Political Spinner

Ali Soufan, a former FBI supervisory special agent, who was intimately involved with interrogation of terror suspects from 1997 to 2005, published an op ed article in the April 24 edition of the New York Times, where he contradicts in a clear and factual manner various claims that water boarding and other torture techniques actually achieved success where more conventional techniques failed. In the course of his exposition, Mr. Soufan also sheds light on one of the less intelligent tendencies of intelligence organizations – that of going to great lengths to prevent relevant information from “falling” into the hands of other friendly intelligence organizations. This is a practice that directly counteracts the core reason for the existence of all these intelligence organizations, and is clearly harmful to national security, yet it continues to exist and nobody seems to have the courage to act against it decisively.

In the context of terror suspects interrogations, Mr. Soufan writes: “One of the worst consequences of the use of these harsh techniques was that it reintroduced the so-called Chinese wall between the CIA and FBI, similar to the communications obstacles that prevented us from working together to stop the 9/11 attacks. Because the bureau would not employ these problematic techniques, our agents who knew the most about the terrorists could have no part in the investigation. An FBI colleague of mine who knew more about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed than anyone in government was not allowed to speak to him.”

It is worth re-reading the paragraph above because one may not believe one’s eyes after a single reading. If this is true, the executives responsible for these policies, both at the CIA and the FBI should be fired immediately and it is worth examining if their actions directly harmed the national security of the United States , in which case they may even be “eligible” to face criminal proceedings.

Another item in Mr. Soufan’s article that merits a much closer look is the role of contractors in the most sensitive areas. Mr. Soufan writes: “It’s worth noting that when reading between the lines of the newly released memos, it seems clear that it was contractors, not CIA officers, who requested the use of these techniques (torture - DP)”.

Between 40% and 70% of America ’s intelligence work is currently done by outside contractors (figures vary depending on source). In essence, though, regardless of the exact numbers, it is clear to all observers that the CIA and other intelligence agencies have undergone a practical process of privatization in recent years, and that farming intelligence at all levels to mercenaries is not in the best interests of the organizations or their clients (the American people), for many reasons, including cost and the fact that outside contractors are not beholden to the organizations’ strict rules, regulations, codes and enforcement tools.

Both the “Chinese wall” and the privatization of America ’s intelligence apparatus are but two demonstrations of the existential dissonance that accompanies the word “intelligence” these days. Apparently, intelligence means a lot of things, but it does not mean Intelligent. We all pay a dear price for these incongruities.