Intel gathering

CIA Chief Pushes For More Spies Abroad; Surveillance Makes That Harder

CIA Director Gina Haspel spent much of her career overseas and undercover — and she wants more CIA officers doing the same.

In her one public speech since becoming head of the spy agency, Haspel said her goal is to "steadily increase the number of officers stationed overseas. That's where our mission as a foreign intelligence agency lies, and having a larger foreign footprint allows for a more robust posture."

But doing this isn't easy. It's always been a challenge to protect the identity of American spies and the foreign sources they work with, said Jonna Mendez, who used to be the chief of disguise at the CIA.

"We would de-Americanize you," said Mendez, author of the forthcoming book The Moscow Rules, about the work she and her husband, fellow CIA officer Tony Mendez, did during the Soviet era.