By their very nature, organizations such as the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency will never be in total harmony with democratic ideals–or realities. We all, of course, get national security. We all, however, will never agree on what is permissible in its name.
But we can all probably agree on this: Can’t those charged with national security responsibilities at least be competent in their sleuthing?
We already know about Edward Snowden and how he–whether you believe he’s a traitor or a whistle-blower–had NSA access far beyond his pay grade and GED diploma.
*We now know that former CIA Director Leon Panetta revealed secret information to a Zero Dark Thirty scriptwriter. Sure, it helped make the movie more authentic, but cinema verite was hardly part of Panetta’s purview.
He was speaking at CIA headquarters about the Osama bin Laden raid and sharing insider background. He flat-out didn’t know who the scriptwriter was. He just assumed he had the proper security clearance. He didn’t.
That’s not show biz. That’s worrisome.
*Then there was the recent disclosure of what Robert Levinson was actually up to in Iran. Levinson is the American who vanished there nearly seven years ago. We now know the CIA paid his family $2.5 million to head off a revealing lawsuit. The revelation? A team of CIA analysts, with no authority to run spy operations, was paying Levinson to gather intelligence under the cover of being on business trips. Say what?
Just another reminder that the rogue CIA culture didn’t disappear when President John F. Kennedy fired CIA director Allen Dulles.