Former spies upset over CIA inquiry

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NEW YORK, March 6 (UPI) -- Some ex-CIA operatives on the front lines during the Bush-era war on terror are reported highly critical of planned U.S. Senate probes into their activities.

Some say the investigations smack of politics and hypocrisy, that congressional leaders knew all along what was going on and that questionable tactics wouldn't have been used without explicit legal guidance from the Bush administration, Time magazine reported.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., confirmed Thursday that her Senate Intelligence Committee will investigate the CIA's interrogation and detention programs under the Bush administration,

Earlier, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., reiterated his call for an investigation into the Bush administration's national security policies, including wiretapping, treatment of detainees and the reported politicization of the Justice Department.

U.S. President Barack Obama has shown little desire to get into that arena, saying he'd rather "move forward," the Time article said.

A former senior CIA official was quoted by Time as saying Feinstein's investigation would have a "chilling effect on people who are asked to do risky things for this administration."

Another said staff members will wonder why they are singled out for carrying out Bush administration policies "while those who made those policies are busy writing their memoirs," Time reported.