Redstate

if vietnam won't do, go for iran-contra

By streiff Posted in War — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

If you like thinly sourced conspiracy theories and blatant character assassinations then Sy Hersh is your man. In the early stages of a clandestine war against Iran (more background on what we’ve been reporting for a year here) Hersh does illuminate the real objective.

The Bush Administration’s reliance on clandestine operations that have not been reported to Congress and its dealings with intermediaries with questionable agendas have recalled, for some in Washington, an earlier chapter in history. Two decades ago, the Reagan Administration attempted to fund the Nicaraguan contras illegally, with the help of secret arms sales to Iran. Saudi money was involved in what became known as the Iran-Contra scandal, and a few of the players back then—notably Prince Bandar and Elliott Abrams—are involved in today’s dealings. [editor’s note: smooth, eh? A sweet segue by only one degree of separation from today’s covert operations to a Iran Contra]

Iran-Contra was the subject of an informal “lessons learned” discussion two years ago among veterans of the scandal. Abrams led the discussion. One conclusion was that even though the program was eventually exposed, it had been possible to execute it without telling Congress. As to what the experience taught them, in terms of future covert operations, the participants found: “One, you can’t trust our friends. Two, the C.I.A. has got to be totally out of it. Three, you can’t trust the uniformed military, and four, it’s got to be run out of the Vice-President’s office”—a reference to Cheney’s role, the former senior intelligence official said. [editor’s note: ooooooh, Cheney. Ooooooh]

And the inevitable struggle of a virtuous CIA against the locus of evil in the Western world and an inevitable Congressional investigation:

“This goes back to Iran-Contra,” a former National Security Council aide told me. “And much of what they’re doing is to keep the agency out of it.” He said that Congress was not being briefed on the full extent of the U.S.-Saudi operations. And, he said, “The C.I.A. is asking, ‘What’s going on?’ They’re concerned, because they think it’s amateur hour.”

The issue of oversight is beginning to get more attention from Congress. Last November, the Congressional Research Service issued a report for Congress on what it depicted as the Administration’s blurring of the line between C.I.A. activities and strictly military ones, which do not have the same reporting requirements. And the Senate Intelligence Committee, headed by Senator Jay Rockefeller, has scheduled a hearing for March 8th on Defense Department intelligence activities.

Don’t bother reading the article. It really isn’t worth the time. But look for covert actions in the Long War to be the new line of attack by the Democrats on the Administration.