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| Agee claimed that it was his ] social conscience which made him increasingly uncomfortable by the late ] with his work. He became disillusioned with the CIA and its support for ] ] across ] in the 1960s. He and other dissidents took encouragement in their stand from the ](1975-6), which cast a critical light on the role of the CIA in assassinations, domestic espionage, and other illegal activities. They wrote too about their outrage at the role of the CIA in the “destabilizing” and overthrow of democratically-elected governments, in particular in ] (1973) and Jamaica ]. | Agee claimed that it was his ] social conscience which made him increasingly uncomfortable by the late ] with his work. He became disillusioned with the CIA and its support for ] ] across ] in the 1960s. He and other dissidents took encouragement in their stand from the ](1975-6), which cast a critical light on the role of the CIA in assassinations, domestic espionage, and other illegal activities. They wrote too about their outrage at the role of the CIA in the “destabilizing” and overthrow of democratically-elected governments, in particular in ] (1973) and Jamaica ]. | ||
| Agents who worked closely with Agee said his resignation was forced and had to with his ], financial mismanagement and ] with the wives of ]. The ], which is a collection of ] documents |
The CIA, naturally, has had different point of view. Agents who worked closely with Agee said his resignation was forced, and had to with his ], financial mismanagement and ] with the wives of ]. The ], which is a collection of purported ] documents sold by ] to British and American intelligence, and comments from Soviet defectors, supported the charge that Agee was an active and willing participant in Soviet disinformation operations. Oleg Kalugin, former head of the KGB’s Counterintelligence Directorate, claims that in ] Agee approached the ] residence in ] and offered what Kalugin called a “treasure trove of information”. Although the KGB was too suspicious to accept his offer, the ] (Cuba’s intelligence service) “welcomed him with open arms”. Edgar Anatolvevich Cheporov, London correspondent of the Novosti News Agency and KGB agent, claimed that the KGB’s Service A, edited the manuscript of ] to remove is all references to the CIA’s penetration into Latin American Communist parties. | ||
| What is uncontested is that the head of the ] Division of the CIA, ], was tasked with stopping the ] of Agee's ''CIA Diary''. But in ], ] was finally published worldwide, in 27 different ]. The CIA was humiliated and immediately had Agee arrested, and afterwards, expelled from the ], ], ], ], and ]. | |||
| In ], ''Inside the Company'' was finally published worldwide, in 27 different ] while Agee was living in London. According to Edgar Anatolvevich Cheporov, London correspondent of the Novosti News Agency and KGB agent who claimed to have worked with Agee on “Inside the Company, Agee removed all references to the CIA’s penetration into Latin American Communist parties from his transcript before final publication on the direction of the KGB’s Service A. | |||
| ⚫ | In ], after being released, Agee and a small group of his supporters began publishing the ] with, according to Mitrokhin, the help of both the ] and the Cuban ], promoted "''a worldwide campaign to destabilize the CIA through exposure of its operations and personnel.''". In ] and ], Agee published the two volumes of ], which exposed over 2000 covert CIA agents in Western Europe and Africa and details of their activities. | ||
| Agee became somewhat of a minor celebrity in the ] after ''Inside the Company'' revealed the identities of dozens of CIA agents in their London station. After numerous requests from the American government as well as an ] report that blamed Agee’s work for the execution of two of their agents in ], a request was put in to deport Agee from the UK. Although Agee fought this and was supported by dozens of left wing MP’s, journalists, and private citizens, he was eventually expelled from the UK on ] ], and traveled to ]. Agee was also eventually expelled from Holland, ], ], and ]. The head of the ] Division of the CIA, ], was tasked with stopping the ] of Agee's ''CIA Diary''. | |||
| ⚫ | US ] was revoked in 1979. In 1980, ]'s government conferred citizenship of ] on Agee, and he took up residence in that island. But the collapse of the ] removed that safe haven, and Agee then was given a passport by the ] government in ]. He later found refuge in ]. Agee's description of his odyssey was published in his ], '']'', in ]. | ||
| ⚫ | In ], Agee and a small group of his supporters began publishing the ] with, according to |
||
| It is worth noting that Agee, even before the collapse of the ], kept his distance from ]. It is striking, too, given the serious allegations of ] made against him, that he has traveled freely in Western Europe, and the United States government has never since the 1970s sought his arrest and extradition. | |||
| ⚫ | US ] was revoked in 1979. In 1980, ]'s government conferred citizenship of ] on Agee, and he took up residence in that island. But the collapse of the ] removed that safe haven, and Agee then was given a passport by the ] government in ]. He later found refuge in ]. Agee description of his odyssey was published in his ], '']'', in ]. | ||
| In 1982, ] passed the ], legislation that seemed directly aimed at Agee's works, the law that would later figure in the ] investigation into the ] scandal into whether Bush administration officials leaked an agent's name to the media as an act of retaliation against her husband (Ironically, it was Bush’s own father, former DCI ], who had vigorously lobbied for the IIPA as ]). | In 1982, ] passed the ], legislation that seemed directly aimed at Agee's works, the law that would later figure in the ] investigation into the ] scandal into whether Bush administration officials leaked an agent's name to the media as an act of retaliation against her husband (Ironically, it was Bush’s own father, former DCI ], who had vigorously lobbied for the IIPA as ]). | ||
| Today, Agee runs a ] from his home in ], , which uses ] to arrange holidays to Cuba for American citizens, who are generally prohibited by the Trading with the Enemy statute of US law from spending money in Cuba | Today, Agee runs a ] from his home in ], , which uses ] to arrange holidays to Cuba for American citizens, who are generally prohibited by the Trading with the Enemy statute of US law from spending money in Cuba. | ||
| Agee is a ] and a strong supporter of ] and of the ]. | Agee is a ] and a strong supporter of ] and of the ]. | ||
Revision as of 11:35, 1 October 2005
Philip Burnett Franklin Agee (born 1936) is a former CIA agent and author who published a controversial book, Inside the Company: CIA Diary, detailing his experiences in, and the operation of, the eponymous agency.
Agee joined the CIA in 1957 and worked as a case officer in several Latin American countries, notably Ecuador and Uruguay. But his fame lies in his career after his resignation in 1969. From the early 1970s he became the most celebrated CIA dissenter, the centre of a network of former agents, including John Stockwell, who spoke out and wrote about the CIA’s role in the Third World.
Agee claimed that it was his Roman Catholic social conscience which made him increasingly uncomfortable by the late 1960s with his work. He became disillusioned with the CIA and its support for authoritarian governments across Latin America in the 1960s. He and other dissidents took encouragement in their stand from the Church Committee(1975-6), which cast a critical light on the role of the CIA in assassinations, domestic espionage, and other illegal activities. They wrote too about their outrage at the role of the CIA in the “destabilizing” and overthrow of democratically-elected governments, in particular in Chile (1973) and Jamaica 1974-9.
The CIA, naturally, has had different point of view. Agents who worked closely with Agee said his resignation was forced, and had to with his alcoholism, financial mismanagement and adultery with the wives of diplomats. The Mitrokhin archive, which is a collection of purported KGB documents sold by Vasili Mitrokhin to British and American intelligence, and comments from Soviet defectors, supported the charge that Agee was an active and willing participant in Soviet disinformation operations. Oleg Kalugin, former head of the KGB’s Counterintelligence Directorate, claims that in 1973 Agee approached the KGB’s residence in Mexico City and offered what Kalugin called a “treasure trove of information”. Although the KGB was too suspicious to accept his offer, the DGI (Cuba’s intelligence service) “welcomed him with open arms”. Edgar Anatolvevich Cheporov, London correspondent of the Novosti News Agency and KGB agent, claimed that the KGB’s Service A, edited the manuscript of Inside the Company to remove is all references to the CIA’s penetration into Latin American Communist parties.
What is uncontested is that the head of the Western Hemisphere Division of the CIA, Ted Shackley, was tasked with stopping the publication of Agee's CIA Diary. But in 1975, Inside the Company was finally published worldwide, in 27 different languages. The CIA was humiliated and immediately had Agee arrested, and afterwards, expelled from the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, West Germany, and Italy.
In 1978, after being released, Agee and a small group of his supporters began publishing the Covert Action Information Bulletin with, according to Mitrokhin, the help of both the KGB and the Cuban DGI, promoted "a worldwide campaign to destabilize the CIA through exposure of its operations and personnel.". In 1978 and 1979, Agee published the two volumes of Dirty Work, which exposed over 2000 covert CIA agents in Western Europe and Africa and details of their activities.
US passport was revoked in 1979. In 1980, Maurice Bishop's government conferred citizenship of Grenada on Agee, and he took up residence in that island. But the collapse of the Grenada Revolution removed that safe haven, and Agee then was given a passport by the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. He later found refuge in Cuba. Agee's description of his odyssey was published in his autobiography, On The Run, in 1987.
It is worth noting that Agee, even before the collapse of the USSR, kept his distance from Eastern Europe. It is striking, too, given the serious allegations of treason made against him, that he has traveled freely in Western Europe, and the United States government has never since the 1970s sought his arrest and extradition.
In 1982, Congress passed the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, legislation that seemed directly aimed at Agee's works, the law that would later figure in the current investigation into the Valerie Plame scandal into whether Bush administration officials leaked an agent's name to the media as an act of retaliation against her husband (Ironically, it was Bush’s own father, former DCI George H.W. Bush, who had vigorously lobbied for the IIPA as Vice President).
Today, Agee runs a website from his home in Havana, Cubalinda.com, which uses loopholes to arrange holidays to Cuba for American citizens, who are generally prohibited by the Trading with the Enemy statute of US law from spending money in Cuba.
Agee is a socialist and a strong supporter of Fidel Castro and of the Cuban Revolution.
External links
- USA & International Terrorism - By Philip Agee
- Biography of Agee with a number of quotes and articles by him
- CNN - Former CIA agent attempts to draw U.S. tourists to Cuba over Internet
- Excerpt of 'CIA Diary'