By Pam Benson
Another glass ceiling has been cracked at least
temporarily with a woman now running the CIA's spy division.
The long time CIA veteran leading the National
Clandestine Service on an acting basis cannot be publicly named because she is
still a covert officer.
The question is whether she will get the job
permanently. But her background could be problematic for new CIA boss John
Brennan.
According to sources familiar with her career, she
was assigned to a senior position at the CIA's Counterterrorism Center shortly
after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
In that role, she was involved in the controversial
interrogation and detention program set up as the agency tracked and captured
suspected al Qaeda terrorists.
She moved to the clandestine unit as chief of staff
when her boss at the time, Jose Rodriguez, was tapped to run the service in
2004.
The sources said the two were involved in a decision
to destroy 92 videos of terror detainee interrogations, a move that infuriated
congressional lawmakers and prompted a Justice Department investigation that
did not result in any charges.
The Bush administration came under fire at the time
because some interrogations at clandestine CIA prisons overseas involved harsh
techniques, like waterboarding and stress positions.
Questions over terrorism interrogations and the CIA
detention program also dogged Brennan during his Senate confirmation hearings
last month.
Some senators wanted to know if he had a role in
managing the program when he served as the agency's executive director.
Brennan said he did not and indicated he privately
raised objections with colleagues to enhanced interrogation techniques.
He acknowledged saying several years ago that those
interrogations did produce some valuable intelligence and saved lives.
But Brennan said he didn't know what to believe when
confronted with questions about a recently released Senate Intelligence
Committee report that concluded the CIA exaggerated the effectiveness of the
program.
"Reading this report from the committee raises
questions about the information that I was given at the time, the impression I
had at the time," Brennan told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing.
"Now I have determined what, based on that
information as well as what CIA says, what the truth is. And at this point ...
I do not know what the truth is."
As CIA director, Brennan is responsible for
providing the agency's response to the Senate report. He told the lawmakers he
would do so by early next month.
With that backdrop, he also has to decide who will
run the clandestine service permanently.
Regardless of whether the female acting director is
tainted by her role in the interrogation program, she is not the only
candidate.
There are at least two others: a former chief of
station in Pakistan and a former head of the Counterterrorism Center, both whom
are undercover.
In an unusual move, Brennan has asked a team of
former senior CIA officials-John McLaughlin, Stephen Kappas and Mary Margaret
Graham– to review the choices.
The Washington Post, which first reported on the
female acting director, quoted sources as saying the review panel could provide
political cover for Brennan at a time when the interrogation controversy is
prominent.
The current and former intelligence officials CNN
spoke with dismissed that suggestion, saying Brennan simply would like outside
opinions for a very senior job.
CIA spokesman Preston Golson the female acting
director "is one of the most senior and respected officers in the agency
and is, of course, a strong candidate for the job."
But, the truth of the matter is that it is not CIA
but Secret Service… As reporters, one
would think that they would check out the facts…
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