Unwritten Death Contract Awarded to Blackwater

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CIA Director Panetta's top lieutenants, many of them holdovers from the last administration, had just told him that, under President Bush, they had farmed out assassinations to their Blackwater subsidiary.

I use “they” advisedly, since the CIA holdovers that had kept Panetta in the dark continue to function as Panetta's top managers.

Panetta abruptly stopped the project and contritely briefed the intelligence committees.

Until now, it was not clear what had prompted Panetta to set up hurried consultations with the intelligence “oversight” committees of the House and Senate.

An odd odor still hangs over the affair. After being briefed by Panetta, one committee member described him as “stunned” that his lingering lieutenants had kept information on the program from him until nearly five months into his tenure.

Yet there is not the faintest hint that anyone on either committee dared to ask why Panetta continues to leave such tainted officials in very senior positions.

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