Duane R. Clarridge parted company with the
Central Intelligence Agency more than two decades ago, but from poolside at his home near San Diego, he still runs a network of spies.
Over the past two years, he has fielded operatives in the mountains of
Pakistan and the desert badlands of
Afghanistan.
Since the United States military cut off his funding in May, he has
relied on like-minded private donors to pay his agents to continue
gathering information about militant fighters,
Taliban leaders and the secrets of Kabul’s ruling class.