Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A CIA operative claims in a lawsuit that the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 could have been avoided if his boss had checked sources with firsthand knowledge of the Yugoslav capital.
The operative is a 46-year-old of Russian origin identified in the lawsuit only by the pseudonym "Mitford." A statement from his lawyers says he was among mid- and lower-ranking agency employees "falsely blamed" for the mistaken bombing, which left three Chinese journalists dead.
The United States called the May 7, 1999, attack a mistake caused by faulty intelligence and use of outdated maps. The CIA says it fired one official and disciplined six others, none of whom were identified. The United States repeatedly apologized for the attack, paid the Chinese government
$28 million in compensation and promised $4.5 million to those injured and families of three journalists killed in the bombing in the Yugoslav capital.
The CIA officer’s claim was in a newly released, unclassified version of a wide-ranging lawsuit by 15 current and former CIA employees. The employees, all unidentified, accuse the agency of misconduct in a variety of areas. Many allege that the agency used secrecy rules to prevent them from pursuing labor and discrimination grievances or working with attorneys.
CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield refused to discuss the operative’s specific claims but said the agency has been forthcoming about errors during the targeting process in Yugoslavia.
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