Operations Direction Of CIA Also Steps Down

The man in charge of the spies and dirty tricks branch of the CIA announces retirement.

A second top CIA official is to retire from his post, less than a day after the surprise resignation of the agency's director George Tenet.
James Pavitt, deputy director for operations, who was in charge of the agency's spies, is said to have made the decision some weeks ago.

The CIA says Mr Pavitt's decision was unconnected with Mr Tenet's departure.

But analysts say the move will mean more upheaval at a critical time for the agency.

The BBC's Ian Pannell, in Washington, says it is his department's record in gathering intelligence in Iraq that has come in for the strongest criticism.

In particular they are criticised for not having enough good human intelligence on the ground, that they placed too much credence on badly sourced material.