Dead Drop: January 4

MORE THAN TWO SIDES TO A STORY: Former CIA Officers who do some of the Agency’s most dangerous work in places like Afghanistan were pretty upset by a recent piece in The New York Times that alleged that CIA-trained Afghan forces have been doing some pretty horrific things in the line of duty in Afghanistan.  The frustration over this story and others like it, doesn’t stem so much over the allegations, but more that the story presented a one-sided perspective of a highly-controversial issue.  The Agency itself had no comment included in the story, though The Cipher Brief spoke with a former CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer who felt compelled to share another view.  It’s incredibly rare that a former officer in this role speaks out.  His piece can be found in The Cipher Brief.

THE RAPP SHEET ON CIA ANALYSIS: Longtime CIA Officer Cynthia Rapp, better known as ‘DiDi’, has been named the new Deputy Director for Analysis at the CIA.  Rapp is a longtime analyst and has served as the head of the President’s Daily Brief.  She is also the former head of the Public Affairs Office.  The Dead Drop hears that Rapp is succeeding Richard Hoch, who will move into the role of Chief Strategy Officer at the Agency.

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