NPR

The CIA Introduces Gina Haspel After Her Long Career Undercover

Most stories about Haspel, the nominee to lead the agency, focus on her controversial role in the CIA's waterboarding program. The CIA is attempting to counter that with a biography and testimonials.

Gina Haspel, the first woman nominated to lead the CIA, has a five-foot-tall poster of Johnny Cash in her office. She's an avid University of Kentucky basketball fan — though she transferred from that school and graduated from the rival University of Louisville. She majored in journalism.

All these tidbits come from the CIA, which recently published Haspel's biography on its and by , offering a personal portrait of someone who worked undercover for three decades. At the same time, former intelligence officials are providing glowing testimonials, describing her as a skilled CIA officer and station chief abroad and a

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