Public Servant

I excelled in finding and acquiring secret information that I obtained in brush passes, dead drops, or in meetings in dusty alleys of third world capitals.

Experience is a good teacher.

We must constantly learn, adjust, improve, and strive to be better.

I don't believe that torture works.

Intelligence services all over the world, in order to retain their competitive edge, have to adapt or they won't survive.

We got valuable information from debriefing of Al Qaeda detainees, and I don't think it's knowable whether interrogation techniques played a role in that.

People often ask CIA Directors what keeps them up at night. Between rogue WMD programs, cyber threats, terrorist organizations, great power rivalries, and other global threats, there's bound to be more than a single reason I'm losing sleep on any given night.

Within the Intelligence Community, CIA is the keeper of the human intelligence mission. Technical forms of collection are vital, but a good human source is unique and can deliver decisive intelligence on our adversaries' secrets - even their intent.

First of all, CIA follows the law.

The first boots on the ground in Afghanistan were my colleagues.

A lot has changed since I first arrived at CIA, but our mission remains as relevant and important as ever. And this is what makes our officers excited to come to work each morning, including me.

I think you will find me to be a typical middle-class American.

CIA will continue to pursue every lead; analyze the information we collect with critical, objective eyes; and brief reliable intelligence to protect U.S. forces deployed around the world.

Because of what happened on 9/11, a lot of our resources, our money and our people were dedicated to the terrorism fight.

I think it's very important, I think for any leader as you go through a career you have to learn the leadership lessons.

For me, as for our entire Agency family, the 129 stars on CIA's Memorial Wall are more than just symbols. They are solemn reminders of friends and colleagues who answered their nation's call, and who willingly risked their lives to protect us all.

We try and be as open as we can, and to protect the secrets that we must protect.

I would not restart, under any circumstances, an interrogation program at CIA.

When a very tough, old school leader announced that I was his pick to be Chief of Station in a small but important frontier post, a few competitors complained to me directly 'why would they send you?' I owe that leader much for believing in me at a time when few women were given these opportunities.

After 9/11, I didn't look to go sit on the Swiss desk - I stepped up. I was not on the sidelines.