Captured, Killed or Compromised: C.I.A. Admits to Losing Dozens of Informants

Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by Jakespere

The warning, according to those who have read it, was primarily aimed at front line agency officers, the people involved most directly in the recruiting and vetting of sources. The cable reminded C.I.A. case officers to focus not just on recruiting sources, but also on security issues including vetting informants and evading adversarial intelligence services.

Among the reasons for the cable, according to people familiar with the document, was to prod C.I.A. case officers to think about steps they can take on their own to do a better job managing informants.

Former officials said that there has to be more focus on security and counterintelligence, among both senior leaders and frontline personnel, especially when it comes to recruiting informants, which C.I.A. officers call agents.

“No one at the end of the day is being held responsible when things go south with an agent,” said Douglas London, a former agency operative. “Sometimes there are things beyond our control but there are also occasions of sloppiness and neglect and people in senior positions are never held responsible.”

Mr. London said he was unaware of the cable. But his new book, “The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence,” argues that the C.I.A.’s shift toward covert action and paramilitary operations undermined traditional espionage that relies on securely recruiting and handling agents.

World wide messages to C.I.A. stations and bases that note troubling trends or problems, or even warnings about counterintelligence problems, are not unheard-of, according to former officials. Still, the memo outlining a specific number of informants arrested or killed by adversarial powers is an unusual level of detail, one that signals the importance of the current problems. Former officials said that counterintelligence officials typically like to keep such details secret even from the broad C.I.A. work force.

Asked about the memo, a C.I.A. spokeswoman declined to comment.

Sheetal T. Patel, who last year became the C.I.A.’s assistant director for counterintelligence and leads that mission center, has not been reluctant to send out broad warnings to the C.I.A. community of current and former officers.

TTauriStellarBody on October 6th, 2021 at 12:00 UTC »

When ever a document like this is released it is always worth asking who and why?

The US is currently at the end of its pivot from seeing al Qaeda and such organizations towards what it describes as "near peer" adversaries. A memo that seems to state the CIA needs to improve its field craft is now presented to the public. The US is an open society and a democracy. This means there are many poles of power and levers of power. Someone wishing to affect change inside the CIA can leak in order to get voters and law makers interested. Others can leak to make a subtle statement to the US public about a refocusing on priorities.

What I am trying to say is, ask questions. Some will feel the story fits their preconceived world view, dont fall for that trap.

This is a piece of information that only makes sense in a wider context.

bagjoe on October 6th, 2021 at 08:43 UTC »

This is the “punch line” of LaCarre books about spies. In the end, the hero does not ride off into the sunset.

Jakespere on October 6th, 2021 at 08:23 UTC »

SS: Last week a top a memo was released to every CIA base around the world about an increasingly worrying amount of informants being captured, killed or turned. Over the past few years there has been dozens of cases involving foreign informants being killed or compromised. Countries with adversarial intelligence agencies like China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan seemed to have amped up their counter intelligence operations as the CIA has been bogged down in its fruitless war on terror campaign and underestimates its adversaries. Former officials say there is no shortage of examples of where the agency has been so focused on the mission that security measures were not given proper consideration. And in some cases a turned agent can have deadly consequences.

Theres plenty of blame to go around but I dont see any quick path to improvement. Technologies like facial recognition, biometric scans and artificial intelligence has been a massive boon to the intelligence agencies of authoritarian regimes. Even social media manipulation has managed foreign regimes to effectively tap into the frustrations of the American people without the need for boots on the ground. The CIA may need to implement reforms to tackle the modern age in a post war against terror world as its foes are now not scrappy ideologically driven insurgents but are cynical and pragmatic near peer state actors.

Heres a chinese joke

"Take a picture of that equipment and you'll be rewarded."

"How much?"

"5000 RMB."

"...... That's not even enough for an iPhone."