Ambassador Cofer Black Speaks To Herndon High Students

Cofer Black (2nd left) former head of Counter-Terrorism for the CIA and Ambassador at Large for Counter-Terrorism spoke to US/Va Government students on January 9th, 2013.  Along with former CIA agent Don Bailey (left) they discussed the threat prior to 9/11 and CIA actions after 9/11, the capture of "Carlos the Jackal", the response to terrorist threats by the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, enhanced interrogation techniques, life lessons for the students and other topics. 

It was a fascinating presentation. 

Above and below, Mckenzie and Mariana show their appreciation for talking with our class.

Ambassador Black's comments are not below due to approval needed by the CIA prior to publication. Neither Mr. Black nor myself wanted to have to deal with that process.

Noe- What can you tell us about your capture of "Carlos the Jackal" and were you able to discuss with him why he did the things that he did?

Alan- In the days after 9/11 how concerned were you that there would be another attack?

Lukas (left)- In The Art of Intelligence Henry Crumpton wrote the Bush administration tried to create a link between Al Qaeda and Iraq even before 9/11 which Crumpton believed did not exist.  Assuming that book is accurate, why do you think the Bush administration was doing that?

McKenzie- During class Mr. Graney simulated the "bug in the box" enhanced interrogation technique on me, the same technique that was done to Abu Zubada.  That caused me "severe mental stress" which is part of the law against torture. Should Mr. Graney be arrested for breaking the law against torture?

Manuel- Considering we have been in Afghanistan for 11 years do you think the Russians had a point when they said to you after 9/11 "you're going to get the Hell kicked out of you in Afghanistan"?

McJerson- We know you're in the private sector now, but if President Obama asked you to take a secret mission, would you?

Justin- In the Men’s Journal interview it stated Osama Bin Laden tried to have you assassinated when you were both in Sudan.  It’s understandable how he came to your attention, but how did you come to his attention?

Cameron- We read excerpts from "The Book of Honor" by Ted Gup.  Assuming you are familiar with the book do you think it was appropriate for Mr. Gup to make it his mission to find who the agents were that died in service of the CIA and tell their stories? If the CIA did not want their names revealed, shouldn't that be respected?

Dante- If Usama Bin Laden had been captured, would you have interrogated him?

Other Questions:  Mr. Graney- In Bob Woodward's book Plan of Attack, your boss, CIA Director George Tenet is briefing President Bush and others about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programs.  Bush and other members of his administration expressed skepticism about the accuracy of the information being presented.  That is when George Tenet famously said "It's a slam dunk."  The media made a big deal about the "slam dunk" comment but in the days after that meeting Bush and members of his administration promoted the idea that Iraq was a threat due to WMD even though they were not persuaded by the CIA report. Did the Bush administration use WMD as an excuse to go to war against Iraq knowing the story wasn't true?

Jordan- How does one do Counter Terrorism?