This is Intelligence Matters with former acting director of the CIA, Michael Morrell.

Brought to you by Lockheed Martin.

Your mission is ours.

For us, a personal meeting with an asset, you know, that cannot be replicated.

You know, you can have communications over kind of computer or email, other impersonal

it means, you know, how we call it, but ultimately, with some of this importance, you need

to, you know, see how you case officer operations officer to really look the asset in the eye

and get a real assessment of what we're dealing with.

So Mark, did Balaoui agree to a meeting with us right away or was there some back and forth?

There really was indeed a great deal of back and forth.

You know, he insisted first that the Jordanian officer be present and then, and he initially

suggested several locations that we did not deem to be safe.

And now, you know, looking back, I think those were some signs that, you know, that we probably

should have taken a bit more seriously, although it's not unusual for an asset to suggest meeting

locations.

No one thought this was going to be, you know, sitting down, you know, having a picnic

or a barbecue with someone, you know, not only we had never met, but someone who we thought

infiltrated, you know, the most dangerous terrorist group on the planet.

But ultimately, you know, this, the security protocols broke down and he was, he was treated

as almost a visiting dignitary or security team, did ask for him to step out of the car

and they were going to search him.

The problem is there was, you know, this was, this was far too close to the, to the kind

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