CIA Spies Caught, Fear Execution in Middle East

[Princess Luna]

In a significant failure for the United States in the Mideast, more than a dozen spies working for the CIA in Iran and Lebanon have been caught and the U.S. government fears they will be or have been executed, according to four current and former U.S. officials with connections to the intelligence community.
The spies were paid informants recruited by the CIA for two distinct espionage rings targeting Iran and the Beirut-based Hezbollah organization, considered by the U.S. to be a terror group backed by Iran.
"Espionage is a risky business," a U.S. official briefed on the developments told ABC News, confirming the loss of the unspecified number of spies over the last six months.
"Many risks lead to wins, but some result in occasional setbacks," the official said.
Robert Baer, a former senior CIA officer who worked against Hezbollah while stationed in Beirut in the 1980's, said Hezbollah typically executes individuals suspected of or caught spying.
"If they were genuine spies, spying against Hezbollah, I don't think we'll ever see them again," he said. "These guys are very, very vicious and unforgiving."
Other current and former officials said the discovery of the two U.S. spy rings occurred separately, but amounted to a setback of significant proportions in efforts to track the activities of the Iranian nuclear program and the intentions of Hezbollah against Israel.
"Remember, this group was responsible for killing more Americans than any other terrorist group before 9/11," said a U.S. official. Attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 killed more than 300 people, including almost 260 Americans.
The U.S. official, speaking for the record but without attribution, gave grudging credit to the efforts of Iran and Hezbollah to detect and expose U.S. and Israeli espionage.
"Collecting sensitive information on adversaries who are aggressively trying to uncover spies in their midst will always be fraught with risk," said the U.S. official briefed on the spy ring bust.
But others inside the American intelligence community say sloppy "tradecraft" -- the method of covert operations -- by the CIA is also to blame for the disruption of the vital spy networks.
In Beirut, two Hezbollah double agents pretended to go to work for the CIA. Hezbollah then learned of the restaurant where multiple CIA officers were meeting with several agents, according to the four current and former officials briefed on the case. The CIA used the codeword "PIZZA" when discussing where to meet with the agents, according to U.S. officials. Two former officials describe the location as a Beirut Pizza Hut. A current US official denied that CIA officers met their agents at Pizza Hut.
From there, Hezbollah's internal security arm identified at least a dozen informants, and the identities of several CIA case officers.
Hezbollah then began to "roll up" much of the CIA's network against the terror group, the officials said.
One former senior intelligence official told ABC News that CIA officers ignored warnings that the operation could be compromised by using the same location for meetings with multiple assets.
"We were lazy and the CIA is now flying blind against Hezbollah," the former official said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/cia-sp...8#.Tst2qVZdvEN
Normally I think feeling glee at the news of someone's death is wrong, but I make a exception for CIA stooges and Navy Seals, so rot in hell you bastards! Also sorry for linking ABCnews, but it's what popped up on Digg

[GPDP]

I am against the death penalty, but let it be known I will not be shedding any tears if these agents of imperialism are found hanging from the gallows.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Well it's not like the US has ever executed spies.

[Le Socialiste]

While I personally have no reason to celebrate another person's death, I won't be mourning either. These individuals were agents of imperialism, and I see no reason why I should feel remorse at their (alleged) passing.

[Smyg]

Mwhaha, this is hilarious. I always love it when the CIA is exposed for what they are.

[Rafiq]

*Yawn*

One asshole spying on other assholes.

[ВАЛТЕР]

Meh, off with their heads for all I care.

They can be used for a spy swap too though.

[Yazman]

I have renamed the thread for you. Let me know if you need anything else done, here or in another thread.

[khad]

Meh, off with their heads for all I care.

They can be used for a spy swap too though.

No, they won't. They're local assets. No one is going to bother with all the immigration paperwork, nor do they give a fuck in the first place. These are not trained agents; they're local assets they are only useful in that theater and cannot be re-deployed, and now that they've been rumbled, they can't do spy work ever again.

[RadioRaheem84]

No, they won't. They're local assets. No one is going to bother with all the immigration paperwork, nor do they give a fuck in the first place. These are not trained agents; they're local assets they are only useful in that theater and cannot be re-deployed, and now that they've been rumbled, they can't do spy work ever again.

well that sucks. I was hoping for a prisoner swap of these guys in return for the Cuban 5

[Sperm-Doll Setsuna]

well that sucks. I was hoping for a prisoner swap of these guys in return for the Cuban 5

But why would Iran or Hezbollah want the Cuban 5? Maybe if the spies had been busted in Cuba, but they weren't, so I'm not sure I follow what you had in mind.

[Nox]

"espionage is a risky business," a u.s. Official briefed on the developments told abc news

NO SHIT lol

[Smyg]

And here I thought espionage was good for your health...

[The Dark Side of the Moon]

hell, id execute them. after allowing them to say goodbye to their families

i think that my sentence is dark. take that the best you could

[Charlie Watt]

A grass is a grass. I have no sympathy for anyone that aids and abets US foreign policy.

[rylasasin]

This is why you gotta kill the engineer right after sapping his sentry. Having a Dead Ringer helps too.

Spies, Bloody Useless.

[Tim Finnegan]

"US Government fears that it may have to deal with fact that actions have consequences".

[The Dark Side of the Moon]

"US Government fears that it may have to deal with fact that actions have consequences".

lol

[RadioRaheem84]

But why would Iran or Hezbollah want the Cuban 5? Maybe if the spies had been busted in Cuba, but they weren't, so I'm not sure I follow what you had in mind.

I figured they would've done it as a nod for Cuba and against the US. I thought since Iran is allied with Venezuela and they're allied with Cuba, then......

[Red Commissar]

According to something I was reading on Gawker, the informants/turncoats within Hezbollah's ranks were actually caught during one of their 'meetings' in a Pizza Hut

http://gawker.com/5861484/iran-and-h...s-at-pizza-hut

Both ABC News and the AP are out with very similar "exclusives" on the CIA's Lebanese debacle. In short, Hezbollah's counterintelligence force caught the CIA acting like amateurs. From the AP:

Using the latest commercial software, [Hezbollah's] spy-hunters unit began methodically searching for spies in Hezbollah's midst. To find them, U.S. officials said, Hezbollah examined cellphone data looking for anomalies. The analysis identified cellphones that, for instance, were used rarely or always from specific locations and only for a short period of time. Then it came down to old-fashioned, shoe-leather detective work: Who in that area had information that might be worth selling to the enemy?

Another weak spot was choice of code words. When the agency decided to cryptically refer to its secret meet-up spot as "PIZZA," that helped two Hezbollah double-agents infer that the location may have been a pizza restaurant. And it was! So Hezbollah kept an eye on a Beirut Pizza Hut, a tactic that ABC News says allowed "Hezbollah's internal security arm [to identify] at least a dozen informants, and the identities of several CIA case officers."