CIA morale ‘deeply hurt’ following Senate report
Another revelation was the construction of prisons abroad to detain suspects in countries beyond the reach of the US Department of Justice. In addition, the CIA hired numerous contractors to operate the prisons and do the “dirty work.”
According to Ullman, the US government employed many outside companies following the 9/11 attacks, and not all were in secret. It was simply the result of a lack of available staff for all the new tasks, he said.
But Wippl believes it was also an effective way to disguise ultimate responsibility, pointing out that contractors can be held less responsible than someone working for a government agency.
.. With a reference to history, Ullman said he expects little to change in the future. “We had the attempted assassination of Fidel Castro by two administrations. We had Jack Kennedy working with the Mafia. I mean, it’s absurd. But the fact of the matter is this is unfortunately the way governments operate.”
.. Bamford called it outrageous that there will apparently not be any legal consequences for the perpetrators of the murder and torture. Ullman, however, sees things differently.
“They had the findings of the president, the authorization of the president, and the findings of the attorney general that this was legal,” he said. “If anybody is to be prosecuted, it seems to me it should be the president.”