Duane Clarridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Duane Clarridge |
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| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service | Central Intelligence Agency |
| Active | 1955–1991 |
| Rank | Senior operations officer |
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| Birth name | Duane Ramsdell Clarridge |
| Born | April 16, 1932 Nashua, New Hampshire |
| Died | April 9, 2016 (aged 83) Leesburg, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Intelligence officer |
| Alma mater | Brown University |
Duane Ramsdell "Dewey" Clarridge (April 16, 1932 – April 9, 2016) was an American senior operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He worked for the CIA for over 30 years. Clarridge was in charge of the Latin American division from 1981 to 1987. He was also a key person in the Iran-Contra Affair. This was a major event where the U.S. secretly sold weapons to Iran. The money from these sales was then used to help a group in Nicaragua.
Duane Clarridge's CIA Career
Duane Clarridge was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. His family was very supportive of the Republican Party. His father, Duane Herbert Clarridge, was a dentist.
Duane Clarridge went to a private high school called Peddie School. After that, he studied at Brown University. He then went to Columbia University for graduate school. He joined the CIA in 1955. He moved up in the CIA, working in different places around the world. He was the chief of the CIA office in Istanbul, Turkey. There, he worked closely with local groups. Later, he moved to Rome. In 1981, he became the chief of the Latin America division. He strongly believed the U.S. should take action in other countries when it was important for American safety.
During his time leading the Latin America division, he managed several important CIA operations. One of these was the 1984 mining of harbors in Nicaragua. When asked about this, Clarridge said they used mines made from sewer pipes. He believed they were not very dangerous and would not seriously hurt anyone.
Clarridge also helped organize and recruit a group called the Contras. This group aimed to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. He sometimes used different names, like "Dewey Maroni," during these operations. He described the early Contra group as about 500 people. Some were former soldiers, and many were peasants from the mountains. He said they were like "cattle rustlers" or "bandits" in some ways. However, he said that by the end of the conflict, the Contras grew to more than 20,000 peasants.
Clarridge believed that the U.S. had the right to get involved in other countries' affairs. He said the U.S. would intervene whenever it was important for national security.
In 1984, he became the chief of the European Division of the CIA. There, he led a successful operation against terrorism. Later, with support from CIA director William Casey, he helped create a Counterterrorist Center. This center worked out of Langley, Virginia.
The Iran-Contra Affair
Duane Clarridge said he was not involved in the later illegal transfer of money to the Contras. He was accused of giving false information in November 1991. However, on Christmas Eve 1992, President George H. W. Bush pardoned Clarridge. This happened before his trial could finish. At the same time, Bush also pardoned five other people involved in the Iran-Contra Affair. These included former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane.
After the CIA
After leaving the CIA, Clarridge ran his own private intelligence group. He called it the Eclipse Group. He compared his group to the Office of Strategic Services, which was the CIA's earlier version during World War II.
In 2015, a newspaper reported that Clarridge was an advisor to Ben Carson for his presidential campaign. Clarridge was quoted saying that Carson had trouble understanding foreign policy. However, Carson later said that Clarridge was not his main advisor. He said Clarridge had only offered his opinions in a few meetings.
Duane Clarridge passed away on April 9, 2016, in Leesburg, Virginia. He was 83 years old.
See also
- Operation Gladio
- Operation Charly
- List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States
