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[IP] Europe's Answer to U.S. Whistleblower Intimidation: Article: Europe Shames U.S. Congress by Nat Hentoff





Begin forwarded message:

From: Sheryl Coe - Reportica <web@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: May 15, 2006 10:50:46 AM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Europe's Answer to U.S. Whistleblower Intimidation: Article: Europe Shames U.S. Congress by Nat Hentoff

Dave,

It seems that congressional oversight responsibilities are being outsourced. (See Hentoff below.)

-- Sheryl Coe
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Europe Shames U.S. Congress, CIA war crimes in Europe are now under official investigation there, but not here
by Nat Hentoff http://villagevoice.com/news/0620,hentoff,73206,6.html
May 14th, 2006 9:19 PM

After 9-11, within the frame-work of the fight against terrorism, the violation of human and fundamental rights was not isolated, or an excessive measure confined to a short period of time, but rather a widespread regular practice by the CIA in which the majority of European countries are involved. Giovanni Claudio Fava, chief investigator for a European Parliament report on the CIA's "extraordinary renditions" in Europe following three months of hearings, April 26


[...]This European inquiry was started after the Washington Post's Dana Priest revealed last November that the CIA had secret prisons in Eastern Europe�a sequel to her many stories about the CIA's far from secret "renditions." She won a Pulitzer Prize for that November story�as well as an investigation of her and her sources by the Justice Department. There are CIA agents who have feared for a long time that these scabrous chickens would come home to roost. In December 2005, Michael Scheuer�who had recently left the CIA after having begun the "rendition" program under the Clinton administration�spoke openly about it on 60 Minutes. [...] What Michael Scheuer said on 60 Minutes and elsewhere is not likely to happen again�nor are the criticisms of the CIA by a growing number of its retired agents. The CIA has now warned former employees to have no contact with reporters unless approved by the agency; and as the April 26 Financial Times noted, those ex-agents who have consulting contracts with the CIA could lose their pensions if they speak freely.

Says former CIA official Larry Johnson, a critical blogger on these matters at tpmcafe.com

: "They are trying to intimidate the press and trying to intimidate employees. Anybody who has been critical of the Bush administration is getting letters."

But the CIA can't shut up the European Parliament; the Council of Europe, a human rights organization; or reporters enthusiastically on the case in Britain, Italy, Sweden, Germany, and elsewhere, including Eastern Europe.

Moreover, European Parliament investigator Giovanni Fava and his committee come to Washington this month. He has some additional questions for Bush administration officials, members of Congress, and human rights groups here about the renditions around Europe. Also among those inquiries are other possible CIA crimes, including torture, in the CIA's secret prisons.

Read the rest at the Voice...
[Original: http://villagevoice.com/news/0620,hentoff,73206,6.html ]

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