President Barack Obama on Friday paid tribute to seven CIA officers killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan, hailing them as "patriots" at a rare memorial service at the spy agency's headquarters. In a break with tradition for the secretive Central Intelligence Agency, the president delivered the eulogy to an audience of about 1,000 CIA employees, relatives of the slain agents, lawmakers and officials.
"For more than 60 years, the security of our nation has demanded that the work of this agency remain largely unknown," said Obama. "But today, our gratitude as citizens demands that we speak of seven American patriots who loved their country and gave their lives to defend it."
The seven agents were killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan on December 30, when a Jordanian double agent who had been brought to the US base in Khost after promising to share intelligence on al Qaeda blew himself up. The bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, had convinced his Jordanian handlers he had put his militant past behind him and was ready to cooperate with US forces, while instead he was actually planning the attack.
It was the deadliest attack on the CIA since 1983, dealing a severe blow to the agency as it tries to track Taliban and al Qaeda militants in Afghanistan. Obama said the officers came from different backgrounds but were bound by a "common spirit. "They served in the shadows and took pride in it," he said.
"They were doing their job and they loved it. They saw the danger and accepted it. They knew that the price of freedom is high and, in an awful instant, they paid that price." Obama said the seven officers were at the forefront of a "war" to safeguard the United States. "Let their sacrifice be a summons. To carry on their work. To complete this mission. To win this war, and to keep our country safe," he said.
The event at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, outside Washington, was closed to reporters and the White House issued the text of the president's speech afterward. Although the CIA has not released the names and background of the dead officers, Obama referred to one of the victims by name, Scott Roberson, expressing his condolences to his widow who gave birth to a baby girl after her husband's death.
Comments
Comments are closed.