To the Point
To the Point
Share |

The CIA: Who Watches the Watchdogs?

Host:
Produced by:
Subscribe to this Podcast:
Podcast iTunes Podcast
Listen to/Watch entire show:
Listen Download Add to My Shows
Legacy Player: Listen

The CIA's Inspector General has criticized overseas prisons, interrogations and intelligence failures. Now the CIA is investigating the Inspector General.  have career agents been treated unfairly?  Is it a conflict of interest to investigate the investigator?  Also, a possible victory over al Qaeda in Iarq, and a museum in Athens that could lead to return of the Elgin Marbles.

Banner image of CIA Director Michael Hayden: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Making News

Has the US Defeated al Qaeda in Iraq? ()

The US military believes that it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over that group. That’s according to today's Washington Post. But the paper also reports that other officials see a declaration of that kind as premature. The story was written by Thomas Ricks.

Guests:
Links:

Main Topic

The CIA Investigates Its Own Chief Watchdog ()

The CIA is a top-secret agency, but like other government agencies, it's subject to oversight by an Inspector General, an internal watchdog with the authority to audit, inspect and investigate personnel and procedures. In his work and his reports to Congress the IG is supposed to be fair to the employees involved—and independent of the officials who call the shots. In the past few years, John Helgerson has issued scathing reports on overseas prisons, interrogations and intelligence failures. Now, CIA Director Michael Hayden is investigating Helgerson—an unprecedented review that's raised hackles on Capitol Hill. Has Helgerson been unfair to career officers, including former Director George Tenet? Will Hayden's probe intimidate whistle-blowers and compromise the Inspector General's independence?    

Guests:
Links:

Reporter's Notebook

Parthenon Marbles Move to New Home ()

Phidias supervised the sculptures around the Parthenon during Athens' Golden Age.  Christians defaced them in the 6th Century AD when the building was made a church.  In 1687, the Venetian Army shelled the Acropolis and blew up the Parthenon, where the Turks had been storing gunpowder. Then in 1802, the British Lord Elgin had some of the remaining sculptures removed, and since 1816, they've been in the British Museum. Today, a massive moving project began in Athens, where three giant cranes lifted two and a half tons of marble from the Acropolis to an ultra-modern museum at the foot of the hill as part of the effort to get the so-called "Elgin Marbles" back.

Guests:
Links:

CD copies of To the Point are available by calling 1.888.600.5279.

Underwriters

We Thank our Sponsor:


Engage & Discuss

Further the conversation with your thoughts and comments. Agree, disagree, present a different perspective -- engage.

For information and guidelines click: Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

Please note, comments are moderated. KCRW reserves the right to edit and or remove posts deemed off-topic, abusive or not in accordance with KCRW's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.