More on the "so secret" CIA program

Two more stories laying out some details on the "so secret" CIA assassinations program.

First, the AP has some of the history of the "on again, off again" nature of the program. They're reporting that Tenet canceled the program in 2004, but it was brought back by his short term replacement Porter Goss (never did find out why he resigned,) and then petered again under Michael Hayden.

And, the WaPo has a story saying the "so secret" program came to Panetta's attention because those in charge were asking to "activate" the plan.

"Activate" appears to mean training teams, not staging an assassination. However. "training" does appear to have involved the feasibility of infiltration.

Two U.S. officials with detailed knowledge of current CIA operations said the agency presented Panetta last month with new plans for moving forward with training for potential members of the assassination teams -- activities that would have involved "crossing international boundaries," in the words of a former counterterrorism official briefed on the matter.

So, it appears the toxic part might be diplomatic after all.