CIA operative reveals mental disorder agency 'actively seeks to hire' because it makes for better spies
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A former CIA operative has revealed the agency pursues people with a certain mental disorder as it makes them the best agents. John Kiriakou, who had a 14-year career as a CIA officer, said the agency 'actively seeks to hire people who have sociopathic tendencies,' but avoids individuals with a full-blown disorder.
![[After leaving the CIA, he appeared on ABC News (pictured) where he said the CIA waterboarded detainees and labeled the action as torture]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/15/94395779-14309891-image-a-5_1737561316977.jpg)
A 'sociopath' is someone who lacks empathy, disregards the feelings of others and may manipulate or harm people without remorse, often for their own personal gain. 'Sociopaths are impossible to control,' said Kiriakou. 'They slip through the cracks because they have no conscience and they pass the polygraph very easily because they don't feel guilty.
![[Jim 'Mad Dog' Lawler, who spent 25 years at the CIA, said he would do virtually anything that's legal to get people in foreign countries to be spies for the US, but admitted to being extremely empathic]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/17/94395499-14309891-Jim_Mad_Dog_Lawler_who_spent_25_years_at_the_CIA_said_he_would_d-a-14_1737567258443.jpg)
Someone who has some of these qualities tend to rise to the highest levels of the CIA. 'People who have sociopathic tendencies do have a conscience but are still perfectly happy to work in moral legal and ethical gray areas,' said Kiriakou. Kiriakou admitted that he falls into the category of having sociopathic tendencies, explaining how he was 'happy to break into people's houses and plant bugs.'.
![[The CIA has admitted that spies have pathological personality features that pave the way to espionage, such as a sense of entitlement or a desire for power and control, but noted that a calm temperament or strong sense of responsibility are desirable]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/15/94395557-14309891-image-a-4_1737561075598.jpg)
The former officer used the idea that he was part of the good guys and that his country needed him as a way to feed his sociopathic tendencies. John Kiriakou, who had a 14-year career as a CIA officer, said the agency 'actively seeks to hire people who have sociopathic tendencies,' but avoids individuals with a full-blown disorder.
