with due regard for the protection from unauthorized disclosure of classified information relating to sensitive intelligence sources and methods or other exceptionally sensitive matters."

Staff writer Joby Warrick contributed to this report.