Title: Αποκλειστική συνέντευξη του πρώην αξιωματικού της CIA Τζων Κ
Show: Savvas Kalenteridis (Σάββας Καλεντερίδης)
Date: 2025-05-11
URL: https://youtu.be/huJZybGG98I
Duration: 9:00

---

[00:00] [Music]

[00:35] CIA Ala CIA. [Music]

[01:09] and security forum. [Music] Avenue Hotel.

[01:59] [Music] Fore, how do you feel that you're in here in Greece? I I have I'm having trouble even putting it into words. I said yesterday to a friend that I'm never as happy as I am when I'm in Greece to the point where I've become a Greek citizen. I'm looking for property in Athens. It makes me so happy just to be here. So, as a Greek American, how do you feel about your

[02:30] Greek origins? When I applied for my Greek citizenship, I was told that because my family was from Rodo that I had a stronger case for Italian citizenship. I said, "I'm not Italian. I don't want Italian citizenship." And so it took a little while longer, a little bit more digging, but I got my Greek citizenship. And you know, one of the great things about being a Greek American is the strength of the Greek American community. uh not just in Washington but all over the

[03:01] country, New York, Boston, Florida, Southern California, Chicago, the Greeks are everywhere. And we are even over represented in Congress. We have members of Congress that are members of the House that are Greek Americans. Now we have another Greek American running for the Senate. And so, you know, we need we need to stick together to represent Greece's interests in the United States. God knows that the Turkish lobby is very strong. So it's up to the rest of us to make sure that we protect Greece. So Mr.

[03:33] Ker says used to say that the half of CIA staff is Greek. It's true. I was just talking uh about this to a friend last night. When I was in the CIA, the Greek Americans always stuck together. We would have lunch once a month. We would always invite the director of the CIA, George Tennant, who's also Greek from Ebidos and uh and this the senior officers would always look out for the for the junior officers, help us make good career decisions, help us get

[04:05] promoted. That has been the case since the 1950s. Mhm. And in my own case, and this is not necessarily a good thing, but in my own case, my mentor at the CIA was Gusto, who became a legendary figure in that he was the one who led the CIA's efforts against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Now, the reason why I say it may not be a good thing is because he was also a very well-known supporter of

[04:36] the Ha. Yes. And uh we have some negative memories from him because about Cyprus. Oh yeah. Gust was a lovely man and very proud to be Greek, but he was obsessed with communism. Mhm. To the point where he wasn't he didn't think clearly. He was so obsessed with communism and with killing communists. Not just that he didn't like the ideology. He he advocated the killing of

[05:06] communists. Okay. But anyway, he was one of those those Greek Americans that wanted to make sure that young new Greek Americans in the CIA had good careers, made good decisions, and got promoted. Okay. Uh, next question. How does an agent feels after retirement? Does does he or she feels secure? Does she or she has the the necessity to to be protected from the from the government? No, that's a good question.

[05:37] Uh, no. In my case, the CIA went after me and uh because I I revealed that the CIA was torturing its prisoners, that torture was official policy and that the policy had come directly from the president. So, they they attacked me. They sent me to prison for 2 years. I refused to apologize. I refused to retract anything that I said. And uh and I still refuse because I was right and they were wrong. But then for years after it was all over, they followed me.

[06:10] My emails were being intercepted, which I have proof of. My phone calls were being monitored for what reason? But that's just the way they they do it with with former CIA officers who don't fit into the mold and uh don't keep their mouth shut. Okay, last question. You have added her already to this. But I must ask you that you know have an enemy a neighbor who who is acting like an enemy Turkey and Turkey wants to to get the

[06:42] halfway. Uh how how can face this uh this enemy? I would say number one, do not rely on the United States solely for your security because you know there's an old saying in the United States that there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests and it's the US's interest to maintain good relations with Turkey because Turkey is so important to the Middle East. So I would say the best road for Greece is the strongest

[07:14] possible relations with the European Union. That's where Greece is going to be protected. There was a piece in the in the newspaper just today that Erdogan made a statement yesterday saying that uh that he's very angry that the EU, his words, is dragging its feet on Turkish accession talks. We don't want Turkey in the European Union. It's not a European country and it's a belligerent. Maybe when Turkish troops withdraw from Cyprus, then we can have that conversation. But until then, I

[07:45] think Greece needs to rely on its friends in Europe and while maintaining good relations with the United States, not rely on the United States for its security. This is that's very serious. Thank you very much. A last message to Greeks in Greek. [Music] Intelligence and security form.

[08:16] [Music]
