Shipp - From the company of shadows [CIA]

Including Excerpts from In From the Cold. CIA Secrecyand Operations.

Kevin Shipp

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Kevin Shipp

License Notes: This ebook is licensed foryour personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold orgiven away to other people. If you would like to share this ebookwith another person, please purchase an additional copy for eachperson you share it with. If youre reading this book and did notpurchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then youshould return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thankyou for respecting the hard work of this author.

To Sue.

Without you this book would not have been possible.Thank you for your unselfish love and support.

To Lorena, Joey, Bobby and Carly.

I hope this book somehow explains all the months Iwas gone and the difficult times you endured because of my career.I hope it also brings you some measure of comfort from theagonizing events you suffered. I love you all.

To Nell Murphy.

Thanks for all your loving support during ourfamilys crisis.

To Clint and Geep.

Thank you for your unbending courage in defendingour family.

All statements of fact, opinion, or analysisexpressed are those of the author and do not reflect the officialpositions or views of the CIA or any other US Government agency.Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting orimplying US Government authentication of information or Agencyendorsement of the authors views. This material has been reviewedby the CIA to prevent the disclosure of classified information.

Xs or ?s = Black outs by the CIA

I would like to thank the dedicated CIAofficers who stood alongside me during difficult and sometimes lifethreatening assignments. I hope this account brings you fulfillmentknowing the story has finally been told.

Thanks to Steven Emerson, Executive Directorof the Investigative Project on Terrorism. Steve has literallyrisked his life to expose the radical Islamic Jihad movement inAmerica.

I would also like to thank the courageous anddedicated attorneys who fought to defend our family againstgovernment tyranny and cover up.

During my career at the CIA, I functioned asan internal CIA staff security officer, federal investigator,protective agent for the Director of Central Intelligence, chief oftraining for the CIA police force, assistant counter assault teamleader, operational security team leader, counterintelligenceinvestigator, Counter Terrorism Center officer, internationalinformation systems security officer, polygraph examiner andfederal police officer. I was a Category I employee.

Because of my previous employment with theCIA, I must abide by my duty to protect CIA sources and methods. Ihave been careful to protect the true names of CIA employees,locations and any other information that could jeopardize theAgency or my former co-workers. Thus, I do not discuss myemployment status (during my career I have also been assigned toseveral other government agencies), specific locations, true namesof individuals or any other organizations involved. I usepseudonyms for individuals discussed in this book, and the names ofall locations involved.

What you will read is a full expose of CIAoperations. I will also describe the Agencys use of secrecyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. This will provide, indetail, internal CIA operations, sometimes humorous, I was a partof; revealed to the public for the first time. It details the CIAsrole in the war on terror and results of the authors experienceand research on this subject. The book follows my career as a CIAofficer through the many experiences I had while conductinginternal security investigations and overseas covert operations. Itfinishes with a shocking story of the CIAs misuse of the power ofsecrecy; I witnessed personally. This event changed my entire viewof the Agency I loved, and revealed the Constitutional parametersroutinely breached by the CIA.

I am a former intelligence officer. Myexpertise is in collecting and reporting intelligence. I am not ajournalist. I ask the reader to forgive me for my tendency to writein analytical and technical fashion. Overcoming this tendency is awork in progress. This book contains multiple topics on CIAoperations, intelligence and terrorism. I welcome the reader toread the entire book, or skip the technical sections and read thosedescribing actual operations. Although there is no specific themein this work, the overall theme is intended to be a multifaceteddescription of the internal workings of the CIA and relatedinformation regarding the war on terror.

This is, in many ways, the most fulfilling,and the most difficult document I have ever written. The CIA has animportant role in protecting our national security. I owe much ofmy operational training and analytical skills to the organization Iloved and served. I have many close friends there and fond memoriesof several of my assignments.

It is my hope that this book enablesAmericans to better understand the CIA, inspires them to hold dearour Constitution, never to be intimidated by corrupt, powerful anddeceptive assertions of secrecy, and motivates them to hold thosein power accountable to the American people for their actions.

Kevin Shipp

There is something about the way the CIA has beenfunctioning that is casting a shadow over our historic position [offreedom] and I feel that we need to correct it.

Harry S. Truman, December 22, 1963, op-ed, TheWashington Post
(The Post later mysteriouslyexcised the entire article)

The CIA is a unique federal organization. Itoperates under a thick canopy of secrecy. Covert agents killed inthe line of duty become lonely stars etched into the wall of CIAheadquarters. Those officers who live must remain seated atceremonies recognizing patriots serving openly in the military;sacrificing the recognition they so often deserve. This can be alonely experience. I know this feeling. The sacrifices CIA officershave made, including risking their lives, remain hidden; lockedaway in their memories. For many officers, it is a unique brand ofcourage that will never be known.

CIA officers face a plethora of challenges inthe field. They are held to the highest standards of any federalagency and undergo the most stringent clearance process in theworld. Many times they are assigned to countries where torture is areal option if they are discovered. There is simply no room formistakes or negligence. The environments they are routinely sent toare toxic, hellish war zones; where death has become a way of life.This kind of exposure, sometimes over long periods of time, canonly be handled by vetted, seasoned men and women who will not bendunder pressure. This pressure could include the loss of their life.They must tolerate the real possibility of illness from what theyare forced to eat or drink to ensure they blend in to the culture.Long separations from their family are common. And many families donot survive the absence of a husband and father. Due to solitudeand loneliness, some make moral mistakes while overseas, then tryto cover up their moral failures so their husband or wife does notfind out what they have done. But these flaws usually come out inthe end and the state of their marriage is never the same again.Trained to keep secrets, they will sometimes leak to the onesclosest to them. Significant others have an uncanny way of readingthe behavior of those they love. These officers rank and dutiesare a distinct privilege. They have worked and studied hard to earnthem. They must continually live their cover, even in the US, soothers do not expose their operations. The CIA will hold themaccountable if they fail. There is no loyalty among spies.