Mixed Messages on CIA Methods

The recent deaths of seven American intelligence officials in Afghanistan is a "stark reminder" of the role the CIA plays battling a "vicious foe," writes chief spook Leon Panetta in The Washington Post Sunday. Those officials were killed by a double agent who blew himself up with a suicide bomb, but, Panetta writes, "no one ignored the hazards." Elsewhere in the Post Sunday is a story describing just how great a "breach of operational security" there had to be for the bombing to take place. The agency's victories can't be discussed publicly, Panetta writes. He adds, "When you are fighting terrorists, there will be risks."