Dangerous Machinations

Last week in The New Yorker, Seymour Hersh broke one of his most revelatory stories to date, alleging that the Pentagon is running secret intelligence missions free from Congressional restraints on the CIA.

According to Hersh, these "black reconnaissance" operations--as the Pentagon calls them--are now active in as many as ten countries in the Middle East and South Asia, including Iran. In an effort to infiltrate terrorist organizations, the teams are doing CIA-type work without CIA restrictions or Constitutional checks. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld began lobbying for the secret teams over two years ago, winning authorization through a series of questionable legal interpretations and Presidential executive orders. "It's a finesse to give power to Rumsfeld--giving him the right to act swiftly, decisively, and lethally," a Pentagon advisor told Hersh. "It's a global free-fire zone."

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