Cofer Black
Cofer Black | |
---|---|
Coordinator for Counterterrorism | |
In office November 26, 2002 – November 15, 2004 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Frank Taylor |
Succeeded by | Henry A. Crumpton |
Personal details | |
Born | Joseph Cofer Black 1950 (age 73–74) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
Political party | Independent |
Education | University of Southern California (BA, MA) |
Awards | National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal |
Joseph Cofer Black is an American former
Early life
A native of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Black completed his BA at the University of Southern California in 1973. The next year he earned a master's degree in international relations, also at USC. He then was accepted to a doctoral program at USC, but left in 1975 to join the CIA.[2]
CIA career up to 1999
At the CIA, Black trained for the clandestine service and volunteered for
In 1993, Black transferred from
In 1995, Black was named the Task Force Chief in the Near East and South Asia Division. From June 1998 through June 1999, he served as the Deputy Chief of the Latin America Division.[3]
Director of CTC (1999–2002)
In June 1999
Al-Qaeda strategy, 1999–2001
In December 1998, CIA chief Tenet "declared war" on Osama bin Laden.[6] Early in 1999 Tenet "ordered the CTC to begin a 'baseline' review of the CIA's operational strategy against bin Laden." In the spring, he "demanded 'a new, comprehensive plan of attack' against bin Laden and his allies."
The CTC had produced a "comprehensive plan of attack" against bin Laden and previewed the new strategy to senior CIA management by the end of July 1999. By mid-September, it had been briefed to CIA operational level personnel, the NSA, the FBI, and other partners. The strategy was referred to as "the Plan."
... [Cofer] Black and his new bin Laden unit wanted to "project" into Afghanistan, to "penetrate" bin Laden's sanctuaries. They described their plan as military officers might. They sought to surround Afghanistan with secure covert bases for CIA operations—as many bases as they could arrange. Then they would mount operations from each of the platforms, trying to move inside Afghanistan and as close to bin Laden as they could to recruit agents and to attempt capture operations. Black wanted recruitments and he wanted to develop commando or paramilitary strike teams made up of officers and men who could "blend" into the region's Muslim populations.
Parallel with these developments, in November–December 1999,
According to an internal CIA report on the performance of the agency prior to the 9/11 attacks, Black was criticized for not informing the FBI that al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar had subsequently entered the United States.[9][10] In addition, the 9/11 Commission found that while Black testified before Congress's Joint Inquiry into 9/11 that the FBI had access to information on the two hijackers, the 9/11 Commission found no such evidence of this.[11]
The CIA increasingly concentrated its resources on counter-terrorism, so that resources for this particular activity increased sharply. Some of the Plan's more modest aspirations were translated into action. Intelligence collection efforts on bin Laden and Al Qaeda increased significantly from 1999. "By 9/11," said Tenet, "a map would show that these collection programs and human [reporting] networks were in place in such numbers as to nearly cover Afghanistan."[12]
During the summer of 2001, Tenet, Black, and one of Black's top assistants—"Rich B" (i.e. "Richard")—were active in conveying the dangers of Al Qaeda to the new Bush administration. At a meeting with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and others on July 10, 2001, "Rich" predicted a "spectacular" terrorist attack against US interests "in the coming weeks or months" ... "Multiple and simultaneous attacks are possible." After the meeting, "Rich and Cofer congratulated each other," feeling that at last the CIA had gotten the full attention of the administration. At an internal CIA update in late July, "Rich" dramatically predicted, "They're coming here!" (i.e. the United States).[13]
One of the ways by which CIA/CTC surveilled
September 11, 2001
After the attacks on the
The CTC obtained passenger lists from the planes that had been turned into weapons that morning, noting the presence of Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. This was the first "absolute proof" that the attacks were an Al Qaeda plot.[15] The CTC had first come across the names in connection with potential terrorist activity in the winter of 1999–2000 (see above).
Post 9/11: Global War on Terror
On September 13, 2001, Black briefed President George W. Bush in the White House Situation Room and outlined a CIA-led campaign in Afghanistan in which small teams of CIA officers and Green Berets would work with the Northern Alliance to topple the Taliban government and expel Al Qaeda. Black told Bush: "When we're through with them, they will have flies walking across their eyeballs."[16] Black told Bush that the CIA's planning efforts had put them in a better position to respond after the attacks. Tenet later said,
How could [an intelligence] community without a strategic plan tell the president of the United States just four days after 9/11 how to attack the Afghan sanctuary and operate against al-Qa'ida in ninety-two countries around the world?[17]
A "war council" (i.e. a restricted group of the National Security Council) chaired by President Bush at Camp David was convened on September 15, 2001. Black was present. Tenet proposed first to send CIA teams into Afghanistan to collect intelligence and mount covert operations. The teams would act jointly with military Special Operations units. President Bush later praised this proposal, saying it had been "a turning point in his thinking."[18][19]
Black and
The CIA geared up to take the lead in the attack on Al Qaeda and the
Testifying at the Congressional Joint Inquiry into the September 11 attacks in 2002, Black declined the offer of anonymity because "I want to look the American people in the eye."[22]
During the "war on terror" Black is said to have played a "leading role in many of the [CIA]'s more controversial programs, including the
Coordinator for Counter-terorism (2002–2004)
Black was appointed as the US Department of State's
Private sector work (2005–present)
Blackwater
From 2005 to 2008, Black was Vice Chairman of
In March 2006, Black allegedly suggested at an international conference in Amman, Jordan, that Blackwater USA was ready to move towards providing security professionals up to brigade size for humanitarian efforts and low intensity conflicts. Black denies the allegation. Critics have suggested this may be going too far in putting political decisions in the hands of privately owned corporations.[26] The company denies this was ever said.[27]
Black resigned in 2008 reportedly after learning of illegal payments to Iraqi officials.[28]
Blackbird Technologies & Total Intelligence Solutions
From 2009 to 2014, Black joined Blackbird Technologies as Vice President for Global Operations.[29] Blackbird was a contractor that offered state-of-the-art technology-based solutions to intelligence, defense and corporate challenges,[30] before being acquired by Raytheon in 2014. Black later served as Chairman of Total Intelligence Solutions (Total Intel), a private intelligence gathering group. This company was created in February 2007 by the Prince Group, the holding company that owns Blackwater. Total Intel was formed by the merger of The Black Group LLC (also led by Black), Terrorism Research Center, Inc., and Technical Defense.[31] As of 2021, Total Intel has been absorbed by OODA group, a business intelligence and crisis response consulting group. Black appears on the firm's list of consultants.[32]
Mitt Romney presidential campaigns
On April 26, 2007, Black was chosen by Mitt Romney to head a campaign counter-terrorism policy advisory group during the Republican's 2008 U.S. presidential campaign.[33]
In October 2011, Black was chosen by Romney to serve as "Special Adviser" on all foreign policy issues during his 2012 presidential campaign.[34]
Burisma
In February 2017, the Ukrainian oil and gas corporation Burisma announced the addition of Black to the company's board of directors, leading the company's security and strategic development efforts.[35]
In the wake of the
During the 2020 presidential election, the Trump campaign shared an article from a conservative opinion outlet advancing a conspiracy theory connecting Black's work with Burisma and his connection to Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns. The campaign used the article to attempt to tie Romney to the growing Hunter Biden email controversy and discredit his vote to convict Trump during his first impeachment trial as a product of corrupt collusion with the Bidens.[37] Romney associates contradicted the claims.[37]
After the
Mueller investigation
Black's name appears in volume five of the 2020
Other roles
In January 2016 Black became an independent director of publicly traded biotechnology company Northwest Biotherapeutics (NWBO), a Maryland-based development-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cancer immunotherapies.[43]
Awards
In addition to meritorious citations, while at the CIA Black received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and the Exceptional Collector Award for 1994.[5]
References
Citations
- ^ "Cofer Black". C-SPAN. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
- Blackwater USApress release, Feb. 4, 2005.
- Blackwater USApress release, Feb. 4, 2005.
- ^ Steve Coll, Ghost Wars (Penguin, 2005 ed.), p. 456.
- ^ Blackwater USApress release, Feb. 4, 2005.
- ^ Coll, Ghost Wars, pp.436–7, and p.646 note 42; 9/11 Commission Report, chapter 11, p. 357 (HTML version).
- ^ 9/11 Commission Report, chapter 5, pp. 155–8, 168 HTML version. Data derived from subsequent intelligence interrogations of captives.
- ^ Coll, Ghost Wars, pp. 487–88.
- ^ Fickling, David (August 26, 2005). "Tenet could face 9/11 reprimand". The Guardian. London. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ Giraldi, Philip (2005-08-01). "Deep Background | The American Conservative". Amconmag.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
- ^ "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States". 9-11commission.gov. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
- ^ Coll, Ghost Wars, pp. 457, 466–72, 485, and p. 654 note 7; Tenet statement to the Joint Inquiry on 9/11, Oct. 17, 2002[permanent dead link]; 9/11 Commission Report, chapter 4, pp. 142–3 (HTML version); George Tenet, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA (Harper Press, 2007), pp. 119, 120.
- ^ George Tenet, At The Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA (Harper Press, 2007), pp. 145, 149, 150–3, 158.
- Bush At War (2002/3) (Publisher's extract from chapter 1).
- ^ Tenet, At The Center of the Storm, p. 167.
- ^ Harnden, Toby, "First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11. Little, Brown, 2021. p. 46
- ^ Tenet, At the Center of the Storm, pp. 121-2.
- ^ 9/11 Commission Report, chapter 10, p. 332 (HTML version; Tenet, At the Center of the Storm, p. *.)
- ^ Woodward, Bush at War, pp. 52.
- ^ Woodward, Bush at War, p. 103.
- ^ Tenet, At The Center Of The Storm, pp. 211, 217, 221-3.
- ^ Testimony of Cofer Black (copy on Federation of American Scientists' website).
- ^ Dana Hedgpeth. "Blackwater's Owner Has Spies for Hire", The Washington Post, Nov. 3, 2007.
- ^ a b Berenson, Tessa. "Torture Report: A Timeline of the Interrogation Program". Time. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ Matthew Lee, "Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe", Associated Press, September 22, 2007. Archived October 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [1] Archived May 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Curry, Chris (July 23, 2006). "Inside America's Private Army". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
- ^ MARK MAZZETTI and JAMES RISEN, "Blackwater Said to Approve Iraqi Payoffs After Shootings", The New York Times, Nov. 10, 2009, p.A01.
- ^ "Black Hat ® Technical Security Conference: USA 2011 // Venue". www.blackhat.com. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
- ^ Strider (2022-03-17). "Cofer Black". Intelligence Critical to the Cause. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
- ^ Dana Hedgpeth, "Blackwater's Owner Has Spies for Hire", The Washington Post, Nov. 3, 2007, p.A01.
- ^ "About OODA". OODA - Enabling Intelligent Action. September 2, 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ "Romney names terrorism policy advisers - National Politics Blog - Political Intelligence". Boston.com. 2007-09-13. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
- ^ "Mitt Romney Announces Foreign Policy And National Security Advisory Team". Mittromney.com. 2011-10-06. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
- ^ Nwazor, Toby (2017-02-22). "Former CIA Director Joins Burisma, and It Is Good News". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
- from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ POLITICO. Archivedfrom the original on 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ Russia says Ukrainian energy firm Burisma financed 'terrorist' attacks, Reuters, 9. April 2024
- ^ Russia Opens 'Financing Terrorism' Probe Implicating Western Countries, Barron's, 9. April 2024
- ^ Russian investigators start inquiry into financing of terrorism by US, NATO officials, TASS, 9. April 2024
- ^ Russia Accuses Ukrainian Gas Company Linked To Biden’s Son Of Financing Terror, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 10. April 2024
- ^ Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence United States Senate on Russian Active Measures and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election (PDF) (Report). Vol. 5: Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities. November 10, 2020. pp. 696–699.
- ^ "NW Bio Announces Appointment of Two New Independent Directors with Biotech/Pharma Expertise and Cybersecurity/Investigations Expertise". 25 January 2016.
General and cited references
- ISBN 1-59420-007-6.
- Dana Priest, "Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake: German Citizen Released After Months in 'Rendition'", The Washington Post, December 4, 2005
- ISBN 0-89141-875-X.
- ISBN 0-307-23740-0.
- ISBN 0-7432-4461-3.
See also
External links
- "Cofer Black". The Center for Torture Accountability. Archived from the original on 2009-05-12. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- Appearances on C-SPAN