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

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Sheryl Coe - Reportica <web () reportica net>
Date: May 15, 2006 10:50:46 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
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
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
-------------------------------

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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