Posted on 02/11/2005 10:57:51 PM PST by F14 Pilot
WASHINGTON Dozens of CIA informants inside Iran were executed or imprisoned in the late 1980s or early 1990s after their secret communications with the agency were uncovered by the government, according to former CIA officials who discussed the episode after aspects of it were disclosed during a recent congressional hearing.
As many as 50 Iranian citizens on the CIA's payroll were "rolled up" in the failed operation, according to the former officials, who described the events as a major setback in spying on a regime that remains one of the most difficult targets for U.S. intelligence.
The disclosures underscore the stakes confronting the CIA and its informants at a time when the United States is under pressure to produce better intelligence on Iran and especially its nuclear activities. The Bush administration has indicated that preventing Iran from obtaining an atomic weapon will be a priority of the president's second term.
Like Iraq before the U.S. invasion in 2003, Iran is regarded as a "denied" territory by U.S. intelligence, meaning the CIA has no official station inside the country and is largely dependent on recruiting sources outside the Islamic Republic's borders.
Details of the setback were first outlined by former Pentagon advisor Richard N. Perle on Feb. 2 in testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. During a hearing on security threats, Perle was critical of U.S. intelligence capabilities and cited the crackdown on American sources in Iran as an example of the failures that have beset U.S. espionage in the Middle East.
Perle referred to the "terrible setback that we suffered in Iran a few years ago when in a display of unbelievable, careless management we put pressure on agents operating in Iran to report with greater frequency and didn't provide improved communications."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
June 6, 2000
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According to a report in today's "New York Times," John Millis, Republican Staff Director of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Committee (HPSCI) committed suicide in a Fairfax County Virginia motel last Sunday. According to the Times, "A spokesman for the Fairfax City police said officers were called to a motel about 8 p.m. on Sunday because a man was threatening suicide. Officer Jeff Morrison said that when the police arrived they found Mr. Millis dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound."
The Times reported that Millis, appointed to his post as staff director by Republican Chairman Porter Goss of Florida three years ago, was himself, like Goss, a former CIA case officer. In his 13 year career with CIA, Millis served in Pakistan with Afghani "Freedom Fighters" in the 1980s.
Loeb included additional quotes from Millis praising current DCI George Tenet but closed his story with the following passage: "Where Tenet hasn't done as well, Millis said, is coordinating the overall affairs of the 13-agency intelligence community. But Millis blamed that shortcoming on a lack of support by President Clinton, whom Millis ranked as one of the worst presidents when it comes to support of, and regard for, the intelligence community."
FTW noted in the March issue that such on-the-record quotes by a senior Congressional staffer, in an apparently pre-arranged news story, were highly unusual. Statements of strong opinion are usually reserved for elected Members of Congress. In an election year marked by unusually strenuous behind the scenes conflicts, Millis' statements struck us as especially unusual for their apparent candor and premeditation.
Already comparisons have been made linking the circumstances of Millis' death to those of White House lawyer Vincent Foster and investigative reporter Danny Casolero. Anti-Clinton groups will certainly add Millis' name to the so-called "Clinton Body Count" while others will likely wonder if Millis had pangs of conscience or inside knowledge that might have jeopardized other interests in the intelligence community during a highly volatile period of American history.
FBI investigating missing State Department laptop
News Story by Ann Harrison
APRIL 19, 2000 (COMPUTERWORLD) - The U.S. State Department said yesterday that the FBI is leading an investigation into the disappearance two months ago of a State Department laptop computer that might have contained classified information. A department spokeswoman could not confirm whether any sensitive data that might have been stored on the missing laptop was encrypted.
Hmmmm. In a mere 43 posts, many interesting additional stories surface.
I take it Millis suffered another variation of Arkancide (another man who knew too much...)
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