BIG BROTHER

Ex-Spy: CIA Spied on Blogger

White House wanted dirt on prominent critic, he alleges.

Add one more to the dishonor role of torture, warrantless wiretaps, and extraordinary rendition. An ex-spy says the White House asked the CIA to gather information on Juan Cole, a Middle Eastern history professor at the University of Michigan who, via his blog, was a noisy critic of the war in Iraq. Glenn Carle said his boss said of Cole, ““The White House wants to get him.” The CIA denied the allegations. Cole took them in stride: “They must have been dismayed at what a boring life I lead,” he said. If true, such surveillance would be illegal, due to post-Watergate laws that prohibit spy agencies from collecting information on American citizens inside the U.S.