The White House has accidentally sent the name of a top CIA spy to 6,000 members of the press.
Christian Today reports:
The list contained the names of 15 people President Obama was scheduled to meet with during a visit to Bagram Airfield, a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Mistakenly included was the name of the top U.S. spy in Kabul, identified on the list as the “Chief of Station.”
Washington Post White House Bureau Chief Scott Wilson has been identified as the person who filed the pool report, although he told the Post that he copied the list from a White House press email.
A revised list with the spy’s name removed was quickly distributed to the press pool, and White House officials asked the media outlets not to publish the officer’s name for fear of harm to the officer and his family. It is unclear whether the officer will remain in Afghanistan.
The incident marks the fourth chief of station to have his identity leaked in recent years. Two CIA station chiefs in Pakistan were outed by the Pakistani media in 2011 in retaliation for U.S. raids in the area. Last year, another station chief in Pakistan was exposed by a Pakistani political party in protest of U.S. drone strikes.
The White House has not responded regarding the leak and it is not know if the mishap has the potential to endanger the life of the intelligence officer or if it will damage his career.