# The Mallios argument > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "The Mallios argument," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-mallios-argument/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *The confrontation John Kiriakou describes with his mentor Gust Avrakotos while the two worked the 17 November task force — Kiriakou remarked in passing that the group's second victim, the Greek police chief Mallios, had been a torturer under the junta; Avrakotos slammed him against a wall; and the exchange that followed became the basis of their friendship.* - **Where:** The 17 November task force - **The remark:** That Mallios had been a torturer under the junta - **Avrakotos's answer:** "Mallios was my friend" - **Kiriakou's answer:** "Get your hands off me, old man" - **Aftermath:** "I really respect you for the way you reacted" [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) describes [Gust Avrakotos](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/gust-avrakotos) — the officer made famous by *Charlie Wilson's War*, and portrayed in the film by Philip Seymour Hoffman — as a father figure and one of the most controversial men in the [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia): a man who "killed a lot of Russians, a lot of medals, promotions, couldn't get along with anybody. Everybody hated Gust and Gust hated everybody. But he was a sweetheart deep down. You just had to know how to deal with him."[1] The story he offers as evidence of what "knowing how to deal with him" meant is an argument about a dead policeman. ## The remark The two were working the [17 November](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/revolutionary-organization-17-november) task force together. Kiriakou mentioned offhandedly that the group's second victim — the former chief of the Hellenic National Police, Mallios — had been a torturer during the junta.[2] ## The reaction Avrakotos grabbed him by the lapels and slammed him against the wall. "Mallios was my friend."[2] Kiriakou's answer, as he gives it: "you better get your hands off of me, old man, or I'm going to make you sorry."[3] When Avrakotos let go, Kiriakou did not retract the substance. "What's wrong with you? Mallios was a torturer. I'm sorry if he was your friend, I'm sorry he got shot in the head, but he was a torturer. And keep your hands to yourself next time."[3] ## The aftermath The outcome was not an apology but an assessment. Afterwards, Kiriakou says, Avrakotos told him: "I really respect you for the way you reacted."[3] "So anyway, we were friends."[4] The friendship mattered operationally. It is the reason Kiriakou telephoned Avrakotos when he could see no way to reach the incoming intelligence representative of a hostile state, and it is the reason he was given the manoeuvre that became [the broken side-view mirror](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-broken-side-view-mirror) — a trick Avrakotos said he had used himself in the 1950s.[4] Kiriakou does not resolve the disagreement about Mallios in the retelling. He states his own view of the man as a fact and reports Avrakotos's as an affection, and lets the two stand alongside each other. ## See also - [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) - [Gust Avrakotos](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/gust-avrakotos) - [Revolutionary Organization 17 November](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/revolutionary-organization-17-november) - [The broken side-view mirror](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-broken-side-view-mirror) - [Greek Intelligence Service](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/greek-intelligence-service) ## Sources 1. Dalton Fischer Podcast (2023-11-16), at 01:01. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZy-TRd1yY0&t=61s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-11-16-dalton-fischer-podcast-dalton-fischer-podcast/ 2. Dalton Fischer Podcast (2023-11-16), at 01:31. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZy-TRd1yY0&t=91s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-11-16-dalton-fischer-podcast-dalton-fischer-podcast/ 3. Dalton Fischer Podcast (2023-11-16), at 02:02. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZy-TRd1yY0&t=122s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-11-16-dalton-fischer-podcast-dalton-fischer-podcast/ 4. Dalton Fischer Podcast (2023-11-16), at 02:33. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZy-TRd1yY0&t=153s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2023-11-16-dalton-fischer-podcast-dalton-fischer-podcast/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-mallios-argument/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt