John Prados

Foreign Policy In Focus contributor John Prados is a senior fellow of the National Security Archive in Washington, DC. His current book is Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945-1975 (University of Kansas Press).

Remember the 1970s, When Congress Actually Stood Up to the Intelligence Community?

It was sad last week to wake up to news of the passing of former New York Democratic congressman Otis G. Pike. During the fierce debates of 1975, known as the “Year of Intelligence” (because the controversies of the day led to the first significant investigations of the actions of U.S. intelligence agencies) Representative Pike … Continue reading “Remember the 1970s, When Congress Actually Stood Up to the Intelligence Community?”

Obama’s Lame Eavesdropping Excuse

There is a clear pattern in the history of intelligence accountability in America. In each of the major seasons of investigation – the Church Committee inquiries of 1975, the Iran-Contra affair in the late 1980s, the 9/11 Commission – a moment occurred when the necessity for public investigation became blindingly evident. The end of October … Continue reading “Obama’s Lame Eavesdropping Excuse”

The CIA’s Lawyer Problem

Citizens on both sides of the political divide are outraged at the recently released Department of Justice report on the Bush administration’s torture memos and what it shows about the lawyers who compiled those legal weapons and subverted the law. But while debate rages over whether or not legal pugilists John C. Yoo and Jay … Continue reading “The CIA’s Lawyer Problem”

The AfPak Paradox

There is a new acronym in the lexicon of Obama administration national security moguls. "AfPak" stands for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The term denotes the administration’s desire to take a unified approach to policy and strategy for these two countries. President Barack Obama correctly views them as the central front of the war on terrorism and … Continue reading “The AfPak Paradox”