Ex-CIA officer: World needs spies 鈥渕ore than ever鈥�
Former CIA Chief of Disguise Jonna Mendez says 鈥渕istakes鈥� made by the agency, but spying is 鈥渉onourable鈥�
Jonna Mendez, who served in the CIA from 1966-1993, has told HARDtalk that the intelligence agency did 鈥渟ome bad stuff鈥�
鈥淭here is a history where mistakes have been made: some purposely, some not purposely鈥�, she said.
The CIA鈥檚 former Chief of Disguise acknowledged that in any 鈥渙rganisation as large as the CIA鈥�, there would be plenty of 鈥渂ad decisions鈥�. The CIA has, in the past, admitted to plotting assassinations and coups as well as to surveillance of American citizens.
Speaking to Stephen Sackur in Washington DC, Mendez defended the work of the CIA, insisting that spying is 鈥渁n honourable profession that needs to be done鈥�. She said: 鈥淥ur country can鈥檛 go staggering forward without having some sense of what the rest of the world is doing.鈥� She explained that espionage plays a key role in 鈥渉ow policy is made鈥�.
Mendez, who served the agency throughout the Cold War said: 鈥淭he world needs spies, probably more than ever鈥�.
Nonetheless, Mendez also acknowledged that working as a spy 鈥渢akes a personal toll鈥�. She explained that 鈥渇riends outside [the agency] drop away because it鈥檚 too hard to keep up the fa莽ade鈥�. But she added that upon retiring after 27 years, the 鈥済ive and take鈥� with her CIA friends was also gone, leaving her feeling isolated from both groups.
During her career, Mendez worked on intelligence operations from Moscow to Havana, eventually rising through the CIA ranks to become Chief of Disguise. She and her late husband Tony Mendez, who was also a CIA spy, have written various books about their covert activities, including one which was adapted into the Oscar-winning film Argo.
