This Promises to be Very, Very Juicy

A quarter-century of CIA skullduggery is about to be declassified and publicly released next week and, according to CIA Director Michael Hayden, "Most of it is unflattering."

The documents cover an era that stretched from the 50's through the 70's, secrets that are known within the CIA as the "family jewels." According to the Washington Post these documents " include accounts of break-ins and theft, the agency's opening of private mail to and from China and the Soviet Union, wiretaps and surveillance of journalists, and a series of 'unwitting' tests on U.S. civilians, including the use of drugs."

Much of this has been the stuff of rich conjecture for decades.

At the time, Henry Kissinger fretted over the disclosure of these secrets in conversations with then President Gerald Ford. Worried that the disclosures could lead to criminal prosecutions, Kissinger added that "when the FBI has a hunting license into the CIA, this could end up worse for the country than Watergate."

Director Hayden said the documents, "provide a glimpse of a very different time and a very different agency."