Latest CIA scandal puts focus on how agency polices itself

Washington, Mar.20 (ANI): A new scandal involving an officer of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has raised questions about how the agency polices itself.

Case officer in the Middle East Andrew Warren is said to have used the lure of sex to recruit spies.

The Washington Post quoted his colleagues as saying that he made an early habit of taking informants to strip clubs, and that he later began arranging out-of-town visits to brothels for his best recruits.

Warren would often travel with them, according to two colleagues who worked with him for years. His methods earned him promotions and notoriety over a lengthy career, until Warren, 41, became ensnared in a sex scandal.

Two Algerian women have accused the Virginia native of drugging and sexually assaulting them, and, in one instance, videotaping the encounter.

Six weeks after the allegations came to light, Warren has been formally notified by CIA Director Leon Panetta of his impending dismissal, according to U.S. government officials familiar with the case.

But the episode-one of three sex-related scandals to shake the CIA this year-has drawn harsh questions from Congress about whether the agency adequately polices its far-flung workforce or takes sufficient steps to root out corrupt behavior.

The CIA says that these problems involve a tiny fraction of its workforce, and that those found to have breached rules are punished or fired.

But former officers say the cases underscore a perennial challenge: guarding against scandal in a workforce-the size of which is classified but is generally estimated to be 20,000 -- that prides itself on secrecy and deception. (ANI)