WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- The CIA's Counterterrorist Center has spent more than $15 million in the past three years funding liberal studies and reports, the Washington Times reports.
An investigation by the newspaper of the CIA's funding of think tanks shows that the CTC's academic outreach program has not funded any studies or conferences at conservative organizations.
The latest effort was a $300,000 grant by the CIA to the Atlantic Council for a study co-authored by Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism official who wrote a best seller accusing the Bush administration of failing in the war on terrorism by invading Iraq.
Bush administration officials told the newspaper the agency's funding of counterterrorism studies and conferences through the center raises questions about whether the agency is violating its charter by getting involved in activities that influence U.S. policy.
Disclosures of the funding come after a highly critical report of the Sept. 11 commission that faulted the CIA for its counterterrorism efforts after the attacks.
