CIA Officers Are Buying Legal Insurance
Monday, Sept. 11, 2006 5:20 p.m. EDT
-----A growing number of CIA counterterrorism officers are so wary about being sued or charged with committing a crime in the course of their duties that they are signing up for a private insurance plan to cover civil judgments and legal expenses.

The concerns grow in part out of public controversy about a system of secret CIA prisons where detainees were subjected to harsh interrogation methods, according to the Washington Post.

The Bush administration maintains that those methods were legal, but some officers fear they may have violated international law or domestic criminal statutes and worry that they won’t have Justice Department representation in court.

Also, "there are a lot of people who think that subpoenas could be coming” from Congress after the November elections or from federal prosecutors if Democrats win the presidency in 2008, a retired senior intelligence officer told the Post.

The insurance policies are offered by Wright & Co., a subsidiary of the Special Agents Mutual Benefit Association created by former FBI officials. They cost about $300 a year and would pay up to $200,000 toward legal expenses and $1 million in a civil judgment.

Since December 2001, the CIA has agreed to pay the yearly premium for counterterrorism officers.

President Bush last week called for Congress to approve legislation that would exempt CIA officers and other federal civilian officials from prosecution for humiliating and degrading terrorism suspects in U.S. custody, the Post reports.

The president also wants to prevent federal courts from considering lawsuits from detainees who claim counterterrorism officers violated laws governing their treatment.

Everyone in CT needs some of that. The damned familes of 9/11 were attempting to sue personal in certain jobs, because they heard a rumor back in 1995 that saddam had a wet dream about airplanes, oil tankers, and large buildings.

It's nice to see people being held accountable, but this is a bit much in my opinion.

On the other hand, one can see why these guys are rightfully afraid. All this secret detention center stuff, creeps me out. If these agents are really involved in torture, extraordinary renditions, etc., then they deserve a lot worse than lawsuits--- even if they are "just following orders".

You can torture someone without showing any physical signs of damage. Coke the drink will make you speak volumes.... I think if the CIA was actually doing anything bad we would never know the truth, as the terrorists always scream torture, trying to get international support. The worst part is from most things I have read/former employees, most CIA guys arent well versed in tortureing anyone and extracting credible information.

Torture rarely works anyway. . . .
It is a tactic that will work on certain people at certain times.
Generally speaking, torture is for the baddest of the bad.
Torturing the everage joe would be overkill and stupid. Most people will tell you EXACTLY what you want to hear under torture - that's bad, you want to hear the truth.
Torture is for the hardened and for the well trained. . . . and is a necessary tool to have in your kit, about .05% of the time.
It is a stupid debate.