Dewey Clarridge
Duane R. "Dewey" Clarridge" (1932-) is a legend of U.S. intelligence and covert operations, who now heads the Eclipse Group, an organization that provided intelligence-related services to the U.S. government and private organizations. He left the Central Intelligence Agency as a result of his activities in the Iran-Contra affair, for which he was convicted of lying to Congress, but pardoned by President George H.W. Bush.
Current activities
The Eclipse Group provided intelligence services to the U.S. government until May 2010, and continues to operate with private funding. Their operations are believed to be most extensive in Afghanistan, where he opposes the rule of President Hamid Karzai and his power-broker half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai. Eclipse Group also has operations in Pakistan.[1]
Opinions on intelligence
In 1997, he presented his views on intelligence after the Cold War, with emphasis on the role of what is now the National Clandestine Service, still part of the CIA, responsible for clandestine human-source intelligence and covert action. After making the point that technical means of intelligence collection will never replace human sources, he describe the accepted role of the Clandestine Services as "The proliferation of the means of mass destruction such as chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and the means of their delivery; religious and ethnic mayhem; stability issues in the former colonies of the Soviet Empire and even Russia itself; terrorism; plans and policies of rogue states like Libya, Iran, Iraq and so on; support of the U.S. military; economic intelligence; counterintelligence; narcotics/international crime/human rights; and the maintenance of an effective covert action capability...There is general support for the need to provide intelligence to assist the diplomatic effort to foster peace and democracy and counter general strife in the Middle East, the Balkans, parts of Africa and elsewhere."
Much more controversial, he said, were missions in: [2]
- Support to the military
- Economic intelligence
- Support to law enforcement
- Covert action
Central Intelligence Agency
His last assignment was as director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center.
References
- ↑ Mark Mazzetti (22 January 2011), "Former Spy With Agenda Operates a Private C.I.A.", New York Times
- ↑ Duane Clarridge Speech, 27 January 1997