Ex-CIA Worker Sues Over Book Deletions

[Kadie]

Ex-CIA Worker Sues Over Book Deletions
By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer

Sunday, March 5, 2006


(03-05) 11:04 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --


A member of the CIA's first post-9/11 class is alleging in a federal lawsuit that the agency violated his First Amendment rights by ordering dozens of deletions in his book about spy training after initially approving it.


T.J. Waters was chosen from more than 150,000 who submitted their resumes to the CIA, hoping to contribute personally to the U.S. government's counterterror operations. He worked for the agency from 2002 to 2004, going through training for the clandestine service but ultimately joining the CIA's intelligence analysis division for a short time.


Waters' book — "Class 11: Inside the CIA's First Post-9/11 Spy Class" — chronicles his year at the CIA's training facility where recruits learn how to use disguises, how to withstand interrogation techniques and other spycraft. Known as "The Farm," the center's precise location, near Williamsburg, Va., remains classified.

Waters said his class of more than 100 included a New York comedian, an executive chef, a professional athlete and the fiancee of a World Trade Center victim.

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Waters is going through the established publication process. His attorney, Mark Zaid, said Waters submitted his book to the agency in May 2004 and, by September 2004, only four words were blocked from publication. Waters resubmitted changes for a final review just over two months later.


But last month, after more than a year of waiting, the agency informed him that dozens of deletions would be required — many of them blocking previously cleared material, he said. The publisher, Penguin Group's Dutton, was planning to distribute the book next month.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/03/05/national/w110420S78.DTL