Pentagon Official Ran Private Assassin Support Crew

A senior Pentagon official secretly set up a private network of contractors to help track and kill militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, military officials say. Michael D. Furlong may have diverted money from other programs to fund his own network of former CIA and Special Forces operatives, officials tell the New York Times. It's not clear who—if anybody—condoned the operation.

Furlong boasted about his network of "Jason Bournes" and said information they supplied had been used to kill at least one group of suspected militants, said officials. Furlong's program now appears to have been shut down, officials say, and he is currently the subject of a criminal investigation for numerous possible offenses, including contract fraud.
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