Monday, January 4, 2010

Jordan spy slain in Afghan attack on CIA


Press TV

"Reports of the death of a Jordanian spy in a recent bomb blast in Afghanistan have shed light on the close ties between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Jordanian spy service in the region.

Last week a bomber wearing an Afghan army uniform entered a secret base of the CIA located in the Afghan province of Khost and detonated a device carefully hidden in his vest. The Taliban allegedly claimed responsibility for the incident, which killed at least seven CIA officers and injured six others, and has taken pride in the fact that they were able to infiltrate the Afghan National Army without the US military noticing.

On Monday, The Washington Post revealed that the eighth man killed in the attack was Ali bin Zeid, a senior operative of the Jordanian spy network known as the General Intelligence Department (GID).

His death has reportedly provided a "rare window into a partnership" between the US and Jordanian intelligence service, in which Jordan has significantly contributed to Washington's military operations in the Middle East.

"They know the bad guy's . . . culture, his associates, and more [than anyone] about the network to which he belongs," said Jamie Smith, a former CIA officer who worked in Middle East in the wake of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. According to Smith, who now heads a private security company known as SCG International, Jordanians were particularly skilled with interrogating suspects [Read: torture!] and cultivating informants.

Former intelligence officials have told the Post that both countries preferred to keep their cooperation in the dark, in part to avoid damaging Jordan's standing among neighboring countries in the Middle East. "

No comments: