CIA Politics of Assassination

[Khoder bin Hakkin]

Sunday October 21 8:48 AM ET

        CIA Reportedly Gets Authority to
        Hunt Down Bin Laden

                           WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President
                           Bush (news - web sites) last month
                           gave the CIA (news - web sites) it
                           broadest authority yet to conduct lethal
                           covert action against Osama bin Laden
                           (news - web sites) and his al Qaeda
                           network, The Washington Post
                           reported in its Sunday edition.

        The newspaper, quoting unidentified senior government
        officials, said Bush signed an order, known as an
        intelligence finding, that directed the CIA to undertake to
        sweeping and deadly covert action against bin Laden and his
        network.

        The finding specifically called for the destruction of bin
        Laden and al Qaeda, who are the prime suspects in the
        Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, the Post
        said.

        ``The gloves are off. The president has given the agency the
        green light to do whatever is necessary. Lethal operations
        that were unthinkable pre-Sept. 11 are now underway,'' the
        newspaper quoted a senior official as saying.

        The finding also gave the CIA an additional $1 billion to
        apply toward its anti-terror campaign, most of which will
        fund covert action aimed at taking out bin Laden's
        communications, security apparatus and infrastructure, the
        Post said.

        The operations were to include a high degree of
        coordination between the CIA and military units, to give
        Bush the power to rapidly dispatch troops based on the
        newest and best information from the intelligence agency.

        Soon after the attacks, in which hijackers crashed
        commercial airliners into the twin towers of the World
        Trade Center and the Pentagon (news - web sites), Bush
        said bin Laden was ``wanted dead or alive.''

        Though all U.S. presidents since Gerald Ford have signed
        an executive order prohibiting the CIA or other agencies
        from getting involved in political assassinations, there is
        agreement among some CIA and White House lawyers that
        the ban does not apply in time of war, the newspaper said.
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http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011021/ts/attack_cia_binladen_dc_1.html