SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Head of CIA's Iran Operations Suspended
Agents who worked under Jonathan Bank were said to be in 'open revolt' over management style of man tasked to head one of agency's most important divisions
Mar 18, 2014
Citing internal strife and criticisms over his management style by those under his command, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the head of the CIA's Iran operations division, Jonathan Bank, has been suspended and pulled from his post.
Though technically undercover, Bank's name as a leading intelligence chief within the CIA became public knowledge in 2010 when he was outed as the agency's station chief in Pakistan following popular anger there over repeated U.S. drone attacks.
On his recent suspension, the Times reports:
Officers and analysts in the Iran operations division, which coordinates spying on Iran and its nuclear program, were informed at a meeting last week at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., of the decision to suspend Jonathan Bank, a veteran officer and member of the senior intelligence service.
Three former officials said the Iran operations division was in open rebellion to Bank's management style, with several key employees demanding transfers.
"Iran is one of most important targets, and the place was not functioning," one of the former officials said.
___________________________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Citing internal strife and criticisms over his management style by those under his command, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the head of the CIA's Iran operations division, Jonathan Bank, has been suspended and pulled from his post.
Though technically undercover, Bank's name as a leading intelligence chief within the CIA became public knowledge in 2010 when he was outed as the agency's station chief in Pakistan following popular anger there over repeated U.S. drone attacks.
On his recent suspension, the Times reports:
Officers and analysts in the Iran operations division, which coordinates spying on Iran and its nuclear program, were informed at a meeting last week at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., of the decision to suspend Jonathan Bank, a veteran officer and member of the senior intelligence service.
Three former officials said the Iran operations division was in open rebellion to Bank's management style, with several key employees demanding transfers.
"Iran is one of most important targets, and the place was not functioning," one of the former officials said.
___________________________________________
Citing internal strife and criticisms over his management style by those under his command, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the head of the CIA's Iran operations division, Jonathan Bank, has been suspended and pulled from his post.
Though technically undercover, Bank's name as a leading intelligence chief within the CIA became public knowledge in 2010 when he was outed as the agency's station chief in Pakistan following popular anger there over repeated U.S. drone attacks.
On his recent suspension, the Times reports:
Officers and analysts in the Iran operations division, which coordinates spying on Iran and its nuclear program, were informed at a meeting last week at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., of the decision to suspend Jonathan Bank, a veteran officer and member of the senior intelligence service.
Three former officials said the Iran operations division was in open rebellion to Bank's management style, with several key employees demanding transfers.
"Iran is one of most important targets, and the place was not functioning," one of the former officials said.
___________________________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.