The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : NYT Names Ex-CIA Officer, May Put His Life at Risk

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The Spectacle Blog

NYT Names Ex-CIA Officer, May Put His Life at Risk

By Philip Klein on 6.22.08 @ 1:22PM

Today's long NY Times story on the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed uses the actual name of his interrogator, an ex-CIA agent who still works in counterterrorism:

Mr. Martinez declined to be interviewed; his role was described by colleagues. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, director of the C.I.A., and a lawyer representing Mr. Martinez asked that he not be named in this article, saying that the former interrogator believed that the use of his name would invade his privacy and might jeopardize his safety. The New York Times, noting that Mr. Martinez had never worked undercover and that others involved in the campaign against Al Qaeda have been named in news articles and books, declined the request. (An editors' note on this issue has been posted on The Times's Web site.)

Toward the end of the article, the Times also reveals his current employer, and notes the fact that he still consults the CIA to train other officers in "the arcane art of tracking terrorists." Thanks to the NYT, which raised a tremendous stink about Valerie Plame's outing, Martinez is now incredibly easy to locate.

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