Op Ed

Op Ed by Ross Decker

The American people deserve a pristine recount of the CIA’s past action as well as the true facts on what the CIA is doing today. Though out the history of the CIA the agency has exceeded the limits of their power cloaked their actions from The U.S. government and its people. At the end of WWII the United States Military’s Office of Strategic Services was splintered and in The 1947 National Security Act created The Central Intelligence Agency of today. With the start of the cold war fueled by the rising fear of the communist threat, the Central Intelligence Agency Act was passed which allowed the CIA to ovoid public disclosers on use of funds, employees, salaries and actions. In the heat of the cold war openness and limits for the government where push aside in the zealous race of the world super powers. With limits gone moral consciousness, constitutional thought and respect of the individual freedoms of people soon follow. Starting out as project BLUEBIRD and ending with project MKULTRA these projects run by the CIA entailed various covert operations and projects ranging from chemical interrogation to remote mind control, the vast majority of this work was done on unwitting American civilians with out the slightest bit of for warning. With the little information that has survived the file destruction of the early 70’s it is still bindingly clear that the CIA has committed inhuman atrocities against U.S. citizens.

Amendments have been to the National Security Act as well as The Central Intelligence Agency Act and executive orders have been made but not enough decisive actions have been made. President Obama speaks of a transparent government but I have only seen little action. America is no longer the Wild West it once was and it is time for America to cast off the ideas of a neo manifest destiny to move towards true progress leading to an America of awareness of our true history so that it can never be allowed to happen again. The Cold War ended a long time ago and so with it should the tools that with it was fought be forged into new one of appropriate propose. I do not think that CIA has reached the point of being obsolete but rather focused needs to be shifted, limits and structure put into place, accountability brought to the forefront.

The only feasible way to correct the CIA’s misuse of ability and major gape in accountability is to require them to receiving total governmental approval and while it is all in the public light. The first step that must be taken for approval of any proposed CIA action or funding request must receive Judicial review and approval, this is to insure that what is proposed to constitutional in nature. Secondly it must go through Legislation receiving approval from Congress, this is so that the American public can know what is going on and have a chance to be vocal about any discrepancies they have with what is being proposed. The final step would be Executive approval and inaction, this is so that there is some one publicly charged with accountability for what the CIA dose. By going through these steps, justice, order, security and peace of mind can prevail. With these measures put into place the misdeeds of the past cannot repeat in the future.