The CIA, Dick Cheney, and hit men
Did the CIA just scrap a top-secret plan to assassinate al Qaida leaders? If so, why?
Congressional Democrats are “indignant” about a top-secret post-9/11 CIA program to kill al Qaida operatives, said Mark Theissen in National Review Online, because they were not fully briefed on it. “Excuse me, but this is the Democrats’ idea of a scandal?” Most Americans would “not only expect but demand” that we kill al Qaida’s leaders. And the leaking of this now-canceled program is probably why they weren’t informed in the first place.
Dick Cheney ordered the program hidden from Congress because it “pushed the limits of legality,” said Chris McGreal in Britain’s The Guardian, by “planning to assassinate al Qaida operatives in friendly countries without the knowledge of their governments.” But even that wouldn’t be too controversial—there have been many killings and detentions since 9/11, and President Obama has even stepped up unmanned Predator aerial killings
Roaming CIA hit squads make a good story, but ex-CIA officials point to a “somewhat less dramatic” possibility, said Bobby Ghosh in Time: The program involved domestic surveillance. Spying on Americans falls way “outside the CIA’s purview,” and it would be controversial enough to explain CIA chief Leon Panetta’s quick cancellation, and Cheney’s order for it to be “kept under wraps.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Leaving aside the politics, morality, and specific legality of whatever program was in the works, said Mark Daniels in The Moderate Voice, under what authority did Cheney order its “cover-up”? If I read the Constitution correctly, so long as the president is not incapacitated, the vice president “possesses no executive (or operational) authority.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 28, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - airline safety, teleprompter gaffs, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 doom 'n' gloom cartoons about the mess we're in
Cartoons Artists take on long-term pessimism, dystopian fears, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Church of England's legacy of slavery
The Explainer Should the CofE offer financial redress for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade?
By The Week UK Published