Accessibility links
Central Intelligence Agency Central Intelligence Agency
Stories About

Central Intelligence Agency

National Security

Talking Point Or Proof Of Value: CIA Tactics And The 'Second Wave' Plot

The CIA and its defenders disagree with the Senate Intelligence Committee report on whether enhanced interrogations prevented a group of 17 Pakistanis from attacking the U.S. just after Sept. 11.

Talking Point Or Proof Of Value: CIA Tactics And The 'Second Wave' Plot

Listen · 6:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/370022528/370022529" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National Security

State Department Feared Torture Report Would Spark Fury. Where Is It?

The U.S. beefed up security at embassies ahead of the CIA interrogation report's release in anticipation of a violent reaction. But around the globe, the response was relatively muted.

State Department Feared Torture Report Would Spark Fury. Where Is It?

Listen · 1:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/369777012/369777013" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National Security

Ex-CIA Lawyer Says No One Was Misled On Torture, Abuses Were Reported

John Rizzo, who spent six years as acting general counsel for the CIA, says that while he believes intelligence gains justified the agency's interrogations, he understands those who feel otherwise.

Ex-CIA Lawyer Says No One Was Misled On Torture, Abuses Were Reported

Listen · 6:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/369777040/369777041" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National Security

Report Reveals Deeply Misguided Interrogation Tactics, Feinstein Says

The Senate's "torture report" finds that the CIA conducted brutal interrogations of detainees in the years after 9/11, misled elected leaders, and got little useful information from the harsh tactics.

Report Reveals Deeply Misguided Interrogation Tactics, Feinstein Says

Listen · 4:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/369777005/369777006" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National Security

As Torture Report's Release Nears, CIA And Opponents Ready Responses

The Senate's release will focus on case studies of the treatment, at times brutal, of 20 or so high-value detainees in the counterterrorism efforts following 9/11, and whether those methods paid off.

As Torture Report's Release Nears, CIA And Opponents Ready Responses

Listen · 3:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/369536790/369536791" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The CIA Wants To Delete Old Email; Critics Say 'Not So Fast'

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan takes questions after addressing the Council on Foreign Relations on March 11. The CIA has proposed deleting the email of almost all employees after they leave the agency. But some critics are saying a larger portion of the email should be preserved. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

National Security

The CIA Wants To Delete Old Email; Critics Say 'Not So Fast'

The CIA plan calls for deleting the email of almost all employees after they leave the agency. But opponents say this would erase too many important documents. The example they cite: Edward Snowden.

The CIA Wants To Delete Old Email; Critics Say 'Not So Fast'

Listen · 4:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/365474273/365516454" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Senate 'Torture Report' Findings Expected This Year

A detainee is escorted in March 2002 by two Army military police at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The detainee was being led to the Joint Interrogation Facility to be interviewed by government investigators. Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Senate 'Torture Report' Findings Expected This Year

An executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee's two-year-old report will be made public before Democrats relinquish control of the Senate in January.

CIA Says It Will No Longer Use Vaccine Programs As Cover

A doctor gives a polio vaccine to a child at a health clinic in Baghdad last week. The CIA says it banned the use of vaccine programs as cover for spying last year — a practice health officials said had wide repercussions. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

The Two-Way

CIA Says It Will No Longer Use Vaccine Programs As Cover

Answering health experts' complaints that using vaccination programs for spying had hurt international efforts to fight disease, the CIA says it has stopped the practice.

Feinstein Wants CIA To Speed 'Torture Report' Release

Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, speaks to reporters in April. She tells NPR she's "not particularly" comfortable with the CIA vetting the "Torture Report." Molly Riley/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Molly Riley/AP

It's All Politics

Feinstein Wants CIA To Speed 'Torture Report' Release

With a bipartisan vote in April, the Senate Intelligence Committee told the CIA to declassify and make public parts of the "Torture Report." The agency isn't exactly rushing to do so.