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Secret Until Now: Osama Raid Avenged CIA Deaths

Secret Until Now: Osama Raid Avenged CIA Deaths
WASHINGTON (AP) — For a small cadre of CIA veterans, the death of Osama bin Laden was more than just a national moment of relief and closure. It was also a measure of payback, a settling of a score for a pair of deaths, the details of which have remained a secret for 13 years.

Tom Shah and Molly Huckaby Hardy were among the 44 U.S. Embassy employees killed when a truck bomb exploded outside the embassy compound in Kenya in 1998.

Secret Until Now: Osama Raid Avenged CIA Deaths

AP

Though it has never been publicly acknowledged, the two were working undercover for the CIA. In al-Qaida’s war on the United States, they are believed to be the first CIA casualties.

Their names probably will not be among those read at Memorial Day celebrations around the country this weekend. Like many CIA officers, their service remained a secret in both life and death, marked only by anonymous stars on the wall at CIA headquarters and blank entries in its book of honor.

Their CIA ties were described to The Associated Press by a half-dozen current and former U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because Shaw‘s and Hardy’s jobs are still secret, even now.

The deaths weighed heavily on many at the CIA, particularly the two senior officers who were running operations in Africa during the attack. Over the past decade, as the CIA waged war against al-Qaida, those officers have taken on central roles in counterterrorism. Both were deeply involved in hunting down bin Laden and planning the raid on the terrorist who killed their colleagues.

“History has shown that tyrants who threaten global peace and freedom must eventually face their natural enemies: America’s war fighters, and the silent warriors of our Intelligence Community,” CIA Director Leon Panetta wrote in a Memorial Day message to agency employees.

These silent warriors took very different paths to Nairobi.

Hardy was a divorced mom from Valdosta, Ga., who raised a daughter as she travelled to Asia, South America and Africa over a lengthy career. At the CIA station in Kenya, she handled the office finances, including the CIA’s stash of money used to pay sources and carry out spying operations. She was a new grandmother and was eager to get back home when al-Qaida struck.

Shah took an unpredictable route to the nation’s clandestine service. He was not a solider or a Marine, a linguist or an Ivy Leaguer. He was a musician from the Midwest. But his story, and the secret mission that brought him to Africa, was straight out of a Hollywood spy movie.

“He was a vivacious, upbeat guy who had a very poignant, self-deprecating sense of humor,” said Dan McDevitt, a classmate and close friend from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, where Shah was a standout trumpet player.

Shah — his given name was Uttamlal — was the only child of an Indian immigrant father and an American mother, McDevitt said. He had a fascination with international affairs. He participated in the school’s model United Nations and, in the midst of the Cold War, was one of the school’s first students to learn Russian. From time to time, he went to India with his father, giving him a rare world perspective.

“At the time, that was unheard of. You might as well have gone to Mars,” said McDevitt, who lost touch with his high school friend long before he joined the agency.

Shah graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and Ball State University’s music school. He taught music classes and occasionally played in backup bands for entertainers Red Skelton, Perry Como and Jim Nabors. His doctoral thesis at Indiana’s Ball State offered no hints about the career he would pursue: “The Solo Songs of Edward MacDowell: An Examination of Style and Literary Influence.”

“He was one of our outstanding people,” said Kirby Koriath, the graduate student adviser at Ball State.

Shah and his wife, Linda, were married in 1983, the year he received his master’s degree. In 1987, after earning his doctorate, Shah joined the U.S. government. On paper, he had become a diplomat. In reality, he was shipped to the Farm, the CIA’s spy school in Virginia.

He received the usual battery of training in surveillance, counterespionage and the art of building sources. The latter is particularly hard to teach, but it came naturally to Shah, former officials said. Shah was regarded as one of the top members of his class and was assigned to the Near East Division, which covers the Middle East.

He spoke fluent Hindi and decent Russian when he arrived and quickly showed a knack for languages by learning Arabic. He worked in Cairo and Damascus and, though he was young, former colleagues said he was quickly proving himself one of the agency’s most promising stars.

In 1997, he was dispatched to headquarters as part of the Iraq Operations Group, the CIA team that ran spying campaigns against Saddam Hussein’s regime. Around that time, the CIA became convinced that a senior Iraqi official was willing to provide intelligence in exchange for a new life in America. Before the U.S. could make that deal, it had to be sure the information was credible and the would-be defector wasn’t really a double agent. But even talking to him was a risky move. If a meeting with the CIA was discovered, the Iraqi would be killed for sure.

Somebody had to meet with the informant, somebody who knew the Middle East and could be trusted with such a sensitive mission. A senior officer recommended Shah.

The meetings were set up in Kenya, former officials said, because it was considered relatively safe from Middle East intelligence services. It was perhaps the most important operation being run under the Africa Division at the time, current and former officials said. Among the agency managers overseeing it was John Bennett, the deputy chief of the division. He and his operations chief, who remains undercover, were seasoned Africa hands and veterans of countless spying operations.

Because of the mission’s sensitivity, Shah bottled up his normally outgoing and friendly personality while at the embassy.

“This is the glory and the tragedy of discreet work,” said Prudence Bushnell, the former ambassador to Kenya. “You keep a very low profile and you don’t do things that make you memorable.”

Officials say Shah was among those who went to the window when shooting began outside the embassy gates. Most who did were killed when the massive bomb exploded. He was 38. Hardy was also killed in the blast. She was 51.

The U.S. government said both victims were State Department employees. But like all fallen officers, they received private memorial services at CIA headquarters. Every year, their names are among those read at a ceremony for family members and colleagues.

Hardy’s daughter, Brandi Plants, said she did not want to discuss her mother’s employment. Shah’s widow, Linda, sent word through a neighbor that the topic was still too painful to discuss.

Shah’s death did not stall his mission. The Africa Division pressed on and confirmed that the Iraqi source was legitimate, his information extremely valuable. He defected and was re-located to the United States with a new identity.

Bennett later went on to be the station chief in Islamabad, where he ran the agency’s effort to kill al-Qaida members by using unmanned aircraft. He now sits in one of the most important seats in the agency, overseeing clandestine operations worldwide. His former Africa operations chief now runs the agency’s counterterrorism center. Both have been hunting for bin Laden for years. Both were directly involved in the raid.

Shah and Hardy are among the names etched into stone at a memorial at the embassy in Nairobi, with no mention of their CIA service. Shah is also commemorated with a plaque in a CIA conference room at its headquarters. Both were among those whose names Panetta read last week at the annual ceremony for fallen officers.

“Throughout the effort to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida, our fallen colleagues have been with us in memory and in spirit,” Panetta said. “With their strength and determination as our guide, we achieved a great victory three weeks ago.”

Bin Laden said the embassy in Nairobi was targeted because it was a major CIA station. He died never knowing that he had killed two CIA officers there.

___

http://twitter.com/mattapuzzo http://twitter.com/goldmandc

___

Associated Press writers Greg Bluestein in Atlanta and Michelle Price in Phoenix contributed to this report.

Comments (58)

1 2
  • Ryntintin
    Posted on May 30, 2011 at 1:51am

    BooYa sorry for the loss thank you for the help we could never survive w/o CIA FBI. Wake ups what is happening inside the White House?

    Report Post » Ryntintin  
  • NormanDeArmond
    Posted on May 30, 2011 at 12:18am

    Patrick macNee who married in my wedding Chapel woulld approve I suppose. Mrs. Peel too

    Report Post » NormanDeArmond  
  • LowTechBackup
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 8:43pm

    yes, the increasing amount of sensitive information released covering military, intelligence, and technology puts everyone in our country at greater risk. kinda like the deliberate military tech transfer occurring as we base advanced weapons systems in countries we now have proven we do not trust. let’s not forget using NASA (space technology with multiple military applications) for “diplomatic outreach” to our so-called friends.

    Report Post »  
  • NOWISTHETIMEFOR"WETHEPEOPLE"TOSTAND
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 12:35pm

    Very interesting, but why tell about America’s secrets and reveal past under cover operations with names and details, possibly endangering lives, but never-the-less exposing America’s ways of important missions? Why would any patriotic news org, print such and why would it be picked up and reprinted? Oh sure, let’s make double sure all enemies of USA get to read it! Unpatriotic action! Please, THE BLAZE, don’t be a part of such! Is this releasing information or a letting of bloodshed, by informing enemies? BTW, I’m a fan of Glenn Beck and THE BLAZE.

    Report Post »  
  • trooper
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 10:38am

    Gee wiz, I thought they “wacked” him because of that little 9/11 thing that happened 10 years ago.

    Report Post »  
  • G
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:39am

    Old adages still apply. “Loose lips sinks ships’

    Those knuckleheads outing ANYONE who works in these capacities need to be held accountable. Even if it is Panetta himself. I hope someone is stepping on them right now. There is a reason of why there are only STARS not NAMES on the Wall.

    Report Post »  
  • leftteste
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 8:32am

    Thank the good Lord he gave us a president that finally got the mission accomplished. On this Memorial Day weekend we should all take time out to reflect and give thanks to our creator that he gave us such a courageous Commander and Chief.

    Report Post »  
  • Qoheleth
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 8:14am

    While I’d prefer “justice served” rather than “revenge,” I’m OK either way. The “wall of stars” at the CIA building is a sober reminder that nearly all of these folks die for their country without any of us knowing who or why; remembered by a select few on days like Memorial Day. Tom and Molly deserved a lot more. Thanks for printing this.

    Report Post » Qoheleth  
  • searching for the Truth
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:58am

    I still have visions of the elderly having their throats cut and the women falling from the World Trade Center.

    Report Post »  
  • lmy6545
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:53am

    not to mention the fact that pakistan is now burning stonger after this. his death looks good on the surface but i believe it was used as a tool with great use.

    Report Post »  
  • lmy6545
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:51am

    now they can blame the “corrupt” CIA for this. what ever happened to covert ops? not exposing our countries intelligence?

    Report Post »  
  • quicker
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:32am

    Day is done, gone the sun, from the lakes, from the the hills, from the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. Fading light, Dims the sight, And a star gems the gleaming bright, From afar, Drawing nigh, Falls the night. Tahnks and praise, for our days, Neath the stars, Neath the sky, As we go, This we know, God is nigh. TAPS God bless and keep all fallin Heros,And watch all those who goe`s in dangers way so we may sleep a little better at night. GOD BLESS.

    Report Post » quicker  
    • shirelover
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:21am

      Thank you for the words to that piece of music. I cannot hear it without crying, it reminds me of all the military people in my family that have passed. We are a nation that has been blessed beyond measure, not only by God, but by having people of many faiths(and of no faith) who willingly gave their life for our country. I make a point throughout the year, every veteran I see, I thank. Many have responded with shock, what a shame.

      Report Post » shirelover  
  • dirtypolitics
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:20am

    God bless the soul of those who died for our country…..and Pres Obama gets all the credit? Not fair.

    Report Post »  
  • christos
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:16am

    ……Three with one stone & more—1.More glory for them 2.Fuel to the fire 3 Disclosing personal info. 4. Positioning for more doors to be open…—___ETC.

    Report Post » christos  
  • 912828Buckeye
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:14am

    Good story but there were 42 other people at that embassy that died that day also.

    God bless them all.

    May their families have piece of mind this Memorial Day.

    Report Post » 912828Buckeye  
  • dizzyinthedark
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 6:01am

    I‘m in total agreement here about revealing who walks the halls of our embassy’s, and now the names are of the families are exposed, this administration needs to ‘shut it’! Is this the ‘transparency’ they are talking about?

    Report Post » dizzyinthedark  
  • EP46
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 5:49am

    I wish the CIA would take a stand now and do what needs to be done to save America. Protect and Defend. Bless all our troops as we celebrate this Day of Memorial.

    Report Post »  
  • DonaldH
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 5:27am

    So, there are C.I.A. spies posing as embassy personnel working in embassy buildings around the world.. Seems that admission makes all U.S. Embassies legit targets,, or are we all willing to accept that the CIA is merely using the real embassy civilian workers as “Human Shields”

    Who and why would any government official leak this information and legitimize the terrorist claims and justifications of our Embassy’s being full of spies and blowing them up ?
    … And the media and left still wants to indict the entire Bush Administration over the Valerie Plame thing.. What a bunch of hypocrites

    Report Post » DonaldH  
  • staythecourse
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 4:55am

    Isn’t anyone else noticing just how much “classified” information seems to be being ‘shared’ with the AP these days? I don’t think I can recall a time exactly like this time before.

    Report Post »  
  • bestartist
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 3:29am

    I thought the death of Osama was revenge for the death of 3000 innocents on 9/11
    While I appreciate the hard work and bravery of CIA operatives, they willingly signed on to dangerous work, I feel badly for them but they signed on……their families, maybe not so much.
    Why are they being exposed.
    This doesn’t make any sense to me…..there are lots of other things that I would like revealed….

    Report Post » bestartist  
  • Skip63
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:44am

    I thought they were told to shut up on the raid by the Pentagon. Why still more fuel for the enemy?

    Report Post »  
  • Thevoice
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:40am

    Revenge …How about we had a accidental launch of a Tomahawk right down the Mecca Gullet …9/12

    Report Post » Thevoice  
    • thetreyman
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 3:39am

      i’m for that.

      Report Post » thetreyman  
    • thebarbarian
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 5:21am

      ok, that’s for the pre-show warm up . then the accidental drop of a squadron of bomber payloads over the gaza strip. oops… an accidental slip or retaliation for all those murders hamas perpotrated :)

      Report Post »  
    • KwikKarl
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 5:40pm

      LOL… I’ve always told my wife if I ever get a terminal illness that I want to hijack a plane fulls of Arabs and fly it into Mecca during Hajj – that would be payback…

      I know, it’s not right, but my soul is still connected to this flesh…

      Report Post » KwikKarl  
  • USAMEDIC3008
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:40am

    If this story is true,about a half -dozen current and former Gov officials
    should be shot.Info about the CIA does’nt just come out
    I’ll Take it with a grain of salt
    it is a good story

    Report Post » USAMEDIC3008  
    • USAMEDIC3008
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 3:24am

      PS think about it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope thay got the names
      right . would’nt want Al-Qaida taking revenge on
      the wrong people.

      What the hel are we doing??????????????????????

      Report Post » USAMEDIC3008  
    • jeffyfreezone
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 8:57am

      It’s not WE, it’s THEY, Obama and his kneepad wearing sycophants. They will expose anyone if they think they can make themselves look good. It’s absolutely disgusting!

      Report Post »  
    • USAMEDIC3008
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 11:49am

      In the begining of this country The government was
      WE THE PEOPLE . Somewhere along the line we have
      let the hired help take that power from us. so I say again

      WShat the hel have we done

      Report Post » USAMEDIC3008  
  • thinkinghuman
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:06am

    first

    Report Post » thinkinghuman  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:02am

    Revenge is a dish best served cold.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • KickinBack
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:08am

      Revenge for the CIA? I believe more for the American people. They hit us first, we hit them.

      Report Post » KickinBack  
    • thebarbarian
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:20am

      What more evidence do Americans need? There are so many cases like this that will never be known. Good people and true stewards of the American ideals of freedom,justice,and liberty. In contrast you only need to look at those photos and ones just like them then tally the death tol. I honestly don‘t understand people who don’t get it.

      Report Post »  
    • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:23am

      @Darmok:

      Indeed, revenge is best when the enemy least expects it, and you can savor the full rewards of having justice delivered to the enemies of our nation. Normally, our nation prefers swift and sudden results in all matters taken, yet still among us, there is the willingness to take the long and patient hunt to get the bad villans there and here at home.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 2:34am

      Snow:
      In the case of Bin Laden, justice was served, with a big helping of told you so, and a “Don’t mess with the USA” for dessert.
      I am still waiting for the list of Porn they got from his computer. Probably a lot of goats, hairy women, gaurantee something German, and probably the underground Michael Moore and Rosie O Donnell flick. This guy was sick I tell you.

      Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • thegrassroots
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 3:16am

      And these names and this information are being released to the world now because …

      Their family members have just been arbitrarily thrown in harms way! God Protect Them, In Jesus Name!

      This administration is as dumb as a box of hammers. They will say and do anything, not caring who they throw under a bus, for the sake of grandstanding!

      Report Post »  
    • thegrassroots
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 3:28am

      Contact the White House, America!
      Congratulate the Traitor / Narcissist-In-Chief on being a World-Class-Dumb-A**!

      Report Post »  
    • thetreyman
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 3:37am

      it may have been revenge for some my friend but i think for most it was justice

      Report Post » thetreyman  
    • 101
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 4:11am

      Osama reached for the…

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcYnJi3aZXQ

      Report Post »  
    • thebarbarian
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 5:24am

      @ grass roots , i pray that we are able to get the W.H back and start criminal procedings on the traitors in now. STARING WITH THE USURPER AND CHEAT OVOMIT.. MM, MM, MM !

      Report Post »  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 6:46am

      How many stories will Big Brother tie to the shooting
      of this frozen corps ?

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • Shoot-To-Kill
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:07am

      This story is a pack ok lies! Everybody knows our crapstack president single handedly tracked down and killed OBL. My God, haven’t they been listening to Biden and the MSM ?

      Report Post » Shoot-To-Kill  
    • jeffyfreezone
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 7:55am

      I have given money to the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation to help the families of these fallen heroes. They were great Americans serving their country.

      Report Post »  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 8:15am

      this reminds me of the Pat Tillman
      Jessica Lynch stories.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUCyr3B3IlM

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
    • poverty.sucks
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 8:47am

      Slick Willie was too busy behind the curtain to deal with Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden.

      Report Post » poverty.sucks  
    • Professional Infidel
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:09am

      however!!

      Report Post »  
    • Sinista MACE
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 9:13am

      Revenege is Yahweh’s.

      This wasn’t even real, this is a fabricated raid.

      9-11 was an inside job.

      And no matter ho wmuch the neocons tout this facade, Bush and Co. knocked down them damn towers.

      Now our country is a TSA NAZI Police State.

      Al Qaeda works for the CIA, always have, always will.

      Abolish the Federal Government. Return ALL power back to the states and people respectively.

      They have overstepped their bounds to the degree that we are living in a dictatorship where the president sparks wars without congressional approval, and at the behest of the UN, and the TSA harasses and violates everyone’s rights indiscriminately.

      Down with the Federal Government. I’m not advocating OVERTHROW of the Federal Government, I want you people to wake up and save America from this multiheaded hydra that is operating outside of the Constitution. They need to be smacked securely back into their place.

      Report Post » V-MAN MACE  
    • Joe Palin
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 12:36pm

      Thank God and all the Saints and Angels that our wonderful US Government employees can now rest in peace. They sacrificed themselves to protect America, doing professional work that NO contractor or amateur vigilante will ever be able to provide. In Ayn Rand’s world the CIA would not exist.

      God Bless America and her fabulous Government!

      Report Post » MONICNE  
    • thegrassroots
      Posted on May 29, 2011 at 12:57pm

      @ Barbarian

      I agree! The “clueless one” spent a week stumbling and bumbling and embarrassing himself all over Europe. And the first thing we hear from the White House when he returns is MORE “leaking” of information about America’s covert operations, including names. All leaked under “conditon of anonymity.” Those anonymous ones, including the potus, need to be arrested and tried on charges of treason.

      With this potus, the enemy doesn’t need spies. Because, sooner or later he will throw all the info they want to the wind. He is so much the narcisissist that for the sake of grandstanding, he’ll throw anyone under a bus. He doesn’t even have the common sense to know that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

      Report Post »  
    • BJColter Country Music Iconoclast
      Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:34am

      Osama had his nerve center in the Sudan in the 90′s and is, with Bill Clintons approval, the murderer of over a million Christians in the name of Allah, no mention of that ANYWHERE.. Obama got to play “Hit Man” from the situation room. Here’s a song about it.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqdufoUASMc

      Report Post » BJColter Country Music Iconoclast  
    • Hanna
      Posted on May 30, 2011 at 8:48am

      What is with putting all these names out there? Especially the daughter of that CIA woman that was killed. Good grief what is the matter with these people???

      Report Post »  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on May 30, 2011 at 3:53pm

      …..
      Are we going to have a new story every week until the election?
      Something tells me this is more “spin”.

      “Now, don’t forget, Obama got Osama., vote Obama.”

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
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