John Kiriakou's Dead Drop S1E18 Cross Currents
14 snips
Mar 9, 2026 A former CIA officer recounts renditions, secret detentions, and tense interrogations. He reflects on a moment of violence that haunted him and the fallout of refusing harsher interrogation training. Stories include sting operations, mistaken raids with heartfelt apologies, and uncovered phone records that raised big questions about missed follow-ups.
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Prosthetic Leg Incident And Failed Self Report
- John Kiriakou physically pulled a Libyan detainee so hard his prosthetic leg popped off and threatened to beat him with it, then felt contrite about the humiliation he caused.
- He tried to self-report to FBI agent Jennifer Keenan and station chief Bob Grenier, who both refused to file a report and told him to forget it.
Paid Informant Lured And Arrested To Stop False Leads
- A walk-in source in Islamabad sold embassy-threat tips for $100 but repeatedly gave partial leads that produced nothing, so Kiriakou and Jennifer Keenan lured him back and had Pakistani authorities arrest him to scare him off.
- The ploy was authorized by station leadership and aimed at deterrence rather than prosecution.
Wrongful Raid Turned Into Public Apology And Reparations
- Kiriakou's team mistakenly raided a girls' school run by an old man who simply rented his telephone to strangers; they apologized, bought a new door and shoes, and the man publicly praised Americans.
- The gesture turned a wrongful arrest into positive local goodwill on Pakistani television.