In this report we ask a basic question. Can we, the American people, fully trust the Central Intelligence Agency? Their history raises many troubling questions. Including the fact that they have been interfering with the political elections of other countries for the last 60 years. There are also more troubling instances that have happened recently, such as the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, lying about the NSA surveillance program under oath. Or CIA Director John Brennan lying about fatalities in drone attacks. And then there is the complete destruction unleashed in countries like Libya, Syria, Yemen and Ukraine.
Read more below.
THE LONG HISTORY OF U.S. AND CIA INTERFERENCE IN THE ELECTIONS OF OTHER COUNTRIES
The long history of the U.S. interfering with elections elsewhere, (The Washington Post, 10-13-16)
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, JAMES CLAPPER, LIES ABOUT NSA SURVEILLANCE
James Clapper lied in a testimony about his knowledge of the NSA's massive surveillance program of American citizens. Then he claimed he had "forgotten about the program" when he misled congress.
Attorney: Spy chief had 'forgotten' about NSA program when he misled Congress (The Hill, 5-8-15)
Latest Explanation For James Clapper Lying About 'Essential' NSA Spy Program: 'He Forgot About It' (Tech Dirt, 3-11-15)
James Clapper says he misspoke, didn't lie about NSA surveillance (CBS News, 9-18-14)
James Clapper's testimony one year later (Politifact, 3-11-14)
Darrell Issa, Other Lawmakers Want Obama to Fire James Clapper for 'Lying to Congress' (Huffington Post, 1-27-14)
CIA DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN LIES ABOUT DRONE ATTACKS
In 2011, After much urging from the ACLU to reveal public information on the clandestine Drones Program, the White House's top counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan broke the silence by telling reporters the following: "in the last year 'there hasn't been a single collateral death because of the exceptional proficiency, precision of the capabilities that we've been able to develop (ACLU).'" Obama then nominated him to head the CIA. Ever since, it's been found that this statement was a profound lie.
Obama's Drone Attacks (World Future Fund)
Secret US documents show Brennan’s ‘no civilian drone deaths’ claim was false (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 4-11-13)
Civilian Deaths from CIA Drone Strikes: Zero or Dozens? (ACLU, 7-19-11)
US claims of ‘no civilian deaths’ are untrue(The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 7-18-11)
CIA AND DISASTER IN LIBYA
The Libyan revolution was President Obama's first major foreign intervention. This was framed as an extension of the Arab Spring, and NATO involvement was pitched as a humanitarian affair. The CIA worked actively to help send in rebels to topple Qaddafi and Obama ordered airstrikes against the Libyan government. These Libyan rebels who helped topple Qaddafi were portrayed as some kind of freedom fighters, but the reality was the little was said about the actual ideological leanings of these rebels. Which isn't surprising considering that later, the Libyan rebel commander admitted that his fighters had Al-Qaeda linked jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq.
Prior to the U.S. and NATO backed invasion, Libya had the highest standards of living of any country in Africa, according to the U.N.'s Human Development Index rankings for 2010. Yet after the intervention, the country descended into chaos and is now widely regarded as a failed state.
It is important to keep in mind that when Qaddafi was overthrown, the Libyan armories were looted and massive quantities of weapons were sent by the Libyan rebels to Syria. The weapons included anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles smuggled into Syria through Turkey, a NATO ally. While a great deal of attention has focused on the fact that the State Department did not provide adequate security to the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh released an article in April of 2014 which exposed a classified agreement between the CIA, Turkey and the Syrian rebels to create what was referred to as a “rat line”. The “rat line” was the covert network used to channel weapons and ammunition from Libya, through southern Turkey and across the Syrian border. It was at this time that jihadist fighters from Libya began to flood into Syria. And we will describe the CIA's involvement there below.
Obama's 2011 Attack on Libya (World Future Fund)
Qaddafi's Last Speech (World Future Fund)
THE COVERT ORIGINS OF ISIS: UNITED STATES, CIA IN LIBYA, SYRIA, IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN (Voice of Detroit, 2-9-15)
A former CIA asset has become a U.S. headache in Libya (The Washington Post, 8-17-16)
CIA sends teams to Libya; US considers rebel aid (Yahoo, 3-31-11)
Obama defends Libya mission (Los Angeles Times, 3-29-11)
Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links (Telegraph, 3-25-11)
CIA AND DISASTER IN SYRIA
The CIA has had an active role in supporting the insurgency in the Syrian Civil War. In early September 2013, Obama told U.S. senators that the CIA had trained the first 50-man insurgent element and that they had been inserted into Syria (Telegraph, 9-3-13). Former CIA Chief David Petraeus spoke out in favor of military action in Syria (New York Daily News, 9-7-13). This was the CIA's attempt to strengthen moderates fighting Bashal al-Assad without increasing the U.S. footprint in the conflict. Yet many of these "moderates" defected to Islamist-led coalitions, while other CIA-backed rebels stopped fighting. CIA-backed groups in northwestern Syria publicly acknowledge their relationship with Al-Qaeda. A commander of Fursan ul-Haq, a rebel group that received TOW missiles through CIA channels, explained that “there is something misunderstood by world powers: We have to work with Nusra Front and other groups to fight” both Assad’s regime and the Islamic State.
Several years later, the situation is still a disaster, and the attempts to overthrow Assad have been a failure.
Hillary Clinton's 2012 War Against Syria (World Future Fund)
CIA Activities in Syria (Wikipedia)
Who planned the terrorist operation in Palmyra? (Oriental Review, 12-14-16)
In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA (LA Times, 3-27-16)
Hillary Clinton and the Syrian Bloodbath (The Huffington Post, 2-15-16)
First Syria rebels armed and trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield' (Telegraph, 9-3-13).
Former CIA Chief David Petraeus comes out in favor of military action in Syria (New York Daily News, 9-7-13)
CIA AND DISASTER IN YEMEN
In addition to the countries mentioned above, the CIA has also played a role in advocating for drone war in Yemen and arming extremists. Today Yemen is imploding. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is seizing territory on the periphery. U.S. drone strikes have killed Al-Qaeda operatives, but haven't stopped operations in Yemen. The U.S. strategy of counterterrorism in terms of training a strong military presence in the country has not only failed to build a military to defend the state, but has accelerated its implosion. Throughout the period of U.S. and U.K. military assistance to Yemen, Al-Qaeda expanded both its territory and membership. The chaos caused in Syria has also led to the development of an ISIS branch in Yemen.
The CIA’s Push to Expand ‘Killer Drone’ Operations in Yemen (The World Can't Wait)
How the War on Terror Failed Yemen (Foreign Policy, 5-18-16)
How Yemen's Saleh danced on the heads of the CIA (Middle East Eye, 6-4-15)
Yemen Then and Now: The Sad Chronicle of a Failed State (The New Yorker, 5-1-15)
CIA scales back presence and operations in Yemen, home of potent al-Qaeda affiliate (Washington Post, 2-11-15)
CIA AND NAZIS IN UKRAINE
There are troubling concerns about the Alt-Right in Trump's presidency. However, there is little talk of the CIA's involvement with Nazi's in Ukraine.
The Origins of CIA's Relationship with Ukrainian Nationalists PDF (CIA)
Two Year Ago: The U.S. has Installed a Neo-Nazi Government in Ukraine (Global Research, 3-4-16)
CIA: Undermining and Nazifying Ukraine Since 1953 (Strategic Culture, 1-8-16)
Nazi Roots of Ukraine’s Conflict (Consortium News, 1-28-16)
Obama, Pentagon clear way to send US aid to Ukraine neo-Nazis (RT, 1-15-16)
The Media Ignores the CIA in Ukraine (Counter Punch, 7-30-14)
FORMER CIA CHIEF MICHAEL MORELL RISKS WORLD WAR III
Michael Morell has proposed troubling things that would get the United States involved in a war with Russia.
Who Is Michael Morell? (National Interest, 1-15-17)
Ex-CIA Director, Michael Morell, who endorsed Clinton Calls for Killing Iranians and Russians in Syria (The Intercept, 8-9-16)
Ex-CIA Chief and Torture Defender Endorses Clinton—Why Are Democrats Cheering? (Common Dreams, 8-5-16)
Morell's Endorsement of Hillary (New York Times, 8-5-16)