Shadowland: Bourne Again?

Both American and Italian press reports claim that the head of Italy's Intelligence and Military Security Service (SISMI), Nicolo Pollari, was informed about the kidnapping before it took place. The Berlusconi government has flatly denied this. It claims no one in the Italian government or its intelligence services had any prior knowledge of this crime, which the Italian judge calls an affront to national sovereignty. A source close to the prosecution tells me that the search goes on for direct links to whatever Italian officials may have approved it. They are the "real" targets of the investigation, according to this source, although no proof has surfaced. (Coincidentally, one of Pollari's top deputies, Maj. Gen. Nicola Calipari, was shot and killed accidentally by American troops in Iraq earlier this year.)

Like most good spy stories, this one has a quiet denouement. For the American officers in the field, the "rendition" of Abu Omar to Egypt must have seemed a cause to celebrate. Certainly they acted that way. Aviano airbase, where they'd put him on a plane, is near Venice. Four members of the team decided to chill there for a couple of days. Others drove back to Milan, then disappeared off the Italian map. The tasteful Joseph S. went with Cyntia, 42, to a spa at Montecatini Terme, then on to Bolzano, in the Tyrol. A few months later, the CIA man in Milan retired to a lovely farmhouse among pastures and vineyards near Asti, according to court documents. Italian reporters who've been to the village say he hasn't been seen by his neighbors for several months.

* FOOTNOTE: The Italian court documents give the full names, passport numbers, credit card numbers, even "preferred guest numbers" in some cases. Several of the names in the documents probably are "covers" and completely false. Others are unquestionably genuine. There are both legal and ethical questions involved here, but on balance I think this is not the place to play any part in "outing" undercover CIA agents.

© 2005