George Piro was a
special agent in charge (SAC) at the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
's Miami Field Office. He was the Team Leader and Lead Interrogator of the
Saddam Hussein Interrogation Team in 2004.
Saddam Hussein interrogation
Piro's fluency in Arabic opened high-level opportunities for him during the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
, at a time when approximately 1 in 1000 FBI special agents spoke the language.
The television show ''
60 Minutes'' revealed in January 2008 that he had secretly gained the confidence of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
while
interrogating Hussein while he was imprisoned after the second war in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. During his conversations with Hussein, Piro reported that Hussein had not expected a U.S. invasion of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. Piro also confirmed through their discussions that Iraq did not have
weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...
at the time of the
U.S. invasion in 2003, but that Hussein would not give up attempts to obtain them in order to secure his country from the perceived threat posed by Iran and its weapons program. Further, any links to
Bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated a ...
and
Al-Qaeda were denied, as Hussein held himself as a secular ruler and did not believe in the creation of an Islamic state.
["Inside: Interrogating Saddam", National Geographic, 2010.] Hussein mocked Bin Laden saying "You really can't trust anybody with a beard like that".
On July 1, 2009, the
National Security Archive declassified and released the official FBI
FD-302 forms filed at the time of Saddam's interrogation, detailing 20 formal interviews and 5 casual conversations throughout 2004, much of which were between Piro and Saddam, including details of conversation and thoughts shared by Saddam himself.
Personal life and career
Born and raised in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
of
Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyrian ...
heritage, Piro is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Lazar Piro who immigrated to
Turlock, California
Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its estimated 2019 population of 73,631 made it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto.
History
Founded on December 22, 1871, by prominent grain farmer Jo ...
during the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
when he was 12 years old. Turlock is located in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
's
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
, which has a large Assyrian population. After he graduated from high school, Piro enlisted in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
and served as a
security policeman. After his service in the U.S. Air Force, he began his career in
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education ...
with the
City of Ceres Police Department in 1989. He went to
night school
A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates.
Italy
The Scuola ...
to earn a
college degree
An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...
. Working his way up the ranks in the Ceres Police Department, Piro became a Criminal Investigator II for the
Stanislaus County District Attorney's office, where he investigated felony cases involving career criminals and was assigned to the Stanislaus County Drug Enforcement Agency. In 1999, he began his career with the FBI and was assigned to the
Phoenix Field Office.
He speaks
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
and
Aramaic (Assyrian) fluently as well as
French.
By 2007, Piro was serving as Supervisor of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Washington Field Office.
Piro was listed as being a Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Field Office in Miami in January 2017 when he served as the agency's spokesman concerning the FBI's investigation of the
Fort Lauderdale airport shooting
On January 6, 2017, a mass shooting occurred at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, United States, near the baggage claim in Terminal 2. Five people were killed while six others were injured in the shoot ...
.
On October 18, 2017, FBI Director
Christopher Wray announced the appointment of George Piro as the Assistant Director of the International Operations Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
References
External links
FBI Agent: Hussein Didn't Expect Invasion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piro, George
Living people
United States Air Force airmen
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents
American people of Lebanese-Assyrian descent
Lebanese emigrants to the United States
Year of birth missing (living people)