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

The warning, in keeping with those that have learn it, was primarily aimed toward entrance line company officers, the folks concerned most instantly within the recruiting and vetting of sources. The cable reminded C.I.A. case officers to focus not simply on recruiting sources, but additionally on safety points together with vetting informants and evading adversarial intelligence providers.

Among the many causes for the cable, in keeping with folks conversant in the doc, was to prod C.I.A. case officers to consider steps they’ll tackle their very own to do a greater job managing informants.

Former officers stated that there must be extra concentrate on safety and counterintelligence, amongst each senior leaders and frontline personnel, particularly relating to recruiting informants, which C.I.A. officers name brokers.

“Nobody on the finish of the day is being held accountable when issues go south with an agent,” stated Douglas London, a former company operative. “Typically there are issues past our management however there are additionally events of sloppiness and neglect and other people in senior positions are by no means held accountable.”

Mr. London stated he was unaware of the cable. However his new e-book, “The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence,” argues that the C.I.A.’s shift towards covert motion and paramilitary operations undermined conventional espionage that depends on securely recruiting and dealing with brokers.

World extensive messages to C.I.A. stations and bases that observe troubling traits or issues, and even warnings about counterintelligence issues, usually are not unheard-of, in keeping with former officers. Nonetheless, the memo outlining a selected variety of informants arrested or killed by adversarial powers is an uncommon stage of element, one which indicators the significance of the present issues. Former officers stated that counterintelligence officers sometimes wish to maintain such particulars secret even from the broad C.I.A. work drive.

Requested in regards to the memo, a C.I.A. spokeswoman declined to remark.

Sheetal T. Patel, who final yr grew to become the C.I.A.’s assistant director for counterintelligence and leads that mission middle, has not been reluctant to ship out broad warnings to the C.I.A. group of present and former officers.