Former CIA Inspector General to Speak on Wikileaks Wednesday

MANATEE--Former Inspector General of the CIA, Frederick P. Hitz will speak about the impact of the Wikileaks debacle on the intelligence community Wednesday afternoon at Everglades University in Sarasota beginning at 3:45 p.m. The event is free and seating is on a first come first served basis.

Concerned officials as well as members of Congress are urging that Mr. Julian Assange, the founder, spokesperson, and editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, be tried for “inducing” the public disclosure of diplomatic cables and other sensitive information by Army PFC Bradley Manning.

According to the Daily Telegraph and other news media, Manning is currently being held in solitary confinement in a marine brig in Quantico, Virginia on suspicion of leaking this information.

Frederick P. Hitz has a unique and first hand perspective on this topic and will take questions at the conclusion of his presentation.

Mr. Hitz is a Senior Fellow at the University of Virginia’s Center for National Security Law. Since 1998 he has been a lecturer at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and at the University of Virginia School of Law and Department of Politics. He has served extensively in the Central Intelligence Agency as Legislative Counsel to the Director and as Deputy Director for Europe in the Directorate of Operations. Mr. Hitz was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal by the Director of Central Intelligence in 1998, and in 1995 he received a Resolution of Commendation from the U.S. Senate upon the fifth anniversary of his tenure as CIA Inspector General.

His extensive writings include The Great Game: The myth and Reality of Espionage published in 2004 and in 2008, a second book entitled Why Spy?: Espionage in an Age of Uncertainty.

Everglades University Auditorium is located at 6001 Lake Osprey Drive Sarasota, FL 34240. For more information call (941) 359-4296.