A high-ranking official of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) came under fire for posting a photo supporting Palestine on his Facebook page.
According to the British Financial Times (FT) on the 28th (local time), the CIA’s director of analysis posted a photo of a man waving a Palestinian flag on his Facebook cover on October 21st. This photo is known to be frequently cited in foreign media articles criticizing Israel.
However, considering personal safety concerns, the FT did not disclose the name of the high-ranking official who posted the photo.
It is rare for a high-ranking intelligence official to post a photo with such an explicit political message. In particular, this controversy attracts attention because it occurred amidst voices within the U.S. administration calling for pressure on Israel to end the war.
The high-ranking CIA official at the center of the controversy also posted a selfie with a sticker saying ‘Free Palestine’ in a separate Facebook post.
One source said the controversial photo had been posted years before the conflict broke out, and that the CIA official who created the controversy was an expert with extensive knowledge of the Middle East.
However, the source added that the official did not post this to express his position on the current conflict, and that he had previously posted a post criticizing anti-Semitism on Facebook.
The official previously oversaw the production of the President’s Daily Brief, which is provided daily to the President. He is also responsible for approving all analytical reports distributed within the agency.
A former intelligence official criticized this controversy, saying, “It shows poor judgment for a senior analyst to publicly post a political statement that could clearly be controversial during a crisis.”
“CIA agents are committed to analytical objectivity, which is at the core of what we do as an agency,” the CIA said in a statement. “We will not undermine the CIA’s commitment,” he said.
In particular, this incident occurred while CIA Director William Burns was heading to Qatar to discuss the release of hostages with Israel and Qatar.
“Given the role Director Burns is playing in the ongoing crisis in Israel, the social media activity of a senior U.S. intelligence official is quite surprising and reflects poor judgment,” a former intelligence official told the FT.
On the 9th, the Biden administration sent a diplomatic cable from U.S. embassies in the Arab world stating, ‘Arab people are gradually turning their backs on America’s support for Israel.’ Diplomatic cables refer to electronic documents containing instructions from the U.S. State Department and intelligence reports from U.S. diplomats working at diplomatic missions.
Also, on the 13th, dozens of U.S. diplomats sent a letter urging the Biden administration to reevaluate its policy toward Israel and call for a ceasefire. The letter was reportedly signed by hundreds of people, including employees of the U.S. State Department and the Agency for International Development.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.