James Critchfield
![]() ![]() ![]() (spook) | |
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Member of | Le Cercle |
Senior CIA spook. Le Cercle |
Career
“Besides the Deuss connection to Oman, Shackley's other link is James Critchfield, the former head of the CIA's Middle East desk, and later chief of intelligence for energy. Critchfield is president of Tetra Tech International, a subsidiary of Honeywell, Inc. Tetra Tech has a contract with Oman to develop the economic infrastructure of the Masandam Peninsula, which is at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.”
James Critchfield (24 June 1988) [1]
A CIA officer who was president of Tetra Tech International.
Le Cercle
He attended Le Cercle in 1985. The New York Times reported on March 26, 1985, "Ex-intelligence agents are said to have major roles in Oman': "Among the foreign advisers who have played a major role in the Persian Gulf nation of Oman is a former senior Central Intelligence Agency official who heads an American corporation that manages the country's most strategic region. The corporation, Tetra Tech International, has a contract with the Government of Oman to manage the development of the Masandam Peninsula that sits astride the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the area from Iran and through which travels a significant amount of the West's oil. For other Americans, even such official visitors as Congressional staff members, the sensitive Masandam region is off-limits, according to two American officials who recently visited Oman and were not allowed to tour the area. The parent of Tetra Tech International is Tetra Tech, which is based in Pasadena, Calif., and specializes in providing products and services in the areas of water and energy resources. It is a subsidiary of Honeywell Inc., a leading United States military contractor with headquarters in Minneapolis. Tetra Tech International helps manage several key Omani Government agencies in addition to Masandam Province, and the company and its parent work for both commercial and government customers in several other Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, as well as in the United States. The president of Tetra Tech International and the man who helped to get its contract in Oman is James H. Critchfield, who, before joining the company in 1975, had an interest in Oman, working for the C.I.A. both as head of the Middle East desk and later as the chief intelligence official for energy, according to former intelligence officials and public documents. Mr. Critchfield is among about 20 American, British and Arab advisers to the country's ruler, Sultan Qabus bin Said, who have helped shape the country's foreign and domestic policies. Like Mr. Critchfield, many of the advisers have intelligence backgrounds. In an interview late last year, Mr. Critchfield acknowledged that he is one of the closest American advisers to Oman's ruler, and he said he no longer had anything to do with the C.I.A. Yet there is a widespread perception in Oman that Mr. Critchfield and others with intelligence backgrounds retain ties to their former employers. As a result, Western and Omani officials said, the role of Westerners in Oman has become a subject of dispute."[2]
Event Participated in
Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Le Cercle/1985 (Washington) | 7 January 1985 | 10 January 1985 | US Washington DC | 4 day meeting of Le Cercle in Washington exposed after Joel Van der Reijden discovered the attendee list for this conference and published it online in 2011 |