by marykmusic » Sun Mar 12, 2006 4:20 pm
From today's Arizona Republic (I don't have much luck posting links, so here's the story.) --MaryK<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>CIA agents easily ID'd via Web, paper says <br><br>Associated Press <br>Mar. 12, 2006 12:00 AM <br><br>CHICAGO - The identities of 2,600 CIA employees and the locations of two dozen of the agency's covert workplaces in the United States can be found easily through Internet searches, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune.<br><br>The newspaper obtained the information from data providers who charge fees for access to public records and reported on its findings in today's editions. It did not publish identities or other details on its searches, citing concern that it could endanger the CIA employees.<br><br>Not all of the 2,653 people the newspaper said it could identify as CIA employees were supposed to be covert, an issue raised in the Justice Department investigation of whether someone in the Bush administration leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to reporters in 2003. <br><br>Some in fact were non-covert analysts or senior executives, such as former Director George Tenet. But the newspaper said that it shared some of its findings with the CIA and that the agency acknowledged the partial list of names included covert employees.<br><br>"Cover is an issue we look at all the time, and we are always looking to improve it," spokesman Tom Crispell said Saturday.<br><br>Through the data providers, the newspaper said it identified people by telephone listings, real estate transactions, voting records and other financial and legal documents. <br><br>"Cover is a complex issue that is more complex in the Internet age," the CIA's chief spokeswoman, Jennifer Dyck, said. "There are things that worked previously that no longer work."<br><br>The Tribune also found two dozen CIA facilities in Chicago, northern Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and Washington state. <br><br>One of the facilities, a CIA training area dubbed "The Farm" at Camp Peary, Va., was a well-kept secret for decades. The agency refused to publicly acknowledge its existence, even after ex-CIA personnel confirmed its presence in the 1980s.<br><br>But the Tribune said an Internet search for the term "Camp Peary" produced data identifying the names and other details of 26 people who apparently work there.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br> <p></p><i></i>
