Michael D'Andrea | |
---|---|
Central Intelligence Agency Iran Mission Center | |
Director | |
In office 2017–2021 | |
President | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
Preceded by | unknown |
Succeeded by | position eliminated |
Central Intelligence Agency Counterterrorism Center | |
Director | |
In office 2006–2015 | |
President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Robert Grenier |
Succeeded by | Chris Wood |
Personal details | |
Born | 1954 (age 69–70) |
Nationality | American |
Spouse | Faridah Currimjee D'Andrea |
Profession | Espionage |
Nicknames |
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Michael D'Andrea (born 1954) is a retired Central Intelligence Agency officer who played an instrumental role in American counterterrorism efforts during the War on Terror. He served nine years as director of Counterterrorism Center (CTC), and held a major role in the manhunt for Osama bin Laden.[1] His 42-year career has been described as among the most consequential in the recent history of the CIA, and he has been called the most lethal leader in the U.S. government for his tenure.[2] He is widely credited with revolutionizing the CIA's terrorist-hunting efforts, and vastly expanding the program of targeted killings by drone strike used heavily against Al-Qaeda.[2][1] "If he was a combatant commander, he would have been sitting in the gallery for the State of the Union, he would have had all the accolades, and then some, that David Petraeus ever had," said one former senior CIA official. "He ran that war."[2]
In 2017 D'Andrea was appointed to head the agency's Iran Mission Center, one of the earliest moves in what became the 'maximum pressure' strategy of the Trump administration against Iran.[1] In January 2020, there were unverified reports of his death in a plane crash in Afghanistan. In 2021, the CIA acknowledged his forced retirement after a renewal of his mandatory retirement waiver was denied. Director of the CIA William J. Burns noted the "remarkable impact" of his career.[3]