BY SLAVA ZILBER
*(Top image: John Kiriakou. Credit: Troy Page/ Truthout.org/ flickr)
Slava Zilber: As a former CIA analyst, what can you say about the US assessment that blames Iran for the attack?
John Kiriakou: We haven't seen the official US intelligence response, but we have seen the Saudi analysis, which is deeply flawed. First, there has been no serious evidence that the attack on Aramco facilities came from Iran. The scorch patterns from the rockets do not tell a tale. The Saudis argue that the attack came from the North Northwest. That's irrelevant. Drones can be made to fly to a target from literally any direction. Even Saudi language doesn't make any sense. "The attacks were unquestionably sponsored by Iran," for example. What does that mean? He didn't say that the Iranians launched the attacks. So far, then, we can't trust anything we're hearing in the media, at least not definitively.
How are such assessments produced?
Assessments are normally written by the CIA's senior analyst on a given topic, coordinated with all other analysts in the building who have a stake in the analysis, coordinated with CIA leadership, and then sent to the White House.
How can news consumers evaluate their credibility, especially in light of the WMD allegations before and in light of Trump´s administration´s record?
Frankly, it's almost impossible to determine the credibility of an intelligence community piece without access to the intelligence. Americans should rest assured that CIA analysts want nothing more than to tell the truth and to provide policymakers with the best analysis possible to help them make the best-informed policy decisions. My advice would be that news consumers should read as much as possible and make their own decisions.
Why do we see so much outrage over Yemeni attack on Saudi oil fields but not when it comes to Saudi bombing of schools and bazaars in Yemen?
I agree with this question completely. We have seen outrage after outrage in Yemen. We have seen the Saudi military commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. But the American media doesn't care about these things because they are of the belief, as are both Democratic and Republican Administrations, that Saudi Arabia is our friend and that we shouldn't criticize them. It's scandalous.
Who is John Kiriakou?
John Kiriakou is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. John became the sixth whistleblower indicted by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act—a law designed to punish spies. He served 23 months in prison as a result of his attempts to oppose the Bush administration’s torture program.
WRITER
No comments:
Post a Comment