CIA Has Become “One Hell of a Killing Machine”

[rambone]

“Think of the use of drone air strikes as summary executions, extra-judicial killings justified by faceless bureaucrats using who-knows-what ‘intelligence,’ with no oversight whatsoever and you get the idea that we have slipped into spooky new world where joystick gods manipulating robots deal death from the skies.”
- Rep. Dennis Kucinich, 8/19/2011​

The CIA has become a paramilitary killing machine, lacking oversight, accountability, and constraints of the constitution. Its supposedly a civilian agency, yet it is directed by military General David Petraeus. It's role has become ever-more focused on racking up a bodycount. We've seen the CIA become more involved in domestic spying and running bombing missions themselves overseas. How far will Americans let them go, as they huddle on the floor in the fetal position, whimpering for more security?



CIA Has Become "One Hell of Killing Machine"

Congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul was among the critics who noted that murdering people without trials violates the law. “Now we are told that assassination of foreigners as well as American citizens is legitimate and necessary to provide security for our people. It is my firm opinion that nothing could be further from the truth,” he said during a speech on the House floor. “Secret arrests, secret renditions, torture and assassinations are illegal under both domestic and international law.”

​

Dozens of U.S. Citizens May Be on Obama Assassination List

The essence of Pannetta's statement means that if the President labels you a terrorist — whether you are guilty or not (and many Guantanamo terror suspects deemed the "worst of the worst" were later released in mistaken identity cases) — you are fair game for being killed without trial. President Obama and his officials may dispute the term “assassination list,” but they have without a doubt completely adopted the Bush administration policy of the world being a battlefield. And because there are no civilian rights on a battlefield, the “global war on terror” is by definition a war on the rights of Americans that are supposed to have protected by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Obama may have run on a platform of change, but he clearly hasn't changed course from the Bush administration attack on the U.S. Constitution.

 

[tv1217]

[ame]http://youtu.be/EQ96oEwYrE8[/ame]

 

[halfmileharry]

Breaking it down comes to the same logic as having to have a trial before shooting back at our enemies.
Slippery slope of wording there. Then again, It's always been like that.
I have no problem personally of taking out enemy combatants with drones.
Let's not get back into the Fair Fight stuff. We should win by any means necessary and not hope for a draw using a bunch of fair play rules.
Can you trust the CIA? Of course not but fight one demon at a time.

 

[Wild Deuce]

If you're going to fight one demon at a time, make sure you're not making a pact with The Devil to do it. Just something to think about.

 

[Mr.Lubie]

Wild Deuce hit the nail on the head

 

[Benny]

If you're going to fight one demon at a time, make sure you're not making a pact with The Devil to do it.

That's sig line worthy.

 

[gunowner930]

I think we should bring the troops home ASAP. However, if we're going to fight a war, we need to fight a war. Doing otherwise is a hinderance to our troops fighting the war. Guys that are trying to kill our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq should be killed or captured by any means necessary. It is not always realistic to be able to get troops on the ground to apprehend these bad guys (assuming they won't fight back). Collateral damage is never a good thing, but it is impossible to avoid during war.

 

[sonofagun]

... However, if we're going to fight a war, we need to fight a war.

Fighting a war is, well, fighting a war.

Presidential authority to assassinate enemies, including US citizens, is downright scary.

Imagine a SWAT team doing a no knock raid with said authority in hand.

 

[halfmileharry]

I'm very convinced that IF we put the CIA on the scales and weighed the Good vs Bad the results would be heavily in favor of the GOOD.
They've been around a long time and have done what it takes to protect this country. They're definitely NOT popular and are accountable. IF they weren't they would have been disbanded long before now.
Support our Troops and defenders of our country.
I speak from a limited experience here but from the little I actually know we can NOT do without the intel and disruption of our enemies plans.
I'm not in favor of putting our troops in harms way when we have the equipment, technology, and intel to destroy our enemies in a swift and decisive manner. Foreign or domestic. I remember my oath well and don't rember having to recant it.
I'm an older fart and have seen a lot of stupidity in my day.
In a perfect world I'll agree with the Humane and Politically Correct ways of doing things. Wouldn't that be cool!
In the real world..."Screw 'Em" and don't look back.
I'm for the U.S.A first and foremost.

 

[Destro]

“Think of the use of drone air strikes as summary executions, extra-judicial killings justified by faceless bureaucrats using who-knows-what ‘intelligence,’ with no oversight whatsoever and you get the idea that we have slipped into spooky new world where joystick gods manipulating robots deal death from the skies.”
- Rep. Dennis Kucinich, 8/19/2011
​

The CIA has become a paramilitary killing machine, lacking oversight, accountability, and constraints of the constitution. Its supposedly a civilian agency, yet it is directed by military General David Petraeus. It's role has become ever-more focused on racking up a bodycount. We've seen the CIA become more involved in domestic spying and running bombing missions themselves overseas. How far will Americans let them go, as they huddle on the floor in the fetal position, whimpering for more security?



CIA Has Become "One Hell of Killing Machine"

Dozens of U.S. Citizens May Be on Obama Assassination List

a RETIRED general, who re wrote the army doctrine on counterinsurgency...we are a blessed nation to have such a man at the helm of the CIA...God Bless America

the VA is a civilian agency ran by a retired general, wheres your outrage? are the VA Police and OIG agents going to start Drone attacks now too?

 

[phylodog]

Wow. How utterly outrageous.

We, as a country, should be above this type of behavior, no? I mean, we are supposed to be the most civilized, sophisticated, wealthy and powerful nation in the world aren't we? We shouldn't be participating in this kind of nonsense, should we?

I think it much better to take the high ground, refusing to have an agency such as the CIA. That way, we can become targets of anyone else in the world who wants to take what we have. We can sit on our moral high ground and watch everything get stripped away. We can protest loudly by asking them to leave us alone and cry about how unfair it is.

Seriously??? Do we have drones taking out tea party activists or something? Give me a break. People want to enjoy the benefits of living in this country but want to bury their heads in the sand when it comes time to defend our way of life. You want to die with a clean conscience? Move to Switzerland but when you get there make no attempt to investigate what might be going on behind closed doors. Every civilized country on this planet has an agency similar to the CIA and participates in the same activities, whether some choose to believe it or not.

 

[jedi]

If you're going to fight one demon at a time, make sure you're not making a pact with The Devil to do it. Just something to think about.

You just have to make sure you have a knife at the ready to back stab him once he has helped you remove the other demons & thus you can take his place. There are after all only 2 siths at one time.

 

[rambone]

the VA is a civilian agency ran by a retired general, wheres your outrage? are the VA Police and OIG agents going to start Drone attacks now too?

I dunno, is the VA allowed to murder people with impunity?

 

[GBuck]

a RETIRED general, who re wrote the army doctrine on counterinsurgency...we are a blessed nation to have such a man at the helm of the CIA...God Bless America

the VA is a civilian agency ran by a retired general, wheres your outrage? are the VA Police and OIG agents going to start Drone attacks now too?

Glad you said it, or I was going to.

What about the police officers that are part of a "civilian" agency that used to be in the military? What about the mayor of Indianapolis who is a retired Lt. Colonel from the Corps? Does that make them wrong?

 

[GBuck]

I dunno, is the VA allowed to murder people with impunity?

Have you seen the lines at the VA Hospitals? Some would call those murder!

 

[rambone]

Wow. How utterly outrageous.

I knew you'd show me some fake outrage at the CIA bypassing the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th amendments.

Give me a break. People want to enjoy the benefits of living in this country but want to bury their heads in the sand when it comes time to defend our way of life.

The Bill of Rights is our way of life. Pull your head out of the sand and defend it.

 

[ATOMonkey]

The CIA, is a flawed agency from the word go. It is, in fact, redundant. There is nothing the CIA is doing that special operation forces aren't already doing or weren't already doing.

Unless you're arguing for the elimination of all Clandestine operation, I don't see the point in singling out the CIA.

You need to lump the NSA, FBI, Delta (or whatever they're calling it), etc into the same discussion.

 

[CarmelHP]

I knew you'd show me some fake outrage at the CIA bypassing the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th amendments.


The Bill of Rights is our way of life. Pull your head out of the sand and defend it.

How does the Bill of Rights apply to enemy combatants operating in foreign countries?

 

[ATOMonkey]

Bill of Rights applies to the government, right?

Government must be restrained regardless of who we restrain it from, correct?

 

[rambone]

Bill of Rights applies to the government, right?

Government must be restrained regardless of who we restrain it from, correct?

That's the way I read it. I'm not one to play semantics games in order to help the FedGov escape its constitutional restraints.