Barry Broman

Barry Broman  ( spook)
Nationality	US
Alma mater	University of Washington
CIA officer who was active in Southeast Asia and Chief of Station in Burma. His memoirs contains some disingenuous claims such as "There has been much written accusing the CIA of being involved in the drug trade in Southeast Asia. None of it true."  CIA/East Asia Division/Rangoon Station/Chief In office 1993 - 1996 Start year uncertain  Case officer In office 1990 - 1991 Employer CIA/East Asia Division/Bangkok Station Helped train and organize former Khmer Rouge and other guerillas against the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia.  Deputy Chief of Station In office 1986 - 1990 Employer CIA/East Asia Division/Jakarta Station  CIA/National Resources Division/Alaska Station/Chief In office 1984 - 1986 Location Alaska

Barry Michael Broman is a retired CIA officer who was active in Southeast Asia and Chief of Station in Burma. His memoirs contains some disingenuous claims such as "There has been much written accusing the CIA of being involved in the drug trade in Southeast Asia. None of it true."

Background

His father was a pilot, and he spent part of his childhood in England.

Career

In 1962 Barry Broman worked for a year as a photographer for the Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand, with assignments in South Vietnam and Cambodia. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1967 and a masters in Southeast Asian studies in 1968.

Broman joined the US Marine Corps, and was in Vietnam for seven months in 1969. He then extended his Vietnam tour by six months. Part of his extension was spent as U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, liaison officer in Thailand. Promoted to captain, he worked as the Camp Pendleton, CA, press officer and then company commander.

He joined the Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1971. He worked under diplomatic cover in the Department of State 1971-96. He was in Phnom Penh 1973-75, until the collapse of the government. He also worked in Thailand (late 1970s), France (early 1980s), Indonesia, and Burma.

In 1990-1991 he helped train and organize former Khmer Rouge and other guerillas against the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia.. "We were especially fortunate to have a handpicked team of senior Royal Thai Army (RTA) officers on the Working Group, along with excellent officers from the Malaysian intelligence service and Singapore intelligence and army. After years of growing pains, especially with the disparate and often ineffective Cambodian resistance groups, things seemed to be coming together and we began to see results."

In his memoirs, disingenuously claimed that "at no time did the Americans provide any support to the Khmer Rouge." He also claimed "There has been much written accusing the CIA of being involved in the drug trade in Southeast Asia. None of it true", blaming any such stories on Soviet disinformation" He wrote that "Sihanouk falsely blamed the Agency for the coup."

He was made chief of the Thai-Burma branch in the East Asia division at Langley.

He was Burma station chief 1993-1996, where he worked with "counternarcotics"

Alaska

He worked in the National Resources Division in Alaska 1984-86, where he worked recruiting assets. For example, the FBI "made initial contact with a dfwMiddle Eastern target of considerable interest to us and turned it over to the Agency. We recruited the man, one of the few clandestine assets from his country, and he proved to be valuable when he returned home."

There is a misconception that the CIA does not operate in the United States. The Agency has a worldwide charter to recruit foreign assets, including foreigners living in the United States. In fact, there are many attractive targets among foreign diplomats, military officers, academics, and students in the United States.

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