Back Door Diplomats: CIA Chiefs on Secret Missions

William Burns is just the latest spy agency boss to be entrusted with sensitive talks

Last week in Paris, CIA Director William Burns huddled with Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials for the fourth time in three months in an effort to broker a deal for the release of more than 100 hostages being held by Hamas militants in Gaza. 

The hostages’ release is a critical component of the Biden administration’s broader diplomatic push to wind down Israel’s military campaign to eradicate Hamas after the Palestinian militants’ brutal  Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds hostage. Biden also hopes the release of the hostages also will  set the stage for an eventual  two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Biden has sent Burns on a number of diplomatic missions. (AP photo via Getty)

People who know Burns, a former ambassador to Russia and Jordan who rose to the number two spot at the State Department, say he brings a veteran diplomat’s skill set to his role at the CIA, a unique and valuable qualification in dealing with world leaders. 

“Intelligence and diplomacy always have been inextricably linked,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told SpyTalk. Citing the CIA director’s 33-year diplomatic career, Warner added: “Bill Burns is uniquely qualified to excel at both intelligence and statecraft. . . he brings unparalleled experience as a former consumer of intelligence to his current job, which allows him to wield the tools of intelligence and diplomacy with unparalleled effectiveness.”

But Burns’ participation in the hostage negotiations is hardly the first time that an American spy chief has taken on a diplomatic mission. Throughout the history of the CIA, several American spymasters or their deputies also have played quiet but critical roles in helping address some of the country’s most complex national security challenges.