CIA hired others to try to hit Al-Qaida

WASHINGTON: The CIA hired private contractors at Blackwater USA in 2004 as part of a secret program to kill top-level members of Al-Qaida, a person familiar with the program said on Wednesday.

The contracts, which were unsuccessful, were canceled several years ago, The New York Times reported.

The Times, citing unidentified current and former government officials, said Blackwater executives helped with planning, training and surveillance for the program. The program never resulted in the capture or killing of any terrorists suspects, according to current and former US intelligence officials. It was never fully operational, and has been canceled twice: once by then-CIA Director George Tenet, restarted by Porter Goss, and canceled again by CIA Director Leon Panetta in June.

Panetta then informed the congressional intelligence committees about the program for the first time the next day.

The House Intelligence Committee last month launched an investigation to determine whether the CIA broke the law by not informing Congress about the secret program as soon as it was begun.

Blackwater, a North Carolina company now known as Xe Services, has come under heavy criticism for its alleged role in a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

It was unclear whether the CIA had planned to use the contractors to capture or kill Al-Qaida operatives or just to help with training and surveillance.

AP

(China Daily 08/21/2009 page11)