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[bjb]

CNN has uncovered exclusive new information about what is allegedly happening at the CIA, in the wake of the deadly Benghazi terror attack.

Four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in the assault by armed militants last September 11 in eastern Libya.

Sources now tell CNN dozens of people working for the CIA were on the ground that night, and that the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret.

CNN has learned the CIA is involved in what one source calls an unprecedented attempt to keep the spy agency's Benghazi secrets from ever leaking out.

Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya, have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings.

The goal of the questioning, according to sources, is to find out if anyone is talking to the media or Congress.

It is being described as pure intimidation, with the threat that any unauthorized CIA employee who leaks information could face the end of his or her career.

In exclusive communications obtained by CNN, one insider writes, "You don't jeopardize yourself, you jeopardize your family as well."

Another says, "You have no idea the amount of pressure being brought to bear on anyone with knowledge of this operation."

"Agency employees typically are polygraphed every three to four years. Never more than that," said former CIA operative and CNN analyst Robert Baer.

In other words, the rate of the kind of polygraphs alleged by sources is rare.

"If somebody is being polygraphed every month, or every two months it's called an issue polygraph, and that means that the polygraph division suspects something, or they're looking for something, or they're on a fishing expedition. But it's absolutely not routine at all to be polygraphed monthly, or bi-monthly," said Baer.

CIA spokesman Dean Boyd asserted in a statement that the agency has been open with Congress.

"The CIA has worked closely with its oversight committees to provide them with an extraordinary amount of information related to the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi," the statement said.

"CIA employees are always free to speak to Congress if they want," the statement continued. "The CIA enabled all officers involved in Benghazi the opportunity to meet with Congress. We are not aware of any CIA employee who has experienced retaliation, including any non-routine security procedures, or who has been prevented from sharing a concern with Congress about the Benghazi incident."

Among the many secrets still yet to be told about the Benghazi mission, is just how many Americans were there the night of the attack.

A source now tells CNN that number was 35, with as many as seven wounded, some seriously.

While it is still not known how many of them were CIA, a source tells CNN that 21 Americans were working in the building known as the annex, believed to be run by the agency.

The lack of information and pressure to silence CIA operatives is disturbing to U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, whose district includes CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

"I think it is a form of a cover-up, and I think it's an attempt to push it under the rug, and I think the American people are feeling the same way," said the Republican.

"We should have the people who were on the scene come in, testify under oath, do it publicly, and lay it out. And there really isn't any national security issue involved with regards to that," he said.

Wolf has repeatedly gone to the House floor, asking for a select committee to be set-up, a Watergate-style probe involving several intelligence committee investigators assigned to get to the bottom of the failures that took place in Benghazi, and find out just what the State Department and CIA were doing there.

More than 150 fellow Republican members of Congress have signed his request, and just this week eight Republicans sent a letter to the new head of the FBI, James Comey, asking that he brief Congress within 30 days.

In the aftermath of the attack, Wolf said he was contacted by people closely tied with CIA operatives and contractors who wanted to talk.

Then suddenly, there was silence.

"Initially they were not afraid to come forward. They wanted the opportunity, and they wanted to be subpoenaed, because if you're subpoenaed, it sort of protects you, you're forced to come before Congress. Now that's all changed," said Wolf.

Lawmakers also want to about know the weapons in Libya, and what happened to them.

Speculation on Capitol Hill has included the possibility the U.S. agencies operating in Benghazi were secretly helping to move surface-to-air missiles out of Libya, through Turkey, and into the hands of Syrian rebels.

It is clear that two U.S. agencies were operating in Benghazi, one was the State Department, and the other was the CIA.

The State Department told CNN in an e-mail that it was only helping the new Libyan government destroy weapons deemed "damaged, aged or too unsafe retain," and that it was not involved in any transfer of weapons to other countries.

But the State Department also clearly told CNN, they "can't speak for any other agencies."

The CIA would not comment on whether it was involved in the transfer of any weapons.

Source

This has been blowing up on reddit and twitter the past hour. Seems Barry might have some more explaining to do?

 

[Amagon]

God bless America

 

[kirblar]

Source

This has been blowing up on reddit and twitter the past hour. Seems Barry might have some more explaining to do?

I mean, the weirdness around it has 100% due to them trying to conceal the existance of a CIA base (which the GOP then accidentally confirmed in their hearing.) Much like the IRS scandal, it's a case where Issa knows exactly what's going on but is using the oublic part to try and manufacture a scandal.

 

[Strike]

Still nothing. Got it.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

Whoa man the CIA is trying to keep their activities secret? That's unprecedented from such a transparent organization.

 

[B-Dubs]

None of this is new. The GOP accidentally outed the fact that the CIA was there months ago during a hearing. Anyone who was paying attention already knew this. None of this changes the fact this is still nothing.

 

[Steelrain]

Still nothing. Got it.

Obummer used the CIA to contact his Muslim buddies out there. THEN he schemed up a plot to teach America a lesson. I know it, he knows it and goddammit, America DESERVES to know it too!!!

 

[RoboPlato]

Unprecedented measures? This just sounds like standard operating procedure for the CIA when a post gets outed.

 

[Bulbo Urethral Baggins]

This is just a ruse to keep the pressure off the guy who made the YouTube video that sparked all of this.

 

[BeerSnob]

The CIA would not comment on whether it was involved in the transfer of any weapons.

Steven Seagal used that trick in the past too. See when you claim the CIA does something, their blanket response is, or was anyway, "no comment". So literally you can claim anything, no matter how fucking bizarre and they will respond with, "no comment".

Which reminds me, I am a space Cyborg that the CIA brought back from the future. Just ask them.

 

[ivysaur12]

I love how there are actual transparency issues with this administration, and Issa and the right have instead focused on two largely meaningless scandals they're now stuck with. Bravo.

 

[SteveWinwood]

Of course the CIA were on the ground there...

they had a base there

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

I love how there are actual transparency issues with this administration, and Issa and the right have instead focused on two largely meaningless scandals they're now stuck with. Bravo.

Because it's all a show. They can't go after Prism because they support it and the powers that be won't allow them to take it away.

 

[captmcblack]

Nobody cares about Benghazi. Stop it.

 

[Half and half]

Benghazi 2.0 The Remix.

 

[Baraka in the White House]

There goes the Pctx signal.

 

[Batman]

Obama could take blame, resign and still would be defended by people.

 

[Diablos]

Hillary would probably take the fall. Well, that's what the GOP wants.

 

[Batman]

Hillary would probably take the fall. Well, that's what the GOP wants.

They did put her and Petraeus as the scapegoats but it didn't work.

 

[Monocle]

Benghazi Benghazi Benghazi. I see we're still trying to build a mountain range out of a handful of dust.

 

[akira28]

Obummer used the CIA to contact his Muslim buddies out there. THEN he schemed up a plot to teach America a lesson. I know it, he knows it and goddammit, America DESERVES to know it too!!!

How did a man who hates America so much, become her President? How?

 

[Aylinato]

They did put her and Petraeus as the scapegoats but it didn't work.

Did you need more tinfoil batman?

 

[kirblar]

I love how there are actual transparency issues with this administration, and Issa and the right have instead focused on two largely meaningless scandals they're now stuck with. Bravo.

Because the administration's actually been good about not producing a real scandal.

 

[Batman]

Did you need more tinfoil batman?

No I have plenty of Reynolds Wrap, unfortunately that doesn't work since the government can just look at my internet history at will.

 

[Aylinato]

No I have plenty of Reynolds Wrap, unfortunately that doesn't work since the government can just look at my internet history at will.

see, PRISM is an actual scandal, spanning decades and multiple Presidents/parties.


Benghazi is not the same.

 

[Jenga]

No I have plenty of Reynolds Wrap, unfortunately that doesn't work since the government can just look at my internet history at will.

the batman looks at batwomen

 

[Batman]

see, PRISM is an actual scandal, spanning decades and multiple Presidents/parties.


Benghazi is not the same.

Over time, information will come out when it no longer matters for certain people, that's how it works.

 

[PhoenixDark]

It's been pretty damn obvious since the beginning that this was a CIA operation that went bad. An embassy wasn't attacked, it was a CIA front. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was a weapons deal, perhaps for the Syrian rebels, gone bad.

Naturally Obama can't say shit because it's the CIA, and republicans know it. So they've spent months beating around the bush, and now here we are. Pretty disgusting behavior, especially in terms of fostering this idea that Obama let these people die.

 

[Wilsongt]

Oh for fuck sakes. Now for weeks more of BENGHAZIBENGHAZIBENGHAZI

 

[kirblar]

It's been pretty damn obvious since the beginning that this was a CIA operation that went bad. An embassy wasn't attacked, it was a CIA front. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was a weapons deal, perhaps for the Syrian rebels, gone bad.

Naturally Obama can't say shit because it's the CIA, and republicans know it. So they've spent months beating around the bush, and now here we are. Pretty disgusting behavior, especially in terms of fostering this idea that Obama let these people die.

I believe the Embassy itself was a normal site however, the building they later retreated to was the actual CIA site they don't want details coming out about.

 

[Aylinato]

Over time, information will come out when it no longer matters for certain people, that's how it works.

Information about PRISM has been widely known since long before it all came out.


Benghazi is because of the CIA. Yet you act like it's an Obama-made scandal.

 

[AntoneM]

The CIA has always, always, used unprecedented measures to hide secrets... that how they fucking keep secrets.

One can argue that the NSA and CIA are not needed in some sort of Fukuyama world. Unfortunately/fortunately, he was wrong and despite the general triumph of capitalist democracies, there is still a need for the NSA and CIA.

So then, the argument is how much lattitude do we give these agencies. I tend to fall on a more liberal (note: not Democrat) side in that I accept bad thing are going to happen in an open society. In order to live in a society where you aren't presumed to be an enemy of state, it is necessary to accept the risk of catastrophe.

The likelihood of being involved in some sort of catastrophic terrorist attack is small. Small enough for me to feel as safe as I was in the 1980's and 1990's; any time prior to the whole PATRIOT Act bullshit.

 

[Kad5]

It's very common for the CIA to operate out of embassies and consulates.

 

[Lazy vs Crazy]

An embassy wasn't attacked

This is true, it was a consulate.

 

[Brinbe]

Benghazi, Benghazi? BENGHAZI!

 

[Half and half]

Oooo...bama and his Nazis
they lied about Benghazi.
He snoops when they play Yahtzee,
and steals ketchup packets from Schlotsky's.
His VP Joe is sloppy,
Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi!

 

[Batman]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-embassies-close-sunday-amid-terrorist-threat/story?id=19845743

All embassies in the middle east will be closed on sunday after threats.

 

[diehard]

Oh for fuck sakes. Now for weeks more of BENGHAZIBENGHAZIBENGHAZI

More weeks of NOTHINGNOTHINGNOTHINGLOOKAWAYNOTHING from many posters here too doe...

 

[pargonta]

can we still be in the wake of something if it was a year ago?

anyway, interesting story.

 

[foxtrot3d]

Man, I just wanna hug you guys, most other forums immediately suspect some terrible cover up and talk about the evil CIA. Instead, I see intelligent logical posts that understand the ridiculous manufactured scandal being generated by political officials.

 

[radios shipping overview]

Benghazi? Benghazi benghazi benghazi. Benghazi benghazi.