AP Reveals CIA Secrets

The Associated Press is getting into the game of revealing national security secrets. The heart of the story is at the beginning of the article.

A white, unmarked Boeing 737 landed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before dawn on a CIA mission so secretive, many in the nation's war on terrorism were kept in the dark.

Four of the nation's most highly valued terrorist prisoners were aboard.

They arrived at Guantanamo on Sept. 24, 2003, years earlier than the U.S. has ever disclosed. Then, months later, they were just as quietly whisked away before the Supreme Court could give them access to lawyers.

It's good to know that the CIA did its best to put off the consequences of giving terrorists rights for as long as possible. They should be congratulated for taking such steps.

The transfer allowed the U.S. to interrogate the detainees in CIA "black sites" for two more years without allowing them to speak with attorneys or human rights observers or challenge their detention in U.S. courts.

And that was a good thing. Who knows what information might have been missed, had terrorist rights supporters prevailed more quickly in their efforts to cripple U.S. intelligence gathering?

Although it is nice to know the CIA took extensive measures to protect the country and extract information from top Al Qaeda leaders for as long as possible, none of this information should ever have seen the light of day. Each time CIA operational methods are revealed, there is a chance that we will have comprised tools that may be necessary in the future.