CounterSpy (magazine)
Encyclopedia
CounterSpy is an American
magazine
that published articles on covert operations, especially those undertaken by the American government. According to Public Information Research, "CounterSpy published 32 issues from 1973 to 1984, a special issue on Jordan
in 1977, and 8 issues as The National Reporter from 1985 to 1988. Back issues are no longer available except through the PIR photocopying service."
agent Philip Agee
advocated outing agents in their Winter 1975 issue. Agee urged the "neutralization of its[CIA] people working abroad" by publicizing their names so that they could no longer operate clandestinely.
The station chief in Costa Rica
, Joseph F. Fernandez
, first appeared in CounterSpy in 1975. However, the 1975 murder of Richard S. Welch, the CIA Station Chief in Greece
, by marxist terrorist
s was blamed by some on disclosures in magazines such as CounterSpy.
Though U.S. officials, including then-CIA Director George H.W. Bush, blamed CounterSpy for contributing to Welch's death, the magazine’s defenders noted that Welch was previously named as a CIA officer by a European publication, and that the CIA had assigned him a house previously used by CIA station chiefs. Congress cited the Welch assassination as the principal justification for passing a law in 1982 making the willful identification of a CIA officer a criminal offense.
The 1975 CounterSpy defense came back into the news when Valerie Plame
was outed as a CIA officer in 2003.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
that published articles on covert operations, especially those undertaken by the American government. According to Public Information Research, "CounterSpy published 32 issues from 1973 to 1984, a special issue on Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
in 1977, and 8 issues as The National Reporter from 1985 to 1988. Back issues are no longer available except through the PIR photocopying service."
Outing CIA operatives
The magazine gained notoriety when CounterSpy founder and former Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent Philip Agee
Philip Agee
Philip Burnett Franklin Agee was a Central Intelligence Agency case officer and writer, best known as author of the 1975 book, Inside the Company: CIA Diary, detailing his experiences in the CIA. Agee joined the CIA in 1957, and over the following decade had postings in Washington, D.C., Ecuador,...
advocated outing agents in their Winter 1975 issue. Agee urged the "neutralization of its
The station chief in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Joseph F. Fernandez
Joseph F. Fernandez
Joseph F. Fernandez was a Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Costa Rica and a figure in the Iran-Contra Affair....
, first appeared in CounterSpy in 1975. However, the 1975 murder of Richard S. Welch, the CIA Station Chief in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, by marxist terrorist
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Organization 17 November , was a Marxist urban guerrilla organization formed in 1975 and believed to have been disbanded in 2002 after the arrest and trial of a...
s was blamed by some on disclosures in magazines such as CounterSpy.
Though U.S. officials, including then-CIA Director George H.W. Bush, blamed CounterSpy for contributing to Welch's death, the magazine’s defenders noted that Welch was previously named as a CIA officer by a European publication, and that the CIA had assigned him a house previously used by CIA station chiefs. Congress cited the Welch assassination as the principal justification for passing a law in 1982 making the willful identification of a CIA officer a criminal offense.
The 1975 CounterSpy defense came back into the news when Valerie Plame
Valerie Plame
Valerie Elise Plame Wilson , known as Valerie Plame, Valerie E. Wilson, and Valerie Plame Wilson, is a former United States CIA Operations Officer and the author of a memoir detailing her career and the events leading up to her resignation from the CIA.-Early life :Valerie Elise Plame was born on...
was outed as a CIA officer in 2003.