The Human Cost Of Cia's Afghanistan Operations

The number of CIA agents who have died in Afghanistan is difficult to pinpoint exactly, but there have been several notable incidents where CIA agents have lost their lives. One of the deadliest attacks on CIA personnel in Afghanistan occurred in December 2009 at Camp Chapman, a CIA base in Khost province near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. A suicide bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, who was believed to be a CIA informant, detonated explosives, killing seven CIA officers and contractors, as well as individuals from Jordan's intelligence service and an Afghan working for the CIA. This incident marked the deadliest attack on the CIA in over 25 years and highlighted the risks faced by CIA agents operating in Afghanistan.

In addition to the Camp Chapman attack, there have been other incidents where CIA agents have lost their lives in Afghanistan. For example, Johnny Micheal Spann became the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan in November 2001 while conducting interviews of extremists at Qali-Jangi fortress in Mazar-e Sharif. More recently, in 2017, two CIA operatives, Brian Ray Hoke and Nathaniel Patrick Delemarre, were killed in a firefight with Islamic State militants near Jalalabad.

The dangerous nature of CIA operations in Afghanistan has resulted in significant losses for the agency, with at least 18 stars on the CIA Memorial Wall representing personnel killed in the country as of 2017. This number rivals the number of CIA operatives killed in the conflicts in Vietnam and Laos nearly half a century ago.

The Camp Chapman attack

On December 30, 2009, a suicide bomber attacked Forward Operating Base Chapman, a US military base in Khost, Afghanistan. The bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, was a triple agent who appeared to be working for Jordanian intelligence and the CIA but remained loyal to al-Qaeda.

Al-Balawi was a Jordanian doctor who wrote jihadist propaganda online. He was arrested by Jordanian intelligence in 2009 and interrogated over three days. He was turned by the Jordanians and the CIA, who believed he would help them infiltrate al-Qaeda in Pakistan and provide intelligence on high-level targets. Instead, he used this trust to gain access to the CIA base in Afghanistan.

On the day of the attack, al-Balawi was picked up by Arghawan, the Afghan chief of external security at Camp Chapman, at the border between Miranshah, Pakistan, and Khost, Afghanistan. Arghawan drove al-Balawi to Camp Chapman, arriving around 4:30 p.m. The car was waved through three security checkpoints without stopping. Sixteen people were waiting for the car near a building set up to debrief al-Balawi. When al-Balawi got out of the vehicle, he detonated the explosives hidden in his suicide vest.

Al-Balawi and nine other people were killed by the blast. Seven were CIA personnel: five officers, including the chief of the base, and two contractors. One was a Jordanian intelligence officer, and another was the Afghan driver. Six other CIA personnel were seriously wounded in the attack, including the deputy chief of Kabul Station.

The bombing was the most lethal attack against the CIA in more than 25 years and dealt a major blow to the intelligence agency's operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was the second-largest single-day loss in the CIA's history, after the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed eight CIA officers.

CIA agents killed by the Taliban

On December 30, 2009, a suicide bomber killed seven CIA officers and contractors, a Jordanian intelligence officer, and an Afghan working for the CIA at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province, Afghanistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the deadliest against the CIA in 25 years.

The bomber, a Jordanian doctor named Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, had convinced the CIA and the Jordanian General Intelligence Department that he was a trusted informant. However, al-Balawi was actually a loyal insurgent working for al-Qaeda and the Taliban. He took advantage of this trust to gain access to the CIA base without being searched.

Al-Balawi had first come to the attention of American intelligence officials in 2008 through his online posts against the West. After being detained and interrogated by Jordanian intelligence in January 2009, he agreed to work as a double agent and infiltrate al-Qaeda. The CIA took over the management of al-Balawi from the Jordanians in the second half of 2009.

In November 2009, al-Balawi contacted the CIA, claiming to have information that could lead them to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command of al-Qaeda. Excited by this information, the CIA decided to meet with al-Balawi in person. A team of their best operatives was sent to Camp Chapman, where a car with a trusted Afghan driver was set to bring al-Balawi to the base.

However, when al-Balawi arrived at the base, he detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and nine others. This attack was a major setback for the CIA's operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan and highlighted the dangers of relying on informants. It also raised questions about the reliability of Afghan forces being trained by the US and its allies.

In addition to the Camp Chapman attack, the CIA has suffered other losses in Afghanistan. For example, Johnny Micheal Spann became the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan on November 25, 2001, while conducting interviews of extremists at Qali-Jangi fortress in Mazar-e Sharif. More recently, in October 2017, Brian Ray Hoke and Nathaniel Patrick Delemarre, elite gunslingers working for the CIA's paramilitary force, were killed in a firefight with Islamic State militants near Jalalabad.

CIA deaths in the Afghan War

The CIA has suffered notable losses in the Afghan War. On December 30, 2009, a suicide attack by Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor and al-Qaeda sympathizer, killed seven CIA officers and contractors, an officer of Jordan's intelligence service, and an Afghan working for the CIA. This was the deadliest attack on the CIA in 25 years, second only to the 1983 United States Embassy bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed eight CIA officers.

The Camp Chapman attack, as it came to be known, was a major setback for CIA operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Al-Balawi had duped both the CIA and Jordanian intelligence into believing he was a double agent who could help infiltrate al-Qaeda. Instead, he used this access to carry out the attack. Al-Qaeda and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility, saying they helped al-Balawi.

The CIA officers killed in the attack were:

• Jennifer Lynne Matthews, 45, the CIA base chief and one of the agency's foremost al-Qaeda experts.
• Scott Michael Roberson, 39, the CIA base security chief and a former undercover narcotics officer.
• Darren James LaBonte, 35, a CIA case officer and former elite Army Ranger.
• Elizabeth Curry Marie Hanson, 30, a CIA targeting analyst at Kabul Station.
• Harold Brown Jr., 37, a CIA case officer and former U.S. Army intelligence officer.
• Dane Clark Paresi, 46, a security contractor and retired Green Beret.
• Jeremy Wise, 35, a security contractor and former Navy SEAL.

In addition to these CIA deaths, there have been at least 11 other stars carved on the Memorial Wall at the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, representing personnel killed in Afghanistan. This includes Johnny Micheal Spann, the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan in November 2001. More recently, in 2017, Brian Ray Hoke and Nathaniel Patrick Delemarre, elite CIA paramilitary gunslingers, were killed in a firefight with Islamic State militants near Jalalabad.

The CIA deaths in the Afghan War rival those in the Southeast Asia conflicts of nearly half a century ago. The agency has paid a heavy price in this nearly 16-year-old war, with thousands of operatives serving since September 11, 2001.

CIA agent Johnny Micheal Spann

Johnny Micheal Spann, known as "Mike", was a CIA paramilitary officer in the Special Activities Division. Spann was the first American killed in combat during the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Spann was born on March 1, 1969, in Winfield, Alabama, and grew up in a small town. He was a bright student and a football player at Winfield City High School. At 17, he earned his private pilot's license and later became a certified rescue diver and parachutist. Spann joined the Marine Corps Reserve in December 1991 while attending Auburn University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement in 1992. He then attended the Marines' Officer Candidates School at Quantico, Virginia, and served with the 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, specialising in close air support. Spann served six years with the United States Marine Corps and achieved the rank of Captain.

In June 1999, Spann joined the CIA and trained at The Farm, where he met his future wife, Shannon Verleur. Spann was assigned to the Ground Branch of the CIA's Special Activities Division upon completion of his training. In early 2001, he discussed the threat of Al Qaeda and the USS Cole bombing with a fellow former Marine. Spann was angered by the order to evacuate on 9/11 and felt a strong desire to take action. He was deployed to Afghanistan in the fall of 2001 as part of the government's response to the terrorist attacks.

On November 25, 2001, Spann was conducting initial interviews of extremists held in Qali-Jangi fortress at Mazar-e Sharif when hundreds of prisoners revolted. He was attacked and killed by those who had supposedly surrendered. His last act was to warn an Agency colleague of the imminent danger, helping them escape. Spann's actions in the six weeks he was in Afghanistan made a significant contribution to the battle against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in north-central Afghanistan.

Spann was honoured as an American hero and posthumously awarded the Intelligence Star and the Exceptional Service Medallion. His star was the 79th carved on the Agency's Memorial Wall, and his name appears in the CIA Book of Honor. A forward operating base and a section of Alabama Highway 129 were named after him. Spann's legacy continues to inspire and his sacrifice will always be remembered.

CIA agent Darren LaBonte

LaBonte grew up in Southwest Connecticut and excelled in football and baseball at Brookfield High School. After graduating in 1992, he turned down an opportunity to play for a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians and instead enlisted in the Army. He served in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment and left the military in 2000 after eight years of service.

LaBonte then worked as a police officer in Libertyville, Illinois, before joining the U.S. Marshals Service and later becoming an FBI agent. He was assigned to an elite detail investigating organized crime in New York City. In 2006, he was recruited by the CIA and served as a paramilitary officer and later as a case officer in Jordan.

LaBonte was a handler for Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor who was believed to be a double agent providing intelligence on al-Qaeda. However, al-Balawi was actually a triple agent loyal to Islamist extremists. On December 30, 2009, al-Balawi detonated a suicide vest at Camp Chapman in Khost province, killing LaBonte and six others.

LaBonte had expressed reservations about the meeting with al-Balawi, but his concerns were not heeded. An investigation into the attack found systemic failures and led to changes in how the CIA conducts high-threat meetings. LaBonte was posthumously honored with a star on the CIA's Memorial Wall at its headquarters.

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