All We Ever Do Anymore is Fight
CIA Director Leon Panetta, trying to fend off a new Justice Department investigation of agency interrogation practices, got into a shouting match at the White House and was on the verge of quitting—or so went the scuttlebutt in Washington last week. Suggestions that Panetta is leaving are "trash, pure and simple," says Paul Gimigliano, a CIA spokesman. He adds that Panetta, "who's had good jobs in Washington, views his current post as the best of all," and that the CIA chief intends to be at his job "for a good long time." White House spokesman Ben LaBolt says there's "not a shred of truth" to the suggestion Panetta is on the way out.
Still, institutional battles seem to be eroding his ability to defend the agency. Not only did Justice reopen the investigation into alleged post-9/11 CIA interrogation abuses, but the Obama administration made public documents describing in lurid detail how the CIA used "enhanced" techniques to extract information from terror suspects. To be sure, Attorney General Eric Holder's probe is carefully circumscribed to a small range of cases, leading some intel officials to conclude that, if Holder felt compelled to open an inquiry, he wanted to limit its impact. Among the issues the criminal inquiry is expected to focus on: alleged excesses in the use of waterboarding, says a counterterrorism official who asked for anonymity when discussing the investigation.
Yet another test of Panetta's clout is underway. For months the CIA chief and his boss, intel czar Dennis Blair, have been feuding. The beef? Blair issued an order giving himself the power to designate a senior U.S. intel rep in foreign countries—a designation that's historically gone to the chief of the local CIA station. The feud was so intense that it was referred to national-security adviser Jim Jones for resolution, say three intelligence officials who requested anonymity to talk about a sensitive matter. When Jones couldn't settle it, the matter was sent to Vice President Joe Biden. (A National Security Council spokesman had no comment.) The officials say Biden brokered an amicable settlement after meetings with Panetta and Blair, and that the results are expected to be ratified in a meeting in Biden's office this week.
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Mark Hosenball joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in November 1993, covering a range of issues for the National Affairs department. Most recently, he has written and reported numerous stories on terrorism and the Sept. 11 attacks on America. He has also covered campaign finance, the Monica Lewinsky controversy, the death of Princess Diana, Whitewater, the crashes of EgyptAir flight 990 and TWA flight 800, as well as related air safety issues.
Hosenball came to Newsweek from "Dateline NBC," where he worked as an investigative producer. He also worked extensively as a print journalist, writing for a number of British and American publications, including the London Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard, Time Out, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic. In addition, he has done commentaries for American Public Radio.
Hosenball has been honored with a number of prestigious awards. Most recently, along with a team of Newsweek correspondents, he was awarded the Overseas Press Club's most prestigious honor, the 2002 Ed Cunningham Memorial Award for best magazine reporting from abroad for Newsweek's coverage of the war on terror. His reporting and that of his colleagues earned Newsweek the prestigious National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002 for its coverage of September 11 and its aftermath. And a story he co-authored was highlighted in a citation Newsweek received by the White House Correspondents' Association when it awarded the magazine the 2002 Edgar A. Poe Award for "excellence on a story of national or regional importance. "Newsweek's September 11 coverage started long before the attacks. An article in the magazine's February 19, 2001 issue warned with chilling accuracy: 'The threat posed by (Osama) bin Laden is growing -- and coming ever closer to home."
Hosenball was a contributor to the CANAL + TV documentary, "L'Argent de la Drogue" (Drug Money), which was awarded the "Sept D'Or," the French equivalent of an Emmy. He also contributed to NBC News' coverage of the BCCI scandal, which earned a 1991 Peabody Award.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania and Trinity College in Dublin. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and son.
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