James Pavitt

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates James L. Pavitt (born February 19, 1946) was Deputy Director for Operations (DDO) for the CIA from June 23, 1999, until July 12, 2004, when he resigned a day after George Tenet. The CIA said the resignations were for personal reasons.

Background

Pavitt was born in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from the University of Missouri (B.A., 1968) in Columbia, Missouri<ref name="washpost">Dana Priest, Retired Official Defends the CIA's Performance, [1], Washington Post, November 5, 2004</ref> as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.<ref name="scowcroftgroup" /> After graduation, he was a National Defense Education Act fellow at Clark University (1969). He was a Principal of The Scowcroft Group, an international business advisory firm,<ref name="scowcroftgroup">James L. Pavitt Bio, [2] Template:Webarchive, Scowcroft Group</ref> and was formerly on the board of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO).

He was married with two children (from a previous marriage) and resided in McLean, Virginia.

His hobbies included collecting art, especially primitive American art.<ref name="washpost" />

Intelligence career

Pavitt served in the United States Army from 1969-1971 as an intelligence officer and was a legislative assistant with the House of Representatives from 1971 until 1973.

After joining the CIA, Pavitt was posted to Austria, Germany, Malaysia, and Luxembourg between 1976 and 1983.<ref name="rebuilding">Vernon Loeb, Rebuilding Clandestine Operations, [3], Washington Post, September 20, 1999</ref> He was expelled (PNG'd) from East Germany.<ref name="rebuilding" /> He was chief of station in Luxembourg (1983-1986).<ref name="rebuilding" /><ref name="spyvsspy">Jason Vest, Spy Versus Spy, [4], The American Prospect, June 4, 2004</ref> He served as a Branch Chief in the Africa Division.<ref name="Plame">Valerie Plame Wilson, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, [5], pp 353., Simon and Schuster, Template:ISBN, 9781416583363, October 22, 2007</ref> From 1990 to 1993, he served on the National Security Council team under Brent Scowcroft as Senior Intelligence Advisor to President George H. W. Bush.<ref name="patriotgroup">James L. Pavitt Biography, Template:Cite web, Patriot Defense Group</ref> After being assigned to work across the Agency operational/analytical divide in the Directorate of Intelligence, he became the founder and first Chief of the Directorate of Operation's Counterproliferation Division (CPD). Gordon Oehler, then Chief of the Directorate of Intelligence's Non-Proliferation Center, criticized this as being redundant and stepping on his turf. This was considered a specious critique by veteran Agency HUMINT Operations Officers, however, especially those who had been assigned under Oehler previously and realized that Oehler held HUMINT counterproliferation operations—indeed, covert operations in general—in considerable disdain. Pavitt hand picked operations officers, some of which were Nonofficial Cover Officers (NOCs) including Valerie Plame, to staff the CPD.<ref name="Plame" /> In 1997 he was appointed Associate Deputy Director of Operations. He was Deputy Director of Operations from 1999 until his resignation in 2004.<ref name="washpost" /><ref name='bbc20041'>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2003, the CPD took down the nuclear black market being operated by Abdul Qadeer Khan.<ref name="Plame" />

After September 11, 2001, Pavitt was responsible for sending Special Activities Division teams to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Somalia to capture Al Qaeda members. The first Hellfire missiles fired from drones were under his command. They were aimed at an Al Qaeda convoy in Sudan in which all occupants, including an American citizen, were killed.<ref name="washpost" /> The administration came under fire for having acted on faulty intelligence, particularly that which was single-sourced to the informant known as Curveball.

In April 2004 he appeared before the 9/11 Commission.<ref name='bbc20041'/> The BBC called his 9/11 commission appearance 'unprecedented'.<ref name='bbc20041'/> The commission's report said that shortly after Bush's election, Pavitt told the President-elect that Osama bin Laden was one of the gravest threats to the country. He also added that killing the Al Qaeda leader would have an effect but not stop the threat posed by the terrorist organization.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

When Bush put Porter Goss in charge of the agency, Pavitt reportedly opposed the internal reorganizations announced by Goss, on the ground that they might "do damage to a strategic effort that has produced excellent work on terrorism and a variety of other important issues."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On June 4, 2004, he unexpectedly announced his retirement one day after George Tenet. The CIA said Pavitt's decision was unconnected with Tenet's departure. Pavitt was succeeded by his deputy, Stephen Kappes.<ref name="CNN-retirement">Template:Cite web</ref> On June 21, 2004, Pavitt delivered one of his last speeches as DDO to the Foreign Policy Association.<ref name="ForeignPol">Remarks by Deputy Director for Operations James L. Pavitt at the Foreign Policy Association. [6], June 21, 2004</ref> He resigned in July 12, 2004, one day after of Tenet's resignation.

Pavitt is a recipient of the CIA's Distinguished Intelligence Medal.<ref name="scowcroftgroup" /> He is also a recipient of the CIA Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the CIA Director’s Medal and the Donovan Award.<ref name="Forbes" />

Post-CIA work

He is an advisor to the Patriot Defense Group, LLC,<ref name="patriotgroup" /> to Olton Solutions Ltd. in the United Kingdom, and to The Scowcroft Group.<ref name="scowcroftgroup" /><ref name="Forbes">Forbes Profile: James Pavitt, Forbes, retrieved March 13, 2013</ref> He is a director of CACI International, Inc.<ref name="Forbes" />

Criticism and controversy

Some former operations officers are critical of Pavitt, citing his four international postings over ten years in a 30-year career as insufficient experience for a Deputy Director of Operations.<ref name="spyvsspy" /> The Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture found that Pavitt was told that rectal exams of at least two CIA prisoners had been conducted with "excessive force" but he took action to stop this behavior.<ref name="Mic.com1">Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Appointment of James L. Pavitt as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, June 24, 1992
• Transcript: Wednesday's 9/11 Commission Hearings, The Washington Post, March 24, 2004
• In photos: Counterterrorism officials testify on IT challenges - Dan Verton of Computerworld, April 16, 2004
• Press Release: CIA Deputy Director for Operations Announces Retirement, ODCI, McLean, VA. June 4, 2004
• Ex-spy master praises CIAs effectiveness; MU graduate advises caution in revamping - Josh Flory of Columbia Daily Tribune, October 9, 2004
• Ex-CIA Official Defends Detention Policies - Dana Priest of The Washington Post, October 27, 2004; Page A21
• Retired Official Defends the CIA's Performance - Dana Priest of The Washington Post, November 5, 2004; Page A23
• James L. Pavitt's Resume Template:Webarchive The Scowcroft Group
• Template:Cite news

Speeches

• Address to Duke University Law School Conference Jim Pavitt, Deputy Director for Operations, April 11, 2002
• Remarks of Deputy Director of Operations James L. Pavitt on the 60th anniversary of the Office of Strategic Services, CIA's Predecessor, June 8, 2002
• Remarks by the Deputy Director for Operations James L. Pavitt at the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security Breakfast Program, January 23, 2003
• Posted Written Statement for the Record of James L. Pavitt, Deputy Director for Operations, before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, April 14, 2004.
• Remarks by Deputy Director for Operations James L. Pavitt Foreign Policy Association, June 21, 2004
• America's Clandestine Service Foreign Policy Association, June 21, 2004