30 January 2015
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/chief-cia-clandestine-service-saved-hamid-karzai-28583289
New Chief of CIA Clandestine Service Is Spying Veteran
WASHINGTON Jan 29, 2015, 4:31 PM ET
By KEN DILANIAN AP Intelligence Writer
[Excerpt]
The CIA officer credited with saving Hamid Karzai's life during the U.S.
invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 has been named director of the National
Clandestine Service, the agency's spying arm.
The officer, a former Marine who is under cover and whose first name is Greg,
was recently the head of the Special Activities Division, the CIA's elite
paramilitary force. He has twice been station chief in Afghanistan, where
in December 2001 he jumped to shield Karzai when the U.S. military accidentally
bombed the position of the man who would become Afghanistan's president.
A sends:
Yes, it's Vogel. Another head of the Special Activities Division: Rodney
Guy Smith. His name is under a few redactions in the torture report.
13 February 2012
CIA Kabul Chief of Station Named
A sends:
I recently sorted out the identity of the CIA Kabul chief of station (all
through open sources, of course). Apparently no one has reported it on the
web yet.
The triggering information was a WSJ article :
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704741904575409874267832044.html#
which gave a significant bit of information:
"In the chaos of battle in December 2001, a U.S. military officer accidentally
ordered a bomb drop on a meeting between Mr. Karzai and other tribal leaders.
The chief leapt on Mr. Karzai to shield him". It also says that "In 2004
he began his first stint as station chief in Kabul".
A second source to make the link, DCI George Tenet's memoirs At the Center
of the Storm. Tenet call that guy "Greg V."
I came across this DOS document :
http://oig.state.gov/documents/organization/128838.pdf
On p. 71 you find a list of Kabul embassy officials, including an officer
for Regional Affairs named Gregory Vogel who arrived there in September
2004.
What are the chances to have two "Greg V."s arriving at an upper post in
this embassy in 2004? Especially when you know until June 2004 the
CIA chief of station was first-named Peter:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52673-2004Oct21.html
By the way, that guy has been given a lot of surnames:
- in Gary Berntsen Jawbreaker (2005), he is called "Craig."
- in Sean Naylor Not a Good Day to Die (2004), it is said that he
used the noms de guerre "Spider" and "the Wolf", and was the senior CIA officer
in Gardez during operation Anaconda.
- in Eric Blehm, The Only Thing Worth Dying For (2011), he is called
"Casper."
and as said above, George Tenet said almost all when he called him "Greg
V." (as with "Rich B.")
|