[Peace-discuss] Resistance to Nazi occupation brings reprisals

[C. G. Estabrook]

	Published on Friday, January 1, 2010 by CNN
	CIA Officers' Deaths Will Be 'Avenged'

KABUL, Afghanistan  -- An American intelligence official vowed Thursday that the 
United States would avenge a suspected terrorist attack on a U.S. base in 
Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of seven CIA officers.

Two of those killed were contractors with private security firm Xe, formerly 
known as Blackwater, a former intelligence official told CNN. The CIA considers 
contractors to be officers.

A current intelligence official confirmed that the casualties included a mix of 
people -- CIA staff and contractors. Six others were wounded.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred on Wednesday.

A senior U.S. official said information suggested a bomber walked into a gym 
facility at Forward Operating Base Chapman -- located in the Khost Province near 
the border of Pakistan -- and detonated bombs in a suicide vest.

It was not known how the bomber got past security. In a posting on its Web site 
Thursday, the Taliban claimed the bomber was an Afghan National Army soldier.

"This attack will be avenged through successful, aggressive counterterrorism 
operations," the intelligence official vowed.

Former CIA official Robert Richer called it "the greatest loss of life for the 
Central Intelligence Agency since the Beirut Embassy bombing" in 1983, which 
killed eight agents.

Flags at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, flew at half-staff Thursday.

"These brave Americans were part of a long line of patriots who have made great 
sacrifices for their fellow citizens, and for our way of life," U.S. President 
Barack Obama said in a written statement Thursday.

"The United States would not be able to maintain the freedom and security that 
we cherish without decades of service from the dedicated men and women of the CIA."

Richer, who retired from the agency in 2005 as the associate deputy director for 
operations, knew many of Wednesday's victims personally. In a written statement 
Thursday, he called on the public to "remain mindful that our great country is 
served well by those in and out of uniform. That officers like those lost in 
this attack placed themselves in harm's way, at a critical and dangerous 
crossroads in the war on terror.

"We should be thankful for the service and sacrifice of these fine Americans. 
They and their colleagues, who compose the very thin line of Agency officers 
working in the shadows at the very tip of the war on terror, are a national 
asset; an asset often misunderstood and under appreciated."

CIA Director Leon Panetta said in a separate statement Thursday that "those who 
fell ... were far from home and close to the enemy, doing the hard work that 
must be done to protect our country from terrorism."

A U.S. intelligence official would not discuss the specific mission of the base, 
but did acknowledge that it was a crucial CIA post and a "hub of activity."

The Khost Provincial Construction Team has been located at Chapman for about 
eight years, focusing on government, communication, security, agriculture and 
development in 13 districts, according to Capt. Michael R. Andrews, a U.S. Air 
Force spokesman.

Another U.S. military source had said earlier that the Khost Provincial 
Construction Team had left Chapman some time ago.

The U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. 
Department of Agriculture also have personnel at Chapman, Andrews said.

CNN's Barbara Starr, Pam Benson, Atia Abawi, Suzanne Simons and journalist 
Matiullah Mati contributed to this report.

© 2010 CNN