CIA gets new watchdog, after important post sat empty for year and a half
By Kimberly Dozier, APThursday, October 7, 2010
New inspector general finally watching CIA
WASHINGTON — The CIA has a watchdog again.
The agency says new Inspector General David Buckley started work this week, filling a post that had been empty for a year and a half.
The White House’s unexplained delay in filling the job prompted criticism from lawmakers and human rights advocates who say a powerful watchdog is crucial for an agency where almost every action is conducted in secret.
The last IG, John Helgerson, left in March 2009. Helgerson had a testy relationship with the agency for his investigations of detainee deaths and abuses, the Bush-era harsh interrogation program, and the use of secret prisons.
Buckley, a former Air Force special agent, served previously on the House intelligence committee, the Senate investigations subcommittee and inspector general offices at Treasury and the Pentagon. Obama nominated him in August.
