Stephen Kappes
Encyclopedia
Stephen R. Kappes was the Deputy Director
of the Central Intelligence Agency
(DDCIA), until his resignation on April 14, 2010. He had served in the CIA since 1981, with a two-year hiatus. A career clandestine operations professional, Mr. Kappes was well known for his supervisory role in the extraordinary rendition
program, a non-judicial system of rendering persons suspected of terrorism to secret locations for various controversial interrogation techniques. In 2009, Mr. Kappes was convicted in an Italian court for crimes related to a rendition. Mr. Kappes was also known for his role in persuading Libya
n leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
to abandon his nuclear weapon
s program in 2003.
and a Master of Science
degree in pathology
from Ohio State University
. He served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps
from 1976 to 1981.
, and later as DDO after Pavitt stepped down in August 2004. At the time of the September 11 attacks, Kappes was the associate deputy director for operations for counterintelligence.
in Moscow, New Dehli and Frankfurt
and has served in Pakistan
.
that ended that country's weapons-of-mass-destruction (WMD) programs. In a joint diplomatic mission with the United Kingdom's MI6 head of counter terrorism Sir Mark Allen
, the pair engaged with Libya's secret service head, which resulted in an end of support for terrorist activity by Colonel
Muammar al-Gaddafi
’s Libya
, and a resultant end of international sanctions against Libya.
, who resigned in June 2004. Both Kappes and Pavitt oversaw the CIA’s Directorate for Operations during the controversial Iraq WMD
reporting. He served in that position until he resigned in November 2004. John E. McLaughlin
, the then-Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, announced his departure the same week Kappes quit, thus exacerbating the rumored management problems for Goss.
, his then deputy. It is also reported that this incident occurred because the chief of staff admonished the then assistant Deputy Director for Counterintelligence, Mary Margaret Graham
– who later worked for the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Negroponte
– about leaking personnel information. According to some news reports, Sulick had just engaged in a shouting match with Goss’s chief of staff.
For a brief period in between his senior appointments, Kappes worked in the private security industry. In April 2005, ArmorGroup
, a British security firm, named him vice president in charge of global strategy, and named him Chief Operating Officer (COO) in November 2005.
Jay Rockefeller
, the outgoing chairman, and Diane Feinstein, the incoming chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Instead, Leon Panetta
was appointed to the position in February 2009, and Kappes was retained as DDCIA, the latter a condition set by Feinstein in exchange for her support for the former.
According to two former officials who read a CIA inspector general's report on the incident, Kappes coached the base chief—whose identity is being withheld at the request of the CIA—on how to respond to the agency's investigators. They would report it as an accident.
Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
The Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is a senior United States government official in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency...
of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central 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...
(DDCIA), until his resignation on April 14, 2010. He had served in the CIA since 1981, with a two-year hiatus. A career clandestine operations professional, Mr. Kappes was well known for his supervisory role in the extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
program, a non-judicial system of rendering persons suspected of terrorism to secret locations for various controversial interrogation techniques. In 2009, Mr. Kappes was convicted in an Italian court for crimes related to a rendition. Mr. Kappes was also known for his role in persuading Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
to abandon his nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s program in 2003.
Education and military service
Kappes earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pre-medicine from Ohio UniversityOhio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
and a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degree in pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
from Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. He served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from 1976 to 1981.
First CIA tour (1981–2004)
Kappes joined the CIA in 1981 and has held a variety of operational and managerial assignments at CIA Headquarters and overseas, serving as assistant deputy director to former Deputy Director for Operations (DDO) James PavittJames Pavitt
James L. Pavitt was Deputy Director for Operations for the CIA from 1999 until June 4, 2004. His sudden resignation – as well as that of his chief, DCI George Tenet the previous day – led to speculation that it was over the controversy surrounding Iraq weapons of mass destruction or 9-11...
, and later as DDO after Pavitt stepped down in August 2004. At the time of the September 11 attacks, Kappes was the associate deputy director for operations for counterintelligence.
Station chief postings
Kappes has been station chiefStation Chief
Station Chief is a term for certain officials who are appointed as chief of a 'station', i.e. a stationary post, of various natures.-Colonial:...
in Moscow, New Dehli and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and has served in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Libya negotiations
Towards the end of his tenure with the CIA, he worked with President George W. Bush in negotiations with LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
that ended that country's weapons-of-mass-destruction (WMD) programs. In a joint diplomatic mission with the United Kingdom's MI6 head of counter terrorism Sir Mark Allen
Mark Allen (businessman)
Sir Mark Allen KCMG is a retired former United Kingdom spy, turned businessman and academic lecturer.Allen was educated at Downside School, a private school in Somerset, and having studied Arabic at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford, he joined the British Foreign Service, where he worked...
, the pair engaged with Libya's secret service head, which resulted in an end of support for terrorist activity by Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
’s Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, and a resultant end of international sanctions against Libya.
Deputy Director of Operations
Kappes was named Deputy Director for Operations (DDO) for the CIA in June 2004 and took office in August 2004 while the appointment of Porter Goss as the next Director of Central Intelligence was still pending in the Senate. Kappes succeeded James PavittJames Pavitt
James L. Pavitt was Deputy Director for Operations for the CIA from 1999 until June 4, 2004. His sudden resignation – as well as that of his chief, DCI George Tenet the previous day – led to speculation that it was over the controversy surrounding Iraq weapons of mass destruction or 9-11...
, who resigned in June 2004. Both Kappes and Pavitt oversaw the CIA’s Directorate for Operations during the controversial Iraq WMD
Iraq and weapons of mass destruction
During the regime of Saddam Hussein, the nation of Iraq used, possessed, and made efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction . Hussein was internationally known for his use of chemical weapons in the 1980s against Iranian and Kurdish civilians during and after the Iran–Iraq War...
reporting. He served in that position until he resigned in November 2004. John E. McLaughlin
John E. McLaughlin
John Edward McLaughlin is the former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence and former Acting Director of Central Intelligence. McLaughlin is an accomplished magician and lectured on magic at the 2006 International Brotherhood of Magicians Annual Convention in Miami, Florida...
, the then-Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, announced his departure the same week Kappes quit, thus exacerbating the rumored management problems for Goss.
Dramatic departure in 2004
It had been widely reported in the press that Kappes quit the Agency rather than carry out a request by Goss to reassign Michael SulickMichael Sulick
Michael J. Sulick is an American intelligence officer and served as Director of the U.S. National Clandestine Service from 2007-2010....
, his then deputy. It is also reported that this incident occurred because the chief of staff admonished the then assistant Deputy Director for Counterintelligence, Mary Margaret Graham
Mary Margaret Graham
Mary Margaret Graham was the United States Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Collection .-Education:Mrs. Graham is a graduate of Marywood College in Scranton, Pennsylvania and obtained a Masters degree in Russian Studies at The Maxwell School of Syracuse University.-Honors and Awards:Ms...
– who later worked for the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Negroponte
John Negroponte
John Dimitri Negroponte is an American diplomat. He is currently a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs...
– about leaking personnel information. According to some news reports, Sulick had just engaged in a shouting match with Goss’s chief of staff.
For a brief period in between his senior appointments, Kappes worked in the private security industry. In April 2005, ArmorGroup
ArmorGroup
ArmorGroup International is a British company providing private security. It was founded in 1981 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 6 June 2008 ....
, a British security firm, named him vice president in charge of global strategy, and named him Chief Operating Officer (COO) in November 2005.
Second CIA tour (2006–2010)
Kappes was named as the next DDCIA by Negroponte in May 2006. Kappes was believed to be the preferred choice for Director of the CIA in the incoming Obama administration by SenatorsUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Jay Rockefeller
Jay Rockefeller
John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV is the senior United States Senator from West Virginia. He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as Governor of West Virginia, a position he held from 1977 to 1985...
, the outgoing chairman, and Diane Feinstein, the incoming chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Instead, Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panetta is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency...
was appointed to the position in February 2009, and Kappes was retained as DDCIA, the latter a condition set by Feinstein in exchange for her support for the former.
Extraordinary rendition conviction
On November 4, 2009, in a landmark ruling, Italian judge Oscar Magi convicted 22 American CIA operatives of kidnapping Muslim cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, known as Abu Omar, from the streets of Milan in 2003. Most of the top CIA officers had left the agency, with the exception of Kappes, who at the time was the assistant director of the CIA's clandestine branch.Role in hiding detainee death
Per official reports, Mr. Kappes was responsible for the alteration of records regarding the death of a detainee at the 'Salt Pit', a secret CIA interrogation operation in Afghanistan. A detainee froze to death, after having been showered with water, and left outside overnight. Mr. Kappes made certain that the death was retained 'off the books'. Two former officials who read the internal inspector general report made clear that the base chief was coached directly by Mr. Kappes on how to report the death as an accident.According to two former officials who read a CIA inspector general's report on the incident, Kappes coached the base chief—whose identity is being withheld at the request of the CIA—on how to respond to the agency's investigators. They would report it as an accident.
Sudden retirement, no explanation
On April 14, 2010, CIA Director Leon E. Panetta reported that Kappes will be retiring in May. The odd timing of the retirement, and lack of Presidential thanks for his years of service, led many to comment that this was a departure in disgrace.External links
- CIA press release with a brief biography
- CIA official biography
- New York Times article on appointment of Kappes, May 30, 2006
- Washington Post: Kappes is Expected to Boost CIA Morale, June 19, 2006
- "Inside Man", Washingtonian, Jeff Stein, March 25, 2010
- "Judgement in Milan", Harpers, Scott Horton, November 2009
- "Steven Kappes, profiled", Harpers, Scott Horton, March 2010
- "A Shadow warrior falls", Washington Times, April 2010