Thomas Twetten

Thomas Alan Twetten (born 1935) was a Central Intelligence Agency case officer. From 1991 to 1993, he was Deputy Director of Operations (DDO).[1]

Early life

Twetten grew up in the town of Spencer, Iowa. He graduated with a degree in psychology from Iowa State University in 1957, where he was a member of the Army R.O.T.C. After graduation, he became a military intelligence officer and received a masters from Columbia University.[2]

Career

In 1962, he worked for the United States State Department in Lagos, Nigeria as a political officer.[2]

He was posted to Benghazi, Libya during the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, where he was the chief of base. There, he developed a friendship with Richard Calder, who went on to become Deputy Director of Administration (DDA) in 2001.[3] From 1979 to 1982, Twetten served as station chief in Amman, Jordan.[citation needed] In 1983, he became deputy chief of the C.I.A.'s Near East and South Asia Division and was promoted to chief in 1986.[2]

In 1988, Twetten was head of the Near East Division of the CIA's Directorate of Operations. He had a significant impact on the events in Afghanistan immediately before the Soviet Union's withdrawal. He later described former president Bill Clinton as "personally afraid of any connection with the CIA".[4]

On January 1, 1991, Twetten became the Deputy Director of Operations. His final assignment was station chief in London, United Kingdom from 1993 to 1995.[citation needed]

After his retirement from the CIA, Twetten became an antique-book seller in Vermont.[4]

References

  1. ^ Denise Grady (15 June 2012). "Richard F. Stolz Dies at 86; Headed C.I.A. Spy Operations". New York Times. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Wines, Michael (November 20, 1990). "Washington at Work; After 30 Years in Shadows, a Spymaster Emerges". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Loeb, Vernon (February 4, 2000). "Ex-Spy's Mission at CIA: Burying the Bureaucracy". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Steve Coll (3 March 2005). Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden. Penguin Books. p. 243. ISBN 9780141935799.
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