January 28, 2009: ABC News Breaks CIA Date Rape Story

ABC News breaks the story that Andrew Warren, until recently chief of the CIA station in Algeria, is accused of a pair of date rapes (see September 2007 and February 17, 2008). The story recounts details of the rapes, as found in an affidavit filed in support of a search warrant for Warren’s computer. ABC also mentions that Warren is a convert to Islam. [ABC News, 1/28/2009] After the story is picked up by other media outlets, the Los Angeles Times notes a political aspect of the revelation: “The allegations have the potential to represent a serious setback for the US as the Obama administration is trying to repair relations with the Muslim world.” [Los Angeles Times, 1/29/2009] Isobel Coleman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who specializes in women’s issues in the Middle East, says, “It has the potential to be quite explosive if it’s not handled well by the United States government.” Former CIA officer Robert Baer comments on the security implications: “My question is how the CIA would not have picked up on this in their own regular reviews of CIA officers overseas. From a national security standpoint [the alleged rapes would be] not only wrong but could open him up to potential blackmail and that’s something the CIA should have picked up on. This is indicative of personnel problems of all sorts that run through the agency.” [ABC News, 1/28/2009]