Central Intelligence Agency
New House Investigation Panel Stirs Memories of an Earlier McCarthy
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers point to outrageous abuses of the federal government’s unchecked law enforcement and intelligence apparatus, vowing to get to the bottom of the dirty business and root out the shadowy figures responsible. Americans have seen that scenario play out multiple times in history, with the latest example being the successful push by House […]
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How the C.I.A. Tracked the Leader of Al Qaeda
WASHINGTON — Intelligence officers made a crucial discovery this spring after tracking Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of Al Qaeda, to Kabul, Afghanistan: He liked to read alone on the balcony of his safe house early in the morning. Analysts search for that kind of pattern-of-life intelligence, any habit the C.I.A. can exploit. In al-Zawahri’s case, […]
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C.I.A. Director Issues Warning After Possible Noose Is Found Near Facility
The C.I.A. director, William J. Burns, issued a warning to the agency’s work force last week after what appeared to be a noose was found outside a secret facility used by the agency in Virginia, according to people familiar with the matter. In the message, Mr. Burns said that racism and racist symbols would not […]
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From Benghazi to Raqqa, a Kansas Woman Left a ‘Trail of Betrayal’
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A teacher from Kansas who had converted to Islam traveled to the most dangerous conflicts in the world — Libya, Iraq, Syria — hoping to wage war. Syria was where the teacher, Allison Fluke-Ekren, ultimately made her mark: She rose through the ranks of the Islamic State, commanding a battalion of female […]
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Gina Haspel Observed Waterboarding at C.I.A. Black Site, Psychologist Testifies
WASHINGTON — During Gina Haspel’s confirmation hearing to become director of the C.I.A. in 2018, Senator Dianne Feinstein asked her if she had overseen the interrogations of a Saudi prisoner, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, which included the use of a waterboard. Ms. Haspel declined to answer, saying it was part of her classified career. While there […]
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C.I.A. Captive Was Too Small for Waterboard, Interrogator Testifies
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — The psychologist who for the C.I.A. waterboarded a prisoner accused of plotting the U.S.S. Cole bombing testified this week that the Saudi man broke quickly and became so compliant that he would crawl into a cramped crate even before guards ordered him inside. The psychologist, James E. Mitchell, also told a […]
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Former C.I.A.-Run Prison Emerges as a New Front in Guantánamo’s Legal Saga
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — Its very existence was a secret at first. Camp 7 housed detainees considered by the Bush administration to be among the world’s most wanted Islamic extremists. All were brought there from C.I.A. prisons. They included the five men charged with helping to plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and a Palestinian […]
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C.I.A. Director Airs Concern That Putin Might Turn to Nuclear Weapons
WASHINGTON — The director of the C.I.A. said on Thursday that “potential desperation” to extract the semblance of a victory in Ukraine could tempt President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to order the use of a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon, publicly discussing for the first time a concern that has coursed through the White […]
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Spy Agencies Cite Russia’s Setbacks but Say Putin Is ‘Unlikely to Be Deterred’
WASHINGTON — Top U.S. intelligence officials said on Tuesday that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had been surprised and unsettled by the problems that have hampered his military in Ukraine, issues that will make it more difficult for Russian forces to control the country. But Mr. Putin is determined to succeed in Ukraine, and […]
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