WASHINGTON, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – The CIA chief warned Thursday that Ukraine could lose the war to Russia by the end of this year unless the United States sends more military aid. The grim warning by Bill Burns came as the US House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Saturday on a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine that has been held up for months by Republican lawmakers allied with Donald Trump as he […]
Tag: CIA
40 years in prison for ex-CIA coder who leaked hacking tools to WikiLeaks
NEW YORK, Feb 1, 2024 (AFP) – A former CIA programmer was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday for leaking the US spy agency’s most valuable hacking tools to WikiLeaks. Joshua Schulte, 35, was found guilty in 2022 of espionage and other charges in what the CIA called a “digital Pearl Harbor” — the largest data breach in the history of the intelligence agency. “Schulte betrayed his country by committing some of the […]
CIA chief visits Israel amid Iran tensions
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US Central Intelligence Agency chief William Burns was due in Israel Tuesday for talks on common foe Iran, as rising tensions overshadow talks on restoring a landmark nuclear deal. A spokesman for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave no details of the agenda for the CIA chief’s talks in Israel. But the Walla News website said he would discuss Iran’s nuclear programme and its activities in the region with both Bennett and […]
CIA concludes Saudi Crown Prince behind Khashoggi murder: report
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Central Intelligence Agency has concluded Saudi’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing people close to the matter. The US assessment directly contradicts the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor one day prior, which exonerated the prince of involvement in the brutal murder. According to the CIA findings, 15 Saudi agents flew on government aircraft to […]
Turkey shares evidence with CIA chief over Khashoggi murder: report
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish intelligence has shared “all the evidence” over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi with the CIA chief during a visit, pro-government media reported on Wednesday. CIA Director Gina Haspel visited the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday for talks with officials about the killing of Washington Post contributor Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate. Video images and audio tapes as well as evidence gathered from the consulate and the […]
Trump blacklists critical ex-CIA chief Brennan
by Andrew Beatty Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday revoked the security clearance of former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan, and warned several other prominent critics they too risk being blacklisted. In a highly unusually directive, Trump claimed that Brennan — a former station chief in Riyadh who rose to lead the formidable spy agency — had become “erratic.” Brennan is a frequent Trump critic. Just hours […]
First woman CIA director sworn in
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Veteran CIA officer Gina Haspel was sworn in as the agency’s first female director Monday, hailing the “heroines” who had gone before her and expressing hope she and her team would be “role models.” The 61-year-old Haspel, a Russia specialist who spent her career in the Central Intelligence Agency’s clandestine service, takes over from Mike Pompeo, whom Trump recently made his secretary of state. Haspel was confirmed by the Senate […]
CIA nominee Haspel vows spy agency will not reinstate torture
by Paul HANDLEY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — CIA nominee director Gina Haspel said Wednesday she would not reinstate the spy agency’s interrogations program even if ordered by President Donald Trump, but expressed no regrets for her part in detainee torture after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Facing opposition over her role at a secret CIA prison in Thailand in 2002 where Al-Qaeda detainees were waterboarded, Haspel made clear she would not […]
CIA nominee Haspel to vow not to restart torture program
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the CIA, will pledge Wednesday to prevent the restart of the 2002-2005 interrogation program that saw detainees tortured. The three-decade veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency’s covert operations is facing opposition over her role at a secret CIA prison in Thailand in 2002 where Al-Qaeda detainees were waterboarded. “I understand that what many people around the country want to know about are […]
Trump defends CIA nominee Haspel amid questions about torture role
by Paul Handley Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Monday defended his nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, who faces stiff opposition over her past role in the torture of suspected Al-Qaeda detainees. “My highly respected nominee for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, has come under fire because she was too tough on Terrorists,” Trump tweeted. “Think of that, in these very dangerous times, we have the most qualified […]
Senate Republicans push for Pompeo secretary of state vote
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Republicans are pushing for a confirmation vote next week on Mike Pompeo becoming secretary of state, even though his nomination may not receive majority support in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Some key Republicans say, Pompeo, who currently heads the Central Intelligence Agency, is likely to be confirmed by the full Senate, as he made the rare move of privately courting Democrats who do not serve on the committee […]
Former CIA chief Stansfield Turner dead at 94
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Stansfield Turner, who headed the CIA in the 1970s and was credited as a ground-breaking tech pioneer, has died at the age of 94. The current CIA boss, Mike Pompeo, praised the retired Navy admiral as “a devoted patriot and public servant who led our agency through a turbulent period of history, including both the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian revolution.” Turner’s death in Seattle on Thursday was […]





