James L. Pavitt (born February 19, 1946 – died December 22, 2022) was

Deputy Director for Operations The deputy director of the CIA for operations is a senior United States government official in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency who serves as head of the Directorate of Operations (CIA), Directorate of Operations. The position was established ...

(DDO) for the

CIA 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 ...

from June 23, 1999, until July 12, 2004, when he resigned a day after

George Tenet George John Tenet (born January 5, 1953) is an American intelligence official and academic who served as the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, as well as a Distinguished Professor in the Pr ...

. The CIA said the resignations was for personal reasons.

Background

Pavitt was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

and graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

(B.A., 1968) in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

Dana Priest, ''Retired Official Defends the CIA's Performance''

Washington Post, November 5, 2004 as a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

. After graduation, he was a National Defense Education Act fellow at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

(1969). He was a Principal of

The Scowcroft Group Brent Scowcroft (; March 19, 1925August 6, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, and a two-time United States National Security Advisor, first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under George H. W. Bush. He served as Military Assista ...

, an international business advisory firm,James L. Pavitt Bio

, Scowcroft Group and was formerly on the board of the

Association of Former Intelligence Officers The Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), formerly known as the Association of Retired Intelligence Officers is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization founded in 1975 by David Atlee Phillips to counter widespread criticism o ...

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

McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population of the community was 50,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is ...

. His hobbies included collecting art, especially primitive American art.

Intelligence career

Pavitt served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1969-1971 as an

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a member of the intelligence field employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a r ...

and was a legislative assistant with the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1971 until 1973. After joining the CIA, Pavitt was posted to Austria, Germany, Malaysia, and Luxembourg between 1976 and 1983.Vernon Loeb, ''Rebuilding Clandestine Operations''

Washington Post, September 20, 1999 He was Persona non grata, expelled (PNG'd) from

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. He was chief of station in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

(1983-1986).Jason Vest, ''Spy Versus Spy''

The American Prospect, June 4, 2004 He served as a Branch Chief in the Africa Division.Valerie Plame Wilson, ''Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House''

pp 353., Simon and Schuster, , 9781416583363, October 22, 2007 From 1990 to 1993, he served on the National Security Council team under

Brent Scowcroft Brent Scowcroft (; March 19, 1925August 6, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, and a two-time National Security Advisor (United States), United States National Security Advisor, first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under Georg ...

as Senior Intelligence Advisor to President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

.James L. Pavitt Biography, , Patriot Defense Group 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 Valerie Elise Plame (born August 13, 1963) is an American writer, spy, novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA offic ...

, to staff the CPD. In 1997 he was appointed Associate Deputy Director of Operations. He was Deputy Director of Operations from 1999 until his resignation in 2004. In 2003, the CPD took down the nuclear black market being operated by

Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021) was a Pakistani Nuclear physics, nuclear physicist and metallurgist, metallurgical engineer. He is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, Pakistan's ...

. After September 11, 2001, Pavitt was responsible for sending

Special Activities Division The Special Activities Center (SAC) is the center of the United States Central Intelligence Agency responsible for covert operations. The unit was named Special Activities Division (SAD) prior to a 2015 reorganization. Within SAC there are at le ...

teams to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

to capture

Al Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

members. The first

Hellfire missiles The AGM-114 Hellfire is an American missile developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name " Heliborne laser, fi ...

fired from drones were under his command. They were aimed at an

convoy in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

in which all occupants, including an American citizen, were killed. The administration came under fire for having acted on faulty intelligence, particularly that which was single-sourced to the informant known as

Curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

. In April 2004 he appeared before the

9/11 Commission The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history ...

. The BBC called his 9/11 commission appearance 'unprecedented'. The commission's report said that shortly after Bush's election, Pavitt told the President-elect that

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 ...

was one of the gravest threats to the country. He also added that killing the

leader would have an effect but not stop the threat posed by the terrorist organization. When Bush put

Porter Goss Porter Johnston Goss (; born November 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2004 to 2006. He was the last Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 2004 to 2005, then became the fir ...

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." On June 4, 2004, he unexpectedly announced his retirement one day after

. The CIA said Pavitt's decision was unconnected with Tenet's departure. Pavitt was succeeded by his deputy,

Stephen Kappes Stephen R. Kappes (born August 22, 1951) was the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (DDCIA), until his resignation on April 14, 2010. He had served in the CIA since 1981, with a two-year hiatus. A career clandestine operations pro ...

. On June 21, 2004, Pavitt delivered one of his last speeches as DDO to the Foreign Policy Association.''Remarks by Deputy Director for Operations James L. Pavitt at the Foreign Policy Association''

June 21, 2004 He resigned in July 12, 2004, one day after of Tenet's resignation. Pavitt is a recipient of the CIA's

Distinguished Intelligence Medal The Distinguished Intelligence Medal is awarded by the U.S. CIA, Central Intelligence Agency for performance of outstanding services or for achievement of a distinctly exceptional nature in a duty or responsibility. Recipients This list includes ...

. He is also a recipient of the CIA

Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal The Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal is awarded by the Central Intelligence Agency for an individual's cumulative record of service reflecting a pattern of increasing levels of responsibility or increasingly strategic impact and with distin ...

, the CIA Director’s Medal and the Donovan Award.

Post-CIA work

He is an advisor to the Patriot Defense Group, LLC, to Olton Solutions Ltd. in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and to

.Forbes Profile: James Pavitt
Forbes, retrieved March 13, 2013 He is a director of CACI International, Inc.

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. The

Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture The Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program is a report compiled by the bipartisan United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) about the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s Detent ...

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.

External links

Appointment of James L. Pavitt as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
June 24, 1992

''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', March 24, 2004
In photos: Counterterrorism officials testify on IT challenges
- Dan Verton of ''

Computerworld ''Computerworld'' (abbreviated as CW) is a computer magazine published since 1967 aimed at information technology (IT) and Business computing, business technology professionals. Original a print magazine, ''Computerworld'' published its final pr ...

'', 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

-

Dana Priest Dana Louise Priest is an American journalist, writer and teacher. She has worked for nearly 30 years for the ''Washington Post'' and became the third John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Public Affairs Journalism at the University of Maryland's ...

of ''

'', October 27, 2004; Page A21
Retired Official Defends the CIA's Performance
-

of ''

'', November 5, 2004; Page A23
James L. Pavitt's Resume
The Scowcroft Group *

Speeches

Jim Pavitt, Deputy Director for Operations, April 11, 2002

James L. Pavitt on the 60th anniversary of the Office of Strategic Services, CIA's Predecessor, June 8, 2002

James L. Pavitt at the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security Breakfast Program, January 23, 2003

Deputy Director for Operations, before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, April 14, 2004.

Foreign Policy Association, June 21, 2004

Foreign Policy Association, June 21, 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavitt, James 1946 births Living people Military personnel from St. Louis Military personnel from McLean, Virginia People of the Central Intelligence Agency University of Missouri alumni United States Army officers Recipients of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal