The spy left out in the cold

Robert Seldon Lady is a former covert CIA operative who performed extraordinary renditions on behalf of the agency in Italy while under diplomatic cover in Milan. In 2009 he was convicted of kidnapping for the snatching of an Egyptian Islamist in 2003. Rachel Donadio reported on the convictions of Lady and others in the New York Times, declaring the convictions “a landmark ruling.” Donadio was predictably excited and impressed.

According to Lady, the snatching was a CIA operation that he opposed, yet the CIA has abandoned him. As a professional matter, Lady is guilty of poor tradecraft and embarrassing the agency. Matthew Kaminski checked in with Lady for the Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Interview. It’s a troubling story that is deserving of the attention Kaminski devotes to it and perhaps some comments from readers more knowledgeable than I.

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