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Saturday, October 29th, 2016

When CIA and NSA Workers Blow the Whistle, Congress Plays Deaf

Author:     Patrick G. Eddington
Source:     The Intercept
Publication Date:     October 27 2016, 7:38 a.m.
 Link: When CIA and NSA Workers Blow the Whistle, Congress Plays Deaf
Stephan:   Having been inside the government world at a senior level during the Viet Nam era my take away was that secrecy was often a tool to hide incompetence, bias, or corruption and that when whistleblowers did come forward the corrupt Congress was loath to act. Here is an excellent essay on what I mean, and it hasn't only gotten worse apparently from when I was in D.C..
A photographer closes in on CIA Director John Deutch on Capitol Hill on Feb. 22, 1996, prior to a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Deutch and other intelligence officials had made statements about the use of chemical weapons during the Gulf War—that no such weapons were used—that contradicted the findings of Eddington and his wife.

A photographer closes in on CIA Director John Deutch on Capitol Hill on Feb. 22, 1996, prior to a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Deutch and other intelligence officials had made statements about the use of chemical weapons during the Gulf War—that no such weapons were used—that contradicted the findings of Eddington and his wife.

Do the committees that oversee the vast U.S. spying apparatus take intelligence community whistleblowers seriously? Do they earnestly investigate reports of waste, fraud, abuse, professional negligence, or crimes against the Constitution reported by employees or contractors working for agencies like the CIA or NSA? For the last 20 years, the answer has been a resounding “no.”

My own experience in 1995-96 is illustrative. […]

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