James Pavitt James L . Pavitt ( born February 19 , 1946 ) was Deputy Director for Operations ( DDO ) for the CIA from 1999 until June 4 , 2004 . His sudden resignation – as well as that of his chief , DCI George Tenet the previous day – led to speculation that it was over the controversy surrounding Iraq weapons of mass destruction or 9 - 11 intelligence issues . Background . Pavitt was born in St . Louis , Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri ( B . A . , 1968 ) in Columbia , Missouri as a member of Phi Beta Kappa . After graduation , he was a National Defense Education Act fellow at Clark University ( 1969 ) . He is currently a Principal of The Scowcroft Group , an international business advisory firm , and is on the board of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers ( AFIO ) . He is married with two children ( from a previous marriage ) and resides in McLean , Virginia . His hobbies include collecting art , especially primitive American art . Intelligence career . Pavitt served in the United States Army from 1969 - 1971 as an intelligence officer and was a legislative assistant with the House of Representatives from 1971 until 1973 . Pavitt joined the CIA in 1973 as a Career Trainee with postings to Europe , Asia and Washington . He was posted to Vienna ( 1976 - 1978 ) , East Berlin ( 1978 - 1980 ) , Budapest , Hungary and Malaysia ( 1980 - 1983 ) . He was expelled ( PNG ' d ) from East Germany . He was chief of station in Luxembourg ( 1983 - 1986 ) . He served as a Branch Chief in the Africa Division . From 1990 to 1993 , he served on the National Security Council team under Brent Scowcroft as Senior Intelligence Advisor to President George H . W . Bush . After being assigned to work across the Agency operational / analytical divide in the Directorate of Intelligence , he became the founder and first Chief of the Directorate of Operation ' s " Counterproliferation Division " ( CPD ) . Gordon Oehler , then Chief of the Directorate of Intelligence ' s Non - Proliferation Center , criticized this as being redundant and stepping on his turf . Pavitt hand picked operations officers , some of which were Nonofficial Cover Officers ( NOCs ) including Valerie Plame , to staff the CPD . In 1997 he was appointed Associate Deputy Director of Operations . He was Deputy Director of Operations from 1999 until his resignation in 2004 . In 2003 , the CPD took down the nuclear black market being operated by Abdul Qadeer Khan . After September 11 , 2001 , Pavitt was responsible for sending Special Activities Division teams to Afghanistan , Pakistan , Indonesia , Thailand , and Somalia to capture Al Qaeda members . The first Hellfire missiles fired from drones were under his command . They were aimed at an Al Qaeda convoy in Sudan in which all occupants , including an American citizen , were killed . In April 2004 he appeared before the 9 / 11 Commission . The BBC called his 9 / 11 commission appearance ' unprecedented ' . The commission ' s report said that shortly after Bush ' s election , Pavitt told the President - elect that Osama bin Laden was one of the gravest threats to the country . He also added that killing the Al Qaeda leader would have an effect but not stop the threat posed by the terrorist organization . When Bush put Porter Goss in charge of the agency , Pavitt reportedly opposed the internal reorganizations announced by Goss , on the ground that they might " do damage to a strategic effort that has produced excellent work on terrorism and a variety of other important issues . " On June 4 , 2004 , he unexpectedly announced his retirement one day after George Tenet . The CIA says Pavitt ' s decision was unconnected with Tenet ' s departure . Pavitt was succeeded by his deputy , Stephen Kappes . On June 21 , 2004 , Pavitt delivered one of his last speeches as DDO to the Foreign Policy Association . Pavitt is a recipient of the CIA ' s Distinguished Intelligence Medal . He is also a recipient of the CIA Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal , the CIA Director ’ s Medal and the Donovan Award . He is an advisor to the Patriot Defense Group , LLC , to Olton Solutions Ltd . in the United Kingdom and to The Scowcroft Group . He is a director of CACI International , Inc . Some former operations officers are critical of Pavitt , citing 4 international postings over 10 years in a 30 year career as insufficient experience for a Deputy Director of Operations .