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Dead Drop: April 28

Dead Drop: April 28

STAGING A COO AT CIA: Last week we told you that CIA Executive Director Meroe Park is planning to retire.  This week we can report that her successor will be Brian Bulatao, a U.S. Military Academy classmate and former business partner of CIA Director Mike Pompeo.  The new #3 is getting a new title too.  No longer will the position be called the “EXDIR” but instead will be re-branded as “Chief Operating Officer.” Bulatao, who is currently a “senior advisor” to Pompeo, will assume his new duties on June 1. A spokesman for CIA told The Cipher Brief that the “COO will focus on the business and technology elements of CIA and will be more empowered to drive accountability and performance management in these areas.”  The Agency tells us that while in uniform, Bulatao led “several successful military operations, including in the Middle East and Panama.” In addition to his degree from USMA, he holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Some observers think it risky to have both the #1 and #3 executives at the CIA be new to the Agency.  The last time that happened was in the mid-90’s when John Deutch was DCI and he brought Nora Slatkin, a controversial Pentagon executive, with him. Deutch and Slatkin did not mesh well with the Agency culture, and their tenures lasted well short of two years.  By all accounts so far, however, Pompeo is being well-received at Langley.

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