| CIA In a PR Stew |
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By: Doug Bedell |
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 Flack Me doesn't normally report on governmental agencies, leaving them to the realm of government relations. But can anyone doubt that the Central Intelligence Agency has a public relations problem, big time? In the wake of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the CIA's treatment of detainees, The New York Times is reporting that the agency's claim that torture lead to the elimination of Osama bin Laden is bunk.
"Rebuilding moral credibility (for the U.S.) will take much more than (Senator) Freinstein's report," Bloombergview.com holds. "The full facts of the torture and extraordinary rendition program have yet to be revealed, its participants have yet to be prosecuted, and future abuses have yet to be outlawed. Until these steps are taken throughout the Western alliance, the revelations are only an exercise in public relations."
So, with regard to torture, to what degree will "public relations" become an object lesson in national standards of decency and resolve to shun such excesses of zeal in the future? That's the question posed by the CIA's post-9/11 conduct.
(Photo of the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011, by Warrick Page for The New York Times.)
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Doug Bedell has a background in journalism and PR and is the owner of Resource Relations LLC in Central PA, focusing on organizational and crisis communication. He’s the community manager of SimplyFair.net, a social network on fairness. On the Web, Doug’s at www.ResourceRelations.com. On Twitter, he’s @DougBeetle.
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