Jennifer Lynne Matthews (December 6, 1964 – December 30, 2009) was an American
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) officer. She was killed in the
Camp Chapman attack
The Camp Chapman attack was a suicide attack by Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi against the Central Intelligence Agency facility inside Forward Operating Base Chapman on December 30, 2009. One of the main tasks of the CIA personnel station ...
in
Khost, Afghanistan
Khōst () is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram in Pakistan. Kh ...
, a suicide bombing that targeted CIA personnel. Matthews was known for her work in counterterrorism.
Early life and education
Matthews was born on December 6, 1964, in
Penbrook, Pennsylvania
Penbrook is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, founded in 1861 and incorporated July 10, 1894. Penbrook was once named East Harrisburg and still maintains a Harrisburg postal ZIP code. The population was 3,268 at the 2020 ...
. She was the middle child in a family where her mother worked as a nurse, and her father was a commercial printer. Matthews attended
Central Dauphin East High School
Central Dauphin East High School is a large, suburban, public high school located in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It is one of two high schools operated by the Central Dauphin School District. In the 2022–2023 school year, enroll ...
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members.
The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...
and
Youth for Christ
Youth For Christ (YFC) is a worldwide Christian movement working with young people, whose main purpose is evangelism among teenagers. It began informally in New York City in 1940, when Jack Wyrtzen held evangelical Protestant rallies for teenager ...
. In 1982, she graduated from high school, where her classmates voted her "most likely to be the next Barbara Walters." Matthews attended
Cedarville University
Cedarville University is a private Baptist university in Cedarville, Ohio. It is chartered by the state of Ohio, approved by the Ohio Board of Regents, and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Established in 1887, the school was origi ...
in Ohio, where she earned a degree in political science. She later pursued a career in intelligence and joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1989.
Career at the CIA
Matthews began her career at the CIA as an analyst, spending her first seven years in this role. In the mid-1990s, she transitioned to the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, focusing on tracking al-Qaeda. Matthews was tracking al-Qaeda before the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. She joined the CIA in 1989 and was involved with the agency's
Bin Laden Issue Station
The Bin Laden Issue Station, also known as Alec Station, was a standalone unit of the Central Intelligence Agency in operation from 1996 to 2005 dedicated to tracking Osama bin Laden and his associates, both before and after the 9/11 attacks. I ...
. A U.S. official said Matthews was "one of the US government's top experts on al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups." She played a key role in several high-profile operations, including the capture of
Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah ( ; , ''Abū Zubaydah''; born March 12, 1971, as Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn) is a Saudi citizen and alleged terrorist born in Saudi Arabia currently held by the U.S. in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He is held unde ...
, the first high-value al-Qaeda target apprehended after 9/11. Matthews was involved in his interrogation and was a key figure in the CIA's rendition operations.
From 2005 to 2009, Matthews served as the chief of the Counterterrorism Branch in London, overseeing operations in the United Kingdom. One of her notable achievements during this time was her involvement in thwarting a 2006 al-Qaeda plot to bomb U.S.-bound jets.
Camp Chapman Attack
In September 2009, Matthews volunteered to be CIA chief at Forward Operating Base Chapman, located near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Khost, Afghanistan. This deployment marked her first long-term stint in a war zone. At Khost, Matthews and her team were working with a Jordanian informant, Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, who claimed to have detailed intelligence on al-Qaeda leaders, including
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
and
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...
. However, al-Balawi was a double agent working for al-Qaeda. On December 30, 2009, he detonated a suicide bomb inside the base, killing Matthews and six other CIA personnel. This incident was the deadliest attack on the CIA since the beginning of the war on terror.
Matthews is buried in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia.
...
. A star was carved into the
CIA Memorial Wall
The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia.
Legacy and impact
Jennifer Matthews’ death brought attention to the risks associated with intelligence operations in conflict zones. The Camp Chapman attack prompted internal reviews and changes within the CIA regarding informant handling and base security. Her family was reportedly divided in the aftermath of her death, reflecting differing views on her work and the circumstances surrounding the attack. Matthews was survived by her husband and three children. Her daughter has been outspoken about her work and legacy, and involved in the
CIA Officers Memorial Foundation
CIA Officers Memorial Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides financial support to the families of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officers who have died in the line of duty.
History and work
It was established in December 2001 ...
.
Matthews was portrayed as the character Jessica in ''
Zero Dark Thirty
''Zero Dark Thirty'' is a 2012 American political action thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. Produced by Boal, Bigelow, and Megan Ellison, and independently financed by Ellison's Annapurna Pictures, the film ...
''. The film depicted her as making critical errors, leading to her death in the Camp Chapman attack in Afghanistan. However, this portrayal has been criticized by those who knew her, including former Cedarville professors and CIA veteran Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., who argued it misrepresented her seriousness and expertise. Rodriguez said Matthews was a dedicated and talented officer, playing a key role in significant operations. Her life and work is chronicled in
Joby Warrick
Joby Warrick (born August 4, 1960) is an American journalist who has worked for ''The Washington Post'' since 1996, mostly writing about the Middle East, diplomacy, and national security. He has also written about the intelligence community, the ...