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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.")