Senate panel investigating whether CIA targeted U-M professor Juan Cole
The Senate Intelligence Committee is looking into whether the CIA and White House tried to discredit Juan Cole, a University of Michigan professor who writes a popular blog on Middle Eastern issues, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Juan Cole
Cole last week called for an investigation after a New York Times report in which a former Central Intelligence Agency official alleged that President George W. Bush's White House at least twice asked intelligence officials to gather sensitive information on Cole. Cole's blog, Informed Comment, criticized the war.
Meanwhile, a U-M official said the university is closely watching developments in the case. "While Professor Cole’s views are his own, the University steadfastly and unequivocally stands behind the principles of academic freedom and freedom of expression," Provost Phil Hanlon wrote.
Comments
demistify
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 3:32 p.m.
@Annarbor.com: If you consider the Green Party to be on-topic for this thread, why did you remove my post describing public appearances by its candidates for President and for Congress?
demistify
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 3:25 p.m.
@Annarbor.com: Please explain why Roadman's advertizing for the Green Party is not off-topic. Do you know that Juan Cole is associated with that fringe organization?
Roadman
Mon, Jun 27, 2011 : 9:08 p.m.
@Demistify: The politically-motivated investigation that has been alleged targeting Juan Cole by using the CIA is something that has been utilized across-the-board to improperly monitor domestic groups. Local residents in the past were among those targeted by Operation CHAOS in the 1960s and 70s. A colleague of mine who was an antiwar activist that served on the Ypsilanti City Council in the 1970s sent a FOIA request to the CIA who responded by sending him records verifying his presence at antiwar meetings. Other local political activists were likewise documented. Women's Liberation groups as well as Jewish and Israeli organizations were targeted, including the ADL; the Israeli Embassy in D.C. had its trash containers' contents seized and examined. The pretext of CIA surveillance was to detect a possible foreign influence on the domestic antiwar movement. CIA Director Richard Helms, in multiple reports to Presidents Johnson and Nixon, found no such evidence. The CIA now had vast storehouses of information, however, on virtually anyone who could be a potential critic of the Vietnam War or the federal government in general. The Rockefeller Commission and Church Committee issued findings critical of the conduct of the U.S. government in its carrying out of Operation CHAOS, which was created by executive order of LBJ in 1967 and was to be implemented by the CIA's counterintelligence chief James Jesus Angleton. The Senate committee investigating this possible abuse of power by the Bush administration should receive communications by local citizens expressing their support for a full and impartial investigation with accountability meted out.
Roadman
Wed, Jun 29, 2011 : 5:36 a.m.
Thank you for your comments regarding the Peyote ceremony. "Peyote Road" was an award-winning documentary addressing the Supreme Court's upholding of disqualification of unemployment benefits for Amerinds fired for using Peyote as part of their exercise of religion; it inspired federal legislation establishing protections. Peyote is recognized as having significant medicinal uses including effectiveness against penicillin-resistant infections.
bedrog
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 2 p.m.
Roadman... in what will be my "last stand" ( re your bad native american analogies) on a thread only you and i are reading: How interesting (yet typical ) that you and your local heroes liken the palestinians to aboriginal americans but in a breathtaking instance of historical amnesia deny the even more ancient Jewish presence/ legitimacy in the region at issue. I would doubt prof. Cole would subscribe to such simplemindedness and really skewed history...or i'd hope not. And , fyi, while i was in israel on a sabbatical a number of years ago ( having experienced / studied life on the " other side" for the previous decade -plus) the great great ( maybe another great) grandson of Sitting Bull arrived to celebrate his bar mitzvah at the wailing wall ( a jew or 2 had crept into the lineage)...a point related to the fact that a number of Lakota/Sioux communities were availing themselves at the time of Israeli drip-irrigation expertise. Also ,re your great expertise on the Native American Church ,you must be aware of the plethora of references in its canon to the children of israel with whom the founders of the NAC , like quanah parker---the former chief of the quahadi comanches.. clearly identified as to suffering and desire to return to native autonomies.
bedrog
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 11:50 a.m.
p.s.... to reiterate ,you are not helping Cole, who you claim to admire, by linking him to the others you cite/support locally. pps.. you'd enjoy the NAC paraphernalia that decorate my study: i.e an eagle feather fan and carved rattle filled with syncretistic symbols (e.g. crucifixes and thunderbirds). They were gifts from informants...including a real 'roadman'.. when i studied the sect in the 60's.
bedrog
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 11:36 a.m.
Roadman...thank you for your ' truthiness' ( as ever)...yes, i am quite familiar with the native american church, fieldwork with a branch of it being my first piece of research ( my mom ...proud of her budding scholar--even tried to grow a peyote cactus from the buttons i brought back in the days before the ' war on drugs"). And ,as you know , I am also not at all unfamiliar with the history/cultures of the middle east and therefore know when history is being abused by others for extraneous political reasons ( and i'm not talking primarily about Cole here...as you also well know.
Roadman
Tue, Jun 28, 2011 : 12:54 a.m.
@Bedrog: ".......real-life online alter ego" The term "Roadman" (or Road Man or Road Chief) refers to the host or master of ceremonies in the Native American Church of the Peyote ceremony in which the host leads the followers in the partaking of the cactus extract and on the "road" to a level of higher consciousness. This ceremony is recognized by the federal government as a legal exercise of religion and exempt from operation of federal controlled substances statutes. The Green Party has recognized the oneness of the American Indian peoples with respect to the environment and as an indigenous people should be treated with due respect by the U.S. government. Winona LaDuke, an Amerind, was a Green Party nominee for vice-president. Similarly, the Palestinian Arab people are the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine and, like the Amerinds, have been vicitmized by an oppressive nationalism. Both the American Indian and Palestinian peoples have received support by the Green Party and locally that support has been through the Huron Valley Greens led by Dr. Aimee Smith. Dr. Juan Cole has been an outspoken advocate of the rights of the Palestinian and Iraqi peoples and has taken his lumps from certain directions. His criticisms of the U.S. and Israel have been on point and well-taken. I respect him greatly.
bedrog
Mon, Jun 27, 2011 : 11:12 p.m.
Roadman...if those you ( and your real-life online alter ego) seem to actively boost for on other threads and sites are the " local citizens " doing the 'writing in' it will not likely be to Cole's benefit, as many of them are ( hopefully) on some government watch list (if not the CIA then Homeland Security or the FBI) .
demistify
Sun, Jun 26, 2011 : 8:23 p.m.
Propaganda is tendentious political advocacy, whether by the good guys or the bad guys. The State Department engages in propaganda, as do its critics. Zealots pretend that their opinions are facts (or invent the facts). This is an inescapable part of the political discourse. A frequent component of the process is the metastatic appeal to authority, the insistence that an individual's professional standing renders his opinions unchallengeable far afield. Closely related is the false analogy, equating unrelated events at different times and places. Apart from his academic pursuits, Juan Cole runs a political advocacy blog and lectures. In that capacity, he is undoubtedly a propagandist, and his opinions are controversial and meant to be so. Self-righteously attempting to squelch criticism of Cole's politics is hypocritical.
bedrog
Sun, Jun 26, 2011 : 9:25 p.m.
You are correct, on all counts demistify....and its worth noting that the current roster of non-retired middle east scholars, such as Cole, (who are themselves turning out the next generation), were raised on a polemical template associated with Palestinian scholar Edward Said ( no friend of israel) who capitalized on and expanded the rhetorics around opposition to the Vietnam war to the middle east..., However cole notwitstanding these are largely irrelevant to the current war on the Islamic fanatics who attacked us and alot of others ( and do the same to Israelis and jews elswhere, per the slaughtered rabbi and his family in Mumbai...an attack emanating fro Pakistan and with the probable complicity of the pakistani intelligence services). Such scholars sadly win few brownie points with those they want to study ( and often need visas to do so) by being sympathetic to israel l or the "hegemonic, neo colonial west and their zionist satellites" ( see! i still know the jargon! despite being retired from academe , and having had my bellyful of adventures in such regions,--- and am free call it like it is as , i gather, can you given what ive heard of your life experiences.
demistify
Sun, Jun 26, 2011 : 7:33 p.m.
We need to correct an obfuscation that is rife throughout this discussion: The laws say that surveillance and spying are supposed to be carried out by the FBI within the US and by the CIA outside. It says nothing about the nationality of the targets. Both agencies are allowed to track both aliens and citizens, each in its proper geographical sphere, and they do. There is nothing illegitimate about the CIA having a file on Cole (if it does), provided the information was collected abroad. He travels frequently to the Middle East and his wife has an extended family in Pakistan. What would be illegal is the CIA spying on him while he is at home. I have not seen the latter claimed in the press coverage. The hearings will presumably clear this up. The White House inquiring about the existence of such information is not illegitimate, provided the data was legally collected.
Roadman
Mon, Jun 27, 2011 : 4:08 p.m.
Legally collected? The scenario you cite demonstrates gray areas and hazy legal lines - lines which the CIA does not hesitate to cross and later hides behind a political argument of patriotism when persons like Attorney General Eric Holder wish to investigate possible criminal violations. I suppose your argument could exonerate Operation CHAOS where the CIA kept files on over 300,000 antiwar activists because some went to Vietnam, Canada, or merely vacationed somewhere outside the U.S. at some point during their antiwar advocacy.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 3:53 p.m.
"What they are not entitled to is to assert that anyone who disagrees with him is ipso facto evil, as ERMG ultimately does" Wow. Talk about a bizarre and unsubstantiated conclusion. But that conclusion (as well as all that comes before it in the post) is great evidence that a rational discussion on United States Middle East policy is near impossible. With no facts whatsoever to support such assertions, demystify writes: --"Juan Cole is a very active propagandist" --Cole shows "a soft spot for Islamist 'militants' and bashing Israel." Translated: Cole has the temerity to question US Middle East policy as well as its alliance with Israel. Result: Ad hominem attacks on Cole and on anyone who might think he has some knowledge in the area. "What they are not entitled to is to assert that anyone who disagrees with him is ipso facto evil, as ERMG ultimately does, after resorting to an array of misleadingly out-of-context quotations" Out of context quotations? Where? Please elaborate and educate. Else it is simply more ad hominem in that it implies I made it up. "Those who reflexively attack any questioning of Cole reveal their disdain of free speech." Interesting statement that. To paraphrase Shakespeare, "Methinks thou doth protest too much". The comments began as focused on the article: The CIA's alleged illegal spying on an American citizen. It then moved on to unsubstantiated criticism of Cole (e.g., soft spot for extremists). And when people are taken to task for posting such unsubstantiated blather, the critic is opposed to free speech? It's laughable and proof that the accuser has no ability to substantiate their claims with actual FACTS! Disagreement with subject matter experts is always a good thing. If, perhaps, there had been more disagreement about WMDs in Iraq, we would not have gone to war there. But, gee, I think this was Juan Cole's point 8 years ago. Disagreement with facts to support is a better thi
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 3:54 p.m.
Cut off: Disagreement with facts to support their disagreement is a better thing. Good Night and Good Luck
demistify
Sat, Jun 25, 2011 : 3:12 p.m.
As usual, partisanship is disguised with high-minded pretenses. Juan Cole is a very active propagandist on Mideast issues, showing a soft spot for Islamist "militants" and bashing Israel. This leads those who agree with him to bill him as an unimpeachable authority, as Roadman does. They are entitled to believe him. What they are not entitled to is to assert that anyone who disagrees with him is ipso facto evil, as ERMG ultimately does, after resorting to an array of misleadingly out-of-context quotations. Cole loves controversy, which is his right. That exposes him to criticism, which is also legitimate. Those who reflexively attack any questioning of Cole reveal their disdain of free speech.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 3:02 p.m.
bedrog wrote: ". . . and the CIA WOULD be properly involved re American citizens...contra ERMG...were those citizens of the al qaeda recruiter sort, like ex-americans anwar awlaki and adam gadahn." From the New York Times: "'These allegations, if true, raise very troubling questions,' said Jeffrey H. Smith, a former C.I.A. general counsel. 'The statute makes it very clear: you can't spy on Americans.' Mr. Smith added that a 1981 executive order that prohibits the C.I.A. from spying on Americans places tight legal restrictions not only on the agency's ability to collect information on United States citizens, but also on its retention or dissemination of that data." Source: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/us/politics/16cole.html?scp=1&sq=juan%20cole&st=cse" rel='nofollow'>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/us/politics/16cole.html?scp=1&sq=juan%20cole&st=cse</a> I guess Mr. Smith, the former general counsel for the CIA, needs to consult with Bedrog before issuing his legal opinions. Good Night and Good Luck
bedrog
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 11:35 p.m.
Was Kennan the subject of this thread? or am i losing it? --or are you? No response required . message received loud and clear. good night and get help.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 10:53 p.m.
You were a colleague of George Kennan's? Oooooooooh. "Duly noted"? Now I'm shakin' in my boots. My views prevail? Not likely. No. We'll ride the horse with Israel until both pay the consequences for their actions, 9/11 being just the start. Good Night and Good Luck
bedrog
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 10:31 p.m.
Yes i do know who Kennan was..and FYI was myself a colleague of the subject of this thread until my retirement ( although in a related department). And while there might indeed be a possibility of "our" becoming like "them " were a Bachmann, or Palin or Gingerich or Santorum elected theres little danger of that with Obama or someone of his moderate and considered and pragmatic and informed views at the helm ( I 'm not planning to run, p.s.,,,so relax). Your specific little Israel bash is duly noted. Thank You . It puts alot in perspective ( and not in a particularly good way). Good night and good luck to all of us. (We'll need it if your views prevail -- although the closest wannabe candidate to them would seem to be be Ron paul and he's a no-hoper).
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 8:47 p.m.
My namesake would be appalled: 1) At the Patriot Act and other measures that have attacked our freedoms 2) At the lies that brought us into Iraq 3) At the incompetent manner in which the wars in Iraq and A-Stan have been prosecuted. 4) At the manner in which our alliance with Israel has poisoned our relations with the Islamic world 5) At our inability to see that our presence in the Middle East makes that area more unstable, not less, and plays into the hands of extremists 6) At arguments like yours that justify the unjustifiable because "they" are "worse" than we are, because he knew that such logic meant that we would soon become what they are. George Kennnan was a contemporary of Murrow's. Since you're so smart, I'll just assume you know who he was and what the gist of the Long Telegram was (a big assumption, I know). He closed the Long Telegram by saying: "We must have courage and self-confidence to cling to our own methods and conceptions of human society. After Al [sic], the greatest danger that can befall us in coping with this problem of Soviet communism, is that we shall allow ourselves to become like those with whom we are coping." Ben Franklin was more brief: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Good Night and Good Luck
bedrog
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 8 p.m.
ermg...if you dont see the difference between our "means " ( and ends!!) and theirs ,your screen namesake would be truly appalled,.. as am I since on other threads/issues you seem to exhibit better sense. Fortunately, the president and a bipartisan majority of congress and voters do see the differences ( barring a ron paul victory in 2012). And I don't dignify distractive accusations and fishing expeditions.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 6:19 p.m.
1) Ahh. Ends justify means. NOW I understand. Islamic (and other) extremists feel similarly. You're in good company. 2) It's instinct. And I note there's no denial. Good Night and Good Luck
bedrog
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 5:34 p.m.
So sue the CIA for monitering ( and hopefully droning) those who want to kill you... . You can piggyback in a class action with 'roadman ' and company and good luck with that!. ..and speaking of spying , do you have some covert access to IP numbers?? Scary if so, unless YOU belong to a government agency and are acting as a double agent. In which case, thank you for your service.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 4:26 p.m.
Whether or not they have been doing it (and I know you know all that the CIA does and does not do) is beside the point. It is illegal for them to do it, which is the point. BTW, voting for yourself does not count. Good Night and Good Luck
bedrog
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 3:47 p.m.
Given that the CIA has long been appropriately involved in trying to moniter ex- americans awlaki ( in yemen by way of colorado) and gadahn in pakistan ( by way of california) your snark is moot.
bedrog
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 2:09 p.m.
Heardoc and clownfish...in fact the 'right vs. left' labeling you both use has become utterly meaningless ( to the point of infuriating stupidity) in the context of the very real conflict with islamic extremism and the sort of mindsets it represents. Some of the worst apologists for such undeniably ."right wing" movements come from the supposedly "lefty' extremes in the west who babble the loudest about 'human rights' while shilling for the likes of hamas and the taliban. At the same time many on the far right in the west , who are commendably among the most supportive of combatting Islamic bigots, themselves support bigotry and irrationalism from matters sexual to environmental and scientific ( e.g evolution, climate change, gay rights) . God ( if there is one!!) bless the sane and informed middle...and i count our President among those despite his demonizers on both far left and far right. As to where Cole stands in all this , his blogs are readily accessible and whatever one may conclude ( and I strongly demur from many of his views on which i also am quite well informed) they and he are within reasonable free speech parameters and not worthy of special CIA attention. ( and the CIA WOULD be properly involved re American citizens...contra ERMG...were those citizens of the al qaeda recruiter sort, like ex-americans anwar awlaki and adam gadahn).
clownfish
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 12:51 p.m.
Was it "leftists" that outed a CIA agent whose job it was to investigate Iranian wmd programs? Was it a "leftist" President that bogged us down in Iraq, with claims of non-existent wmd's? Was it a "leftist" government that started a war with almost no plan, no clue and no exit strateegery? Was it a "leftist" government that ignored Juan Coles insight into the region, insight that could have saved American lives? nope Was it a "leftist" that was correct in his views of how the Iraqi War would play out? you bet. Did "leftists" complain when people were being rounded up and detained in violation of the 4th Amendment? Did "Leftists" complain when the government passed a law that allowed the govt to look into your library and book purchase records, without allowing access to legal counsel? Yep. Where was "the right"? Cheering it all on. But, that's OK HEARDOC, you go ahead and play the McCarthy Card, don't let facts slow you down. If the CIA did investigate a US citizen the correct reaction must be to blame the US citizen and direct attention to him instead of the overreaching govt, right? Too funny to have "righties" blaming govt for overreach after 6 years of cheering on our new security state. After all it was a right wing president that brought us the TSA, the Patriot Act, Valerie Plame, Abu Graib etc. All promoted and applauded at the time, you know, because we are under attack. Now the blame must shift to "the left", because looking in the mirror must not be done, it is always someone else's fault.
Roadman
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 2:34 a.m.
Dr.Juan Cole is one of the top Middle Eastern scholars in America, along with such other notables as Thomas Friedman, Fouad Ajami, and David Shipler. They probably know the political and cultural intricacies of the Middle East better than anyone and each, to varying extents have been publically critical of the policies of the United States and Israel and their respective political allies in the region. Cole has also been publically critical of the legality of U.S. operations in Iraq as well as Israel's contiued occupation and hegemony over Gaza and the West Bank. It is his First Amendment right, of course to express such opinions. The Central Intelligence Agency has attempted to make inroads in the local political scene as it has since the 1960s with mixed success. If they targeted Dr. Cole on behalf of the Bush Administration, accountability should be had as Eric Holder has beenn doing as to alleged torture carried out by the CIA. Locally, the CIA Director Leon Panetta recently met with Arab-American publisher Osama Siblani of Dearborn and a deputy director came to Dearborn to give an address to Arab-American leaders. Last weekend, the CIA had an information "lounge" at the Arab-American Festival in Dearborn where recruiters met with members of the public. The CIA has attempted, with very limited success, to reach out to local Arab-Americans to form a relationship much as they did with the Cuban-American community in Miami after Castro took power. Local Arabs rightfully have distrusted the CIA. Local Ann Arborites should send a message to their elected officials that the Bush Administration's andCIA's alleged role in targeting and investigating Dr. Cole for his thoughtful political expression should not be tolerated.
demistify
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 8:46 p.m.
My but annarbor.com keeps on top of the news! I read the story in the New York Times one week ago (Thursday).
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 9:49 p.m.
Indeed! Good Night and Good Luck
leaguebus
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 8:18 p.m.
Brought to you by the same administration that outed Valerie Plame, then pardoned the guilty person. The same administration that lied about WMD's in Iraq and slandered Joe Wilson when he submitted truth to their lies. Hey, why not sic the CIA on someone with views that counter theirs?
Heardoc
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 6:47 p.m.
Maybe this professor should have been looked into -- since the CIA was involved and he has ties to the middle east-- there may be more in the professor's background than meets the eye. Let us see what the panel finds -- I think the professor should worry. Leftists believe in more government and in this case they obtained more government -- why would a leftist complain? i doubt the same leftist would complain if this happened to a someone opposed to his viewpoint. At the very least -- we should look into the professors work and blogs to see what all the fuss is about-- maybe the CIA and the FBI should both be involved.
Roadman
Fri, Jun 24, 2011 : 2:12 a.m.
@Edward's Ghost: You are correct. It is an FBI matter if federal law is violated. No arguable jurisdiction at all for CIA.
Edward R Murrow's Ghost
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 9:52 p.m.
Talk about a swing and a miss. If he was suspected of all of the things you charge, the FBI would be justified in investigating him. Federal law prohibits the CIA from spying on US citizens, and it has no law enforcement powers whatsoever. Lots of opinion. Almost no understanding to support those opinions. Whiff! Good Night and Good Luck
Ricebrnr
Thu, Jun 23, 2011 : 6 p.m.
No not possible. The CIA's mandate is intelligence matters outside the US and the FBI is for internal. Certainly a government agency wouldn't overstep their mandate would they? *cough* BATFE *cough* IRS *cough TSA *cough*...