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|Speeches and Testimony                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      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|Remarks by Deputy 
          Director for Operations James L. Pavitt
          at the
          Foreign Policy Association
          21 June 2004(as prepared for delivery)
        
         
        Thank you very much. It is a privilege to be here this evening. In 
          the tradition of the men charged with keeping America's most sensitive 
          secrets, I rarely speak in public. But I decided it was important to 
          come to this city and speak to this audience, to speak openly about 
          the Directorate of Operationsthe clandestine servicethe 
          most secret, yet, least understood part of the Central Intelligence 
          Agency.
        I would like to borrow the words of an Englishman from another time 
          whobetter than any spy novelcaptured the spirit and ethos 
          of the clandestine service:
        "From time to time, God causes men to be born who have a lust 
          to go abroad at the risk of their lives and discover newstoday 
          it may be far off things, tomorrow, of some hidden mountain, and the 
          next day of some nearby men who have done a foolishness against the 
          state. These souls are very few; and of these few, not more than ten 
          are of the best."
        For the most secret part of the U.S. intelligence community, there 
          has been far too much buzz over the past few years on what it is we 
          do. My officers have been described as gun slinging cowboys on the one 
          hand and, risk-averse on the other and, worse yet, just plain incompetent. 
          In the media there has been a lot of talksome complimentary, a 
          great deal critical, but most of the commentary is from sources who 
          are far from informed. It seems a lot of people with very short careers 
          in the clandestine service or, more often, people at the periphery of 
          the intelligence profession consider themselves qualified pundits. The 
          title "intelligence expert" is one all of us see with increasing 
          regularity on television these days. Yet, for all the experts and all 
          the expert opinion, I fear the American people don't get much real insight 
          into my business from these "experts."
        So I thought it perhaps worth your time to hear from methe man 
          who runs America's spy service. I will retire in August after 31 years 
          of service at CIA. Despite a long tradition of silence, a tradition 
          of allowing the wildest statements about my business to go unanswered, 
          I feel both compelled and obligated as the leader of the clandestine 
          service to set the record straight about America's spy service.
        But first, let me tell you a little more about what I won't tell you. 
          I will not divulge the names of officers, I will not divulge ongoing 
          operations, I will do nothing to compromise information which is vital 
          to our national security. But I will provide some insider details. I 
          will offer some real insight into the operations and the people who 
          make up the clandestine serviceone of America's best, but least 
          known, and least appreciated national treasures. Hopefully, you will 
          get some appreciation of the men and women who fill the ranks of the 
          clandestine service. These are truly extraordinary Americans doing extraordinary 
          thingswho work in silence on the front lines of the intelligence 
          war.
        My good friend George Tenet often says he has the greatest job in the 
          world: I beg to differI think as Deputy Director for Operations, 
          I do. Every morning, I am briefed on an astounding array of incredible 
          secret operations, agent meetings, recruitments of new agents, placement 
          of technical devices, captures of terrorists, near misses and harrowing 
          escapes clandestine service officers have carried out in the past 24 
          hours. Not a day goes by in which I am not astounded by the imagination, 
          the creativity and the bravery the men and women of the Directorate 
          use to keep our nation safe and collect human intelligence of incalculable 
          value.
        These have been particularly challenging times for America and for 
          our nation's spy service. We are now nearly three years beyond the devastation 
          of September 11a day that indelibly scarred this city and this 
          nation. Like Pearl Harborthe event which led to the creation of 
          America's intelligence services9/11 redefined us, refocused us, 
          and made our mission all the more critical. It changed what we do and 
          how we do it forever.
        We are no strangers to criticism, and the events of the past few years 
          have generated a great deal of it. Some is very thoughtful, and we welcome 
          that.
        We have learned, adjusted and grown from thoughtful and honest critique. 
          We are better for many changes made, and we are more able. But some 
          of the criticism is unwarranted and frankly, ill-informedfor example, 
          the charges that the CIA has lost its status as the gold standard in 
          intelligence or that our officers are unwilling to go to the hardest, 
          most dangerous places. I can tell you that is simply not true!
        Shallow uninformed criticism provides precious little insight into 
          what America's clandestine service is all about. What human intelligence 
          is and what it is not. Let me do that for you tonight.
        For all the critique, for all the rhetoric about failure, no one has 
          ever asked me to stop recruiting spies and stop producing human intelligence 
          reports. Indeed, the demand grows and customers at every level want 
          more.
        Many of those who criticize us for not having enough spies, enough 
          agents on Iraq, on terrorism, on North Korea, on Iran, do not have the 
          first idea of what a spy, an agent really is. An agenta human 
          being with access to vital, secret information who agrees to give this 
          information to usis not a simply attainable commodity. Contrary 
          to popular fictionthey cannot simply be boughtindeed, some 
          of the very best agents have never taken a dime. They are human beingscarefully 
          cultivated, developed, and brought to a relationship based on a level 
          of trust that transcends any simple business arrangement.
        Among the trendy sound bites on intelligence is the clamor for "connecting 
          the dots," for sharing sensitive operational information with analysts 
          and other consumers of intelligence so they have all the dots connected, 
          so that nothing whatsoever is overlooked.
        I fully support information sharing. Information sharing is essentialthe 
          information from our sources and the "product" of our operations 
          is meant to be usedto inform our top policymakers and to enable 
          law enforcement officials to thwart terrorist attacks. We risk agents 
          and officers every day to collect that data.
        But that sharing does not eliminate our sacred duty to protect our 
          sources and methods. We always balance expanded access to information 
          with smart compartmentation and what we call the "need-to-know" 
          principle.
        I know the spy business and the people who conduct it better than most, 
          and I am here tonight to give you a bit of an insider's view. As the 
          DDO, I know better than anyone the men and women who spend their days 
          recruiting spies and stealing secrets. I know their commitment, their 
          integrity, their desire to serve, their sense of duty and patriotism 
          and their willingness to make tremendous personal sacrifices for the 
          national good.
        The officers of the clandestine service work in the most dangerous 
          and most demanding places in the world. Places like Qandahar, Afghanistanwhere 
          Al-Qai'da and the Taliban target our personnel for assassination. Places 
          like Moscowthe heart of our number one global competitor, working 
          under the toughest, most pervasive surveillance in the world. Places 
          like Bogota, where narcoterrorists conduct assassinations in broad daylight. 
          Places like Baghdad where our officers are constantly under attack from 
          an enemy bent on their deathswhere we lose to hostile fire armored 
          vehicles at the rate of one a week. In times that demand heroes, America 
          is fortunate to have these heroes serving on the front lines.
        Let me tell you more about my officers:
        The officer abroad who spent more than 20 hours on the streets to collect 
          critical intelligence, meeting an agent for whom the consequences of 
          exposure would be certain death.
        The officer in Iraqwho dealt with a nervous, jumpy intelligence 
          volunteer who promisedand delivered, the location of Uday and 
          Qusay Hussein.
        The officer in Afghanistan who, wounded in an Al-Qa'ida firefight, 
          turned his vehicle into the line of fire to protect his Afghan and American 
          partnersand gave his life to ensure his colleagues could return 
          home.
        The officer abroad who ventures into the toughest immigrant neighborhoodswhere 
          the local police think twice about goingto scour the Islamic community 
          for a penetration of a terrorist cell, an Al-Qa'ida fundraiser, someone 
          who can provide a critical piece of intelligence.
        The officer who posed as a foreigner to gain access to the inner circle 
          of a major terrorist facilitator in one of the toughest, most dangerous 
          areas in South Asia.
        A young paramilitary officer, recently married, with a young child 
          who has spent more time in Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11 than with 
          his family and whose only proviso when asked to travel into the toughest 
          of environments was, "tell me where I can be of the most service."
        Sometimes the officers themselves speak most eloquently about what 
          they do and what the job means. This from a first-tour officer injured 
          in a firefight that took the lives of his military partners last fall 
          while hunting terrorists in Afghanistan: "What the best training 
          cannot prepare you for is what it feels like to be shot, what it feels 
          like to see a friend in significant pain, what it feels like to have 
          your weapon jam under fireI have to admit, I was feeling sorry 
          for myself, but it was the thought of my family and friends that kept 
          me level headed and focused on surviving. I continue to be committed 
          to our profession because I believe in our mission."
        Organizations often show their true colorsindeed as some have 
          put ittheir culturesin the worst of times. In February 2003, 
          we faced such a period with the tragic loss of a young first tour officer 
          who was killed in Afghanistan in a terrible training accident. My Chief 
          of Station in Kabul wrote me a note shortly thereafter, which, I believe, 
          captures the spirit and ethos of the clandestine service. I quote from 
          his note: "One thing we cannot do, and every single officer here 
          shares this view, is back away from the job at hand, and that necessarily 
          means accepting attendant risksit is dangerous here, in Kabul, 
          at the bases, all around. To a man, the attitude remains, if not me, 
          who then?"
        I've spent some time now discussing how the clandestine service is 
          taking on the challenges of the present. Now I'd like to provide some 
          history. Let's go back to the darkest days of the Cold Warthe 
          mid-1970s, when the Soviet Union and the United States seemed close 
          to the nuclear confrontation we all dreaded during those dark days. 
          In Moscow, our small station was under incredible, close surveillanceour 
          officers were constantly watched and followed, tracked by trained dogs 
          and technical devices. It was the toughest operating environment imaginable. 
          Through the lens of the past 13 years, it is hard to remember the Soviet 
          Union for the evil, repressive, society it was; in many ways, it was 
          the model for the "republic of fear" Saddam created in Iraq.
        In mid-1977, a small furtive man, hiding near the official gas station 
          reserved for foreign diplomats, approached an official he believed to 
          be an American and passed him a note, quickly, carefully, under the 
          noses of surveillance. He was disgusted with the Soviet regime, quietly 
          worshipped America from afar, and believed he was in a position to help.
        Adolf Tolkacheva senior research scientist in the Russian military 
          aerospace programdid more than just help. The operation at which 
          he was at the very center ensured us air superiority at a critical juncture 
          of the Cold War. The intelligence he provided from 1977 to 1985 saved 
          the U.S. taxpayers literally billions of dollars in research and development 
          fees on look-down/shoot-down radar, aeronautics design, and early stealth 
          technology.
        Working in secretin the basement of his office complex, in the 
          toilets of the Lenin library, risking his life at every turn, Tolkachev 
          silently fought one of the greatest battles of the Cold War. Passing 
          literally thousands of documents that were nothing short of pure gold.
        Tolkachev never left Russia throughout the operation. As someone who 
          held the highest level clearances, he was denied the privilege of foreign 
          travel. Our officers went to tremendous lengths to elude and escape 
          surveillance to meet him in the dead of night or early morning, quickly 
          passing film and documents. Tolkachev, fighting his solo battle, was 
          glad for the rare moments of contact with his allies.
        In the end, Tolkachev was caughtand paid the ultimate price for 
          his servicedeath in the basement of the notorious Lubyanka Prison 
          in Moscow. Oleg Penkovsky may have been the spy who "saved the 
          world" during the Cuban missile crisisbut in the secret archives 
          of the Cold War, Adolf Tolkachev and our officers who worked with him 
          were heroes in one of the decisive battles in the Cold War.
        These accounts describe the clandestine service I know. It is a national 
          treasure that only a few people have the privilege to serve.
        These rare, extraordinary men and women, who go abroad to the world's 
          toughest places, understand the high stakes of their work and they are 
          willing to take the necessary risks. They accept that, in the secret 
          world, success is unheralded and failure is trumpeted. Yet they continue 
          their difficult, demanding work, in silent service to our country.
        Let me say it again: they are a national treasure.
        As the result of exceptional leadership within the Agency and a new 
          appreciation of the value of human intelligence by our nation's leaders, 
          we are in a much stronger position today than we were a decade ago. 
          As you know from recent press articles, we embarked on a wholesale rebuilding 
          of the clandestine service in the late 1990s. We have made tremendous 
          strides but still have work to do.
        The fact is, despite strong protests from within my agency, the clandestine 
          service was left to wither during most of the '90s. As part of the so-called 
          "peace dividend" after the Cold War ended, too many in Washington 
          believed that intelligence was no longer needed and our operations officer 
          corps could shrink without consequence.
        And shrink it did. We trained roughly two dozen new officers in 1995. 
          Even as our missions were expanding and changing, the number of intelligence 
          positions throughout the Government, especially overseas, dropped by 
          almost a quarter in the mid-90s. At CIA, recruitment of both operations 
          officers and analysts came to a virtual halt.
        Compare that with today: Our recruiting and training efforts are unprecedented. 
          And interest in CIA from talented men and women from all over this country 
          is at an all time high.
        We get 2200 resumes a week from some of America's best and brightest. 
          Not only young college graduates, but also experienced professionals: 
          retired military and law enforcement officers, linguists, scientists, 
          lawyers, engineers, doctors.
        Today, the average clandestine service trainee classes number significantly 
          higher and we aim to double the number of new officers in two years. 
          Recruits spend a full year learning every aspect of our tradecraft, 
          from how to detect surveillance, to the fine art of recruitment and 
          agent handling to armed defense in extreme situations.
        In the last five years, the clandestine service has grown 30 percent. 
          And we plan to grow it another 30 percent in the next five years. But 
          as good as our recruiting and training is, I can't buy experience, and 
          it will take time for our skilled new graduates to become the seasoned 
          pros we need them to be.
        The world we face today, the challenges we face are far more dangerous 
          and require as great if not a greater commitment than those associated 
          with the Cold War. We face a global enemy in the terrorists bent on 
          our destruction, the challenge of providing force protection for nearly 
          a quarter million U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the 
          Korean Peninsula, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, 
          dealing with regional challenges such as Iran, North Korea, Russia, 
          and China.
        The fight against Al-Qa'ida and the hate-filled extremist movement 
          it fuels across the globe is an intelligence waras much as if 
          not more than any conflict in our nation's history. We will not prevail 
          against this agile and determined enemy without creative, vibrant and 
          expanded human intelligence capabilities.
        The CIA has known this for years. The opening shots in the war on terrorism 
          were fired well before 11 September 2001. The Directorate's Counterterrorist 
          Center will mark its 20th anniversary in 2006. Even in our leanest yearsthe 
          1990s, when Congress was cutting our fundingwe were ensuring sustained 
          resources to counterterrorism, not as much as we needed to meet the 
          gathering threat, but as much as we could given our limited resources.
        Well before 11 September, 2001 we understood the important connection 
          between domestic and international terrorism. We were working side by 
          side with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to counter the 
          threat. The partnership was real.
        Well before 11 September 2001, we were fighting Al-Qa'ida and disrupting 
          its activities. We unraveled terrorist plots that aimed to murder innocents 
          and shatter peace. Plans for attacks in the U.S., Jordan and Israel 
          around the millennium were thwarted. Others still were quashed in the 
          fall of 2000, and again in the summer of 2001.
        Well before 11 September 2001, we told the public and we told the Congress 
          and the Executive Branch, that terrorists threatened our nation.
        Well before 11 September 2001, we knew Al-Qa'ida was planning something 
          bigger than we had seen, something terrible. All the while, we at CIA 
          were loudly sounding the alarm and constantly seeking more resources 
          to counter this threat. The bombings of our embassies in Africa and 
          the U.S.S. Cole were not enough. The chatter we picked up in early summer 
          2001 was not enough to provide us specific information about the attack.
          The tragedy of September 11th changed everything. The intelligence community, 
          at long last, received the funding and the tools it needed to fight 
          the war on terrorismat the cost of 3,000 innocent souls.
        People still ask me if I think we could have stopped the horror of 
          that dayif we had, in fact, connected all the dots before us. 
          There are some who have placed the blame on a handful of individual 
          officers for not ensuring the FBI watch listed two of the hijackers. 
          It is a question my officers have asked themselves, have tormented themselves 
          with, for it is only human to wonder "what if?"
        Although we can speculate endlessly, given what we had that day, I 
          sadly conclude that the answer is no. Short of cracking Usama bin Laden's 
          impenetrable inner circle, sealing our borders and recognizing box cutters 
          as potential weapons, we could not have stopped those planes from hitting 
          the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania. 
          In a chilling interview on Al-Jazeera, bin Laden himself bragged that 
          not even all of the hijackers knew the full extent of their mission 
          that day.
        We did not foil the evil of September 11. We failed to stop this horror. 
          Indeed, not only did we fail, much of our national security apparatus 
          failed as well to protect the American people. But we did not allow 
          the horror to prevent us from fighting backright from the start. 
          Ignoring the order to evacuate CIA Headquarters, many of my CTC officers 
          stayed to take charge of the intelligence counterattack. Many officers 
          from other parts of the DO volunteered to stay onmany for several 
          days without break. One senior officer who had retired from the government 
          on the 11th was driving to his retirement home, literally swung his 
          car around on the road when he heard of the attacks, drove back in the 
          gates, revoked his retirement, and went right back to work.
        In less then two weeks, CIA paramilitary officers were on the ground 
          in Afghanistan, working with old friends in familiar places, in the 
          traditions of their OSS forefathers, preparing the way for the eventual 
          military campaign that deposed the Taliban and deprived bin Laden and 
          his lieutenants of a sanctuary in which to plan future attacks.
        Destroying terrorism and those who have attacked us is the primary 
          mission of my officers, not only in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but worldwide. 
          A worldwide threat requires a worldwide response.
        And, our efforts have had significant impact on our enemies. We've 
          captured or killed nearly two-thirds of known Al-Qa'ida top leadership. 
          Khalid Shaykh Mohammed, Khalid bin Attash, Abu Zubaydah, Hambali, Abu 
          Musab al Baluchi, and a host of others are in custody.
        None of thisnone of thiswould be possible without human 
          intelligence: my operations officers, the agents they recruit and the 
          partnerships they build with foreign intelligence services all serve 
          the counterterrorist mission. Satellite photos and communications intercepts 
          can get you only so far. It is the human source that so often delivers 
          the final piece of a puzzle. Human intelligence from the spies the clandestine 
          service recruits, resulted in many of the captures. A human source gave 
          us the critical piece of intelligence to conduct the operation leading 
          to the capture of the architect of 9/11, the Al-Qa'ida mastermind Khalid 
          Shaykh Muhammed; a human source provided us the trail to Hambali, Al-Qa'ida's 
          ringleader for a second wave of terror attacks on America; and it is 
          human intelligence that will eventually help us bring Usama bin Ladin 
          to justice, or justice to him.
        Let me be clear: the threat from Al-Qa'ida remains. Let me be even 
          clearer: as sure as I am of anything, I am sure all of us here are sitting 
          in the cross hairs. Al-Qa'ida has unambiguous plans to hit the homeland 
          again, and New York City, I am certain, remains a prime target. Human 
          intelligence will play a critical role in preventing future attacks, 
          but I can't offer you guaranteesand I wouldn't trust anyone who 
          does.
        Let me move away from terrorism for a moment to another issue challenging 
          America and its spy service.
        From the task of collecting intelligence before the war in Iraq to 
          the current task of supporting the new republic's first breaths of freedom, 
          the clandestine service has been fully engaged in Iraq.
        I am often asked why Iraq was so hard?
        Simply put, Iraq under Saddam was the republic of fear. If you were 
          suspected of or caught assisting his adversaries, your family was tortured 
          and you were shot. Indeed, it was no secret to Iraqis that getting caught 
          working with us meant the end for them and their families.
        As I mentioned at the outset, some of our critics have been on the 
          mark regarding Iraq. Indeed, as some critics have claimedduring 
          the pre-war period, we did not have many Iraqi sources. We certainly 
          did not have enough! Until we put people on the ground in northern Iraq, 
          we had less than a handful. As I mentioned before, the operating environment 
          was tremendously prohibitive and developing the necessary trust with 
          those Iraqis who had access was extraordinarily difficult in light of 
          the risks they faced. Once on the ground, however, our officers recruited 
          literally dozens of agentssome of whom paid the ultimate price 
          for their allegiance to uswho were determined to help all Iraqis 
          win their freedom.
        Did we get access to the heart of Saddam's weapons programs? No. In 
          those final months, did we get closer to the inner circle of the military 
          and political process? Absolutely! And in that compressed period of 
          a few months, we collected intelligence our own military deemed of vital 
          importance.
        CIA officers first played pathfinder roles, moving well ahead of the 
          combat lines, obtaining critical intelligence that informed battlefield 
          planners. Then, when U.S. troops launched on March 19, 2003, my officers 
          were right there with them.
        And well before Saddam's statue was toppled in Baghdad, our officers, 
          their equipment and communications gear flew into the capital under 
          hostile fire. We needed to be thereto provide crucial intelligence 
          to the advancing combat forces.
        Today, as Iraq transitions from tyranny to self-determination, Baghdad 
          is home to the largest CIA station since the Vietnam war. I am extremely 
          proud of our performance in Iraq, and of our role in liberating its 
          people from decades of repression.
        The missions the clandestine service takes on for America are not all 
          fast-breaking. Many take years or longer. Human intelligence led the 
          way to one of the most significant counter-proliferation successes in 
          years: Libya's renunciation of weapons of mass destruction last December.
        As the result of a patient, decade long operation involving million 
          dollar recruitment pitches, covert entries, ballet like sophistication 
          and a level of patience we are often accused of not possessing, the 
          clandestine service exposed the network of Pakistani scientist AQ Khan. 
          Khan was the source of nuclear materials in Libya, Iran and North Korea 
          and the potential source to non-state actors. Working with British intelligence, 
          we surprised Libya's leaders with the depth of our knowledge about its 
          weapons programs. We pressed them on the right questions, exposed inconsistencies 
          and convinced the Libyans that holding back was counterproductive.
        In the end, Colonel Qadhafi had no option but to abandon his WMD programs 
          and accept international inspections. Nice work by any high standard!
        None of this comes easily. Espionage is not James Bond or Jason Bourne 
          or any of the hundreds of other fictional spies who occupy the world 
          of novels and movies. Human intelligence demands a balance of delicacy, 
          poise, timing, and understanding of human beings. It relies on an operations 
          officer getting to know an agent or potential agent as well as he or 
          she knows a member of his or her family. The officer must learn the 
          motivations, emotions, loyalties, vulnerabilities, and limits that drive 
          this most unique of human beings. It requires professional detachment 
          that allows the officer to see the truth from the half-truth, the nuance 
          of fact, the coloration of bias. It is no wonder why human intelligence 
          is, as I told you, more art than science.
        It has been well established that the intelligence community, including 
          the clandestine service, did not have the resources it required before 
          the 9/11 attacks. Most of you are aware of the traumatic resource reductions 
          we received throughout the decade of the 90s, cuts made in the wake 
          of the supposed post-Cold War "peace dividend," the reluctance 
          of Congress and the nation's leadership to sustain the clandestine service 
          so that we could answer the alarm we had been sounding about Al-Qa'ida's 
          threat to America. These cuts, the lack of funding, left America's spy 
          service weakened and America vulnerable. As I said before, 9/11 changed 
          all thatthe Congress provided a tremendous influx of counterterrorism 
          funding in the wake of 9/11 and Iraq focused funding prior to the war 
          in Iraq.
        The tremendous resources devoted to the war on terrorism and the effort 
          in Iraq have made a difference; the influx of funding has helped. But 
          it has helped us catch up in a race in which we had been allowed to 
          fall too far behind. Frankly speaking, the men and women of the clandestine 
          service have been in a flat out sprint since 9/11. The increased funding 
          has helped us to grow our capability in the global war on terrorism 
          and support our troops in Iraq. But we will need longer term, strategic 
          funds to win the race around the globe. For the sake of America's security, 
          for our future, we need sustained congressional and executive commitment 
          to grow and nurture a clandestine service worthy of this country and 
          the challenges we face.
        In my opinion, now is not the time for radical reorganization of the 
          intelligence community, for creating a new structure, a different framework 
          in the hope of always getting it right and always connecting the dots. 
          Some have said my retirement and George Tenet's resignation create the 
          "perfect storm" for radical restructuring in the intelligence 
          community. Let me remind you that in the book and the movie "the 
          perfect storm," the ship sank and the crew drowned.
        I would argue against change for the sake or appearance of change particularly 
          in these politically charged times and at a time of great terrorist 
          threat. No one really seeks a perfect storm. The aftermath of 9/11 brought 
          about tremendous change in the way we do business; but change for its 
          own sake is dead wrong. I believe thoughtful empowerment of the DCI 
          and sustained executive and congressional commitment to improve our 
          nation's intelligence capabilities will serve our nation well.
        No amount of intelligence funding, no amount of threat integration, 
          no amount of rebuilding the intelligence community, as some have called 
          for, will or can guarantee perfect results.
        At its very best, human intelligence is an inexact art, and while we 
          may be able to find and connect many of the dots; I would be lying to 
          you if I said we can connect them all. I would be suspect of anyone 
          offering quick solutions or quick answers through hasty reorganization 
          and centralization.
        Even with all that we have learned from 9/11, from the war on terrorismas 
          good as we've become, there will be failures. Perfection is impossible 
          in a profession devoted to the complexities and unknowns of the world.
        You already know what I worry aboutanother attack by terrorists 
          on the homelandindeed this is what I lose sleep over. But I also 
          worry that racing to change risks many things to include our nation 
          and the clandestine service. The clandestine service provides the American 
          public with no balance sheet, no scorecard at the end of the year tallying 
          victories and losses. Our failuresreal or perceivedare the 
          stuff of headlinesour successes are largely unheralded. Therefore, 
          I hope I have expanded your understanding of what we do.
        As we search for ways to improve our intelligence capability, we as 
          a nation must take care not to dismiss or undo the magnificent gains 
          of human intelligence. There is far more at stake than an organization's 
          pride. Our challenges remain daunting, our responsibility enormous.
        I fear that we are being pushed into a "mistake-free zone," 
          and only bad can come of that. Fear of failure creates cautionin 
          people and in organizations. One of the bedrocks of my business is a 
          willingness to take riskscalculated risks that withstand legal 
          scrutinybut risks that are inherent to all we do. Mistakes and 
          failure come with the territory as wellwe will always strive for 
          perfection with the understanding it is unattainable.
        As my friend and former director Richard Helms put it, "secret 
          intelligence has never been for the fainthearted." In my business, 
          you simply have to accept the real probability of failure, learn from 
          your shortcomings and do better. Those afraid to make mistakes will 
          never be bold or creative enough to solve the problems our nation faces. 
          This business is not for everyone.
        Imagine for a moment what would have happened if the CIA, during the 
          height of the Cold War, had abandoned its effort to send the first spy 
          satellite into space. The program was called Corona and it failed 12 
          times over two and a half years. Finally, in August 1960, it launched, 
          orbited and sent back to America the first overhead photos of the Soviet 
          Union. The vast amounts of intelligence it gathered quickly overtook 
          all we had gained from the U-2 spy program.
        Indeed, some of our best officers have learned from their mistakes. 
          In the previous century, a junior intelligence officer in Switzerland 
          received word on Sunday evening that a disturbed Russian sought to speak 
          to an American official. Not wanting to spoil his weekend tennis outing, 
          our officer told the duty officer to direct the disturbed Russian to 
          return the next dayMondayduring duty hours. Unfortunately, 
          Vladimir Lenin chose not to return to the mission. Allen Dulles, our 
          longest-serving DCI, was the junior intelligence officer. He recovered 
          admirably from this early stumble and learned a lesson he imparted to 
          future generations of operations officers.
        Today, a willingness to think creatively and to take risks is arguably 
          more important than ever. Our enemies in the war on terror seek our 
          destruction. They have been weakened but not beaten. And there will 
          be more deadly attacks.
        And there is an important analogy.
        Al-Qa'ida succeeded, with terrible human toll, on 11 September. Many 
          times before, and many times after that horrid day in 2001, the terrorists 
          failed and intelligence succeeded. Too often that is forgotten in the 
          endless rush to assign blame.
        70 terrorists were brought to justice before 9/11, and hundreds 
            after.
          The millenium plot, which targeted us among others, was disrupted 
            with dozens of terrorists apprehended.
          The Ramadan plot in the Gulf was foiled.
          We stopped attacks against the U.S. in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
          We disrupted attacks against the U.S. military in Europe and a U.S. 
            embassy in a European capitol.
          A major arrest deterred plans to kidnap Americans in three countries 
            and carry out hijackings overseas.We must be agile and aggressive in our response to this shrewd and 
          single-minded foe.
        We are and will continue to be.
        As George Tenet once put it, "in times like these, the need for 
          heroes is compelling." If you remember nothing else I have said 
          tonight, remember this: There is no shortage of heroes in the company 
          I keep.
        From the South Asian Muslim woman who became a U.S. citizen and 
            is nowin her words"living the American dream" 
            by serving in the clandestine service,
          to the Arabic-speaking former operations officer who returned to 
            us on September 12th, 2001, after leaving us for the private sector, 
            because he decided there was no more important calling;
          from the Chief of Station targeted for assassination in South America;
          To the memory of Mike Spannthe first American hero to fall 
            in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban and Al-Qai'da.I am tremendously proud of the peoplethe heroesI have led 
          for the last five years. They are heroes for whom there are no parades, 
          no public accolades, and rare acknowledgement of their deeds. They are 
          a living national treasure. They have earned your adulation and they 
          need your support.
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