'Unusual' cable specifies that dozens of CIA informants have been arrested, killed in recent years


An "unusual top secret cable" sent to every CIA station and base around the world last week alerted officers about dozens of cases in the last several years involving foreign informants who had been killed, arrested, or most likely compromised, The New York Times reports.
The alert itself wasn't necessarily unique, but the Times notes the fact that the cable specified the number of lost informants — information that is usually kept strictly under wraps by intelligence officials — suggests that the issue is more urgent than usual.
People familiar with the document told the Times the point was to "prod" the agency's case officers to shore up their protection and management of informants in other countries. Recruiting spies has always been a high-risk endeavor, but the cable warned that the CIA hasn't excelled in the area lately. Some reasons behind the issues are, the Times says: being too trusting of sources, underestimating foreign intelligence agencies, and moving too quickly to recruit informants while ignoring crucial risks. The last problem is known as placing "mission over security," the Times writes. That may be linked to the fact that during the "war on terror," the CIA shifted from more traditional espionage methods toward covert action and paramilitary operations. Read more at The New York Times.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
How might Bari Weiss change CBS News?
Talking Points Is the network trying to ‘appease’ the president?
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all time
The Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US