In a world of seemingly random massacres in Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino, Calif.; Islamic State beheadings; and an erratic potentate in a nuclear-armed North Korea, we like to think that the CIA, the FBI and the other 14 agencies charged with gathering intelligence are doing their damnedest to keep us safe. And, for the most part, they are. But embedded within the vast U.S. intelligence complex is a bloated bureaucracy that creates turf battles and massive inefficiencies that can lead to dire and even deadly consequences. The tale of Robert Levinson — a retired Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI agent turned CIA contractor who disappeared in 2007 from a resort island in the Persian Gulf — underscores the dangers of the multi-headed bureaucratic monster called the CIA.
In January of this year, after the United States and Iran reached a deal to curb the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, the two countries swapped prisoners. Levinson was not part of the agreement. Proof that he was alive has come only twice — in a 2010 video, in which he pleaded for help from his government, and in 2011 photos of Levinson wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and looking ill and disheveled.
Read more at Washington Post
You've reached your daily free article limit.
Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.
In a world of seemingly random massacres in Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino, Calif.; Islamic State beheadings; and an erratic potentate in a nuclear-armed North Korea, we like to think that the CIA, the FBI and the other 14 agencies charged with gathering intelligence are doing their damnedest to keep us safe. And, for the most part, they are. But embedded within the vast U.S. intelligence complex is a bloated bureaucracy that creates turf battles and massive inefficiencies that can lead to dire and even deadly consequences. The tale of Robert Levinson — a retired Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI agent turned CIA contractor who disappeared in 2007 from a resort island in the Persian Gulf — underscores the dangers of the multi-headed bureaucratic monster called the CIA.
In January of this year, after the United States and Iran reached a deal to curb the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, the two countries swapped prisoners. Levinson was not part of the agreement. Proof that he was alive has come only twice — in a 2010 video, in which he pleaded for help from his government, and in 2011 photos of Levinson wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and looking ill and disheveled.
Read more at Washington Post
Image courtesy of huffingtonpost.com
Luigi Mangione, Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder, Held in Custody in PA
Inside Delta Force: America’s Most Elite Special Mission Unit
Navy SEALs To Rally Behind Pete Hegseth in a March on Washington
Head Coast Guard Chaplain Removed Due To Knowledge of Sexual Misconduct
What Assad’s Downfall Means for Syria and the Middle East
Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.
TRY 14 DAYS FREEAlready a subscriber? Log In
COMMENTS
You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.