CIA Identifies, Memorializes Fallen Covert Officers

ABC news via news.yahoo.com ^ | May 23, 2012 | Lee Ferran

[posterchild]

The CIA has revealed the identities of 15 of its fallen officers, some of whose secret ties to the spy agency are being made public for the first time in almost three decades.

Engraved on a memorial wall at the CIA's headquarters building in Northern Virginia are 103 stars, each representing a CIA officer who perished in the line of duty since the agency's founding in 1947. For some, the star is all recognition they have - many names have still not been made public out of concern for secret operations.

At a memorial ceremony Monday, CIA Director David Petraeus praised their service saying the "103 souls represented by the stars on the wall behind me all heard the same call to duty and answered it without hesitation - never for acclaim, always for country."

The latest of the 103 was added this year, honoring Jeff Patneau, who was killed in a 2008 car crash in Yemen. Petraeus described Patneau as having "boundless talent, courage, and innovativeness to offer our country in its fight against terrorism."

A CIA statement released Tuesday said Patneau was among the 15 names inscribed in the CIA's Book of Honor this year, which allows "agency officers to publicly acknowledge those who have been represented by stars and whom we have silently mourned for years."

Some of the individuals whose service as CIA officers was publicly confirmed today have been the object of speculation in the past as having worked for the spy agency.

[posterchild]

'I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.' - Nathan Hale

[SoldierDad]

WTF?????

[posterchild]

My first thought as well - but I’ll have to trust that they vetted fully the information and concluded that such revelations would not impair other assets currently in the field nor future operations.

[posterchild]

My first thought as well - but I’ll have to trust that they vetted fully the information and concluded that such revelations would not impair other assets currently in the field nor future operations.

[P-Marlowe]

Those names were held in Secret for a good reason. What is the reason they are being released? Another feather in Obama’s cap?

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

I certainly hope so. I have three members of my extended family who have done covert ops for various entities....and they NEVER were to talk about them. They can, now, because they were declassified, but I can’t imagine the agency OUTING them. Good grief.

[posterchild]

Why would such plumage accrue to Obama?

[MagUSNRET]

Obama and his minions are traitors AND ASSHOLES!!!!!!!!!
These men and women gsave their LIVES...and not Petreaus and these other political PUSSIEs FEEL FREE TO DIVULGE THEIR NAMES THEREBY PUTTING THESE FAMILIES IN DANGER??????????
GOD DAMN Obammy AND Petreaus AND their minions!!!!!!!!!!!

[wastedyears]

You know, having been founded in 1947 and only losing 103 operatives is a pretty damn good record. Not to make the loss of each of those men and women less meaningful, but I personally think it speaks volumes at the training they receive.

[max americana]

The CIA lost 103, but they sacrificed lots of “assets” as well.

[fso301]

Hey! That guy you knocked off, John Doe. He was one of ours. Now you can go back and round up those on your list you weren't certain enough about to knock off.

[Secret Agent Man]

There have been plenty more than 103 lost. Many people in the field that were not necessarily on the direct payroll.

And fyi my screen name isn’t for sh1ts and grins.

[unkus]

I always thought it suspicious that Gen. Petreaus went to CIA.

[namvolunteer]

Is Barry Seal included in the list?

[SoldierDad]

I DO NOT trust anything that the current administration does, period.

[SuperLuminal]

"My first thought as well - but I’ll have to trust that they vetted fully the information and concluded that such revelations would not impair other assets currently in the field nor future operations. "

Not a chance! This is just more intentional "loose lips" designed to impair or destroy this evil Nation's survival capability.

All of these scum need to be dealt with after the election if dear leader loses. Indictment, trial, and execution would be a small start.

[Tainan]

The deal was....No names...No connections.

They’re breaking the deal.

[knarf]

THAT goes back a few years and brings up a few memories, ala Clinton.

[mikey_hates_everything]

"For example, Matthew K. Gannon died in the 1998 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Officially listed as a Foreign Service Officer for the State Department, Gannon's links to the CIA appeared in press reports at the time of the crash. However, the agency never officially confirmed that he was a CIA officer until this week."

So now all FSOs are even more suspect in the eyes of any whose culture sees spies and conspiracies everywhere--pretty much the entire Arab world. This sort of thing affects more than just CIA people.

[AmericanInTokyo]

This should have been a secret forever, with only their immediate bereaved families knowing. Jackasses. Somebody’s going to get killed over this now. Just when you thought these people could go no lower and political...then THIS.