Looking back at the list of "people of import" who died in 2008, I was startled to find the name of Philip Agee, a CIA operative who became disillusioned with "The Company" and published the first tell-all, name-naming book about the secret life of American Intelligence: "Inside the Company: The CIA Diary."
Now, Philip died nearly a year ago, on Jan. 7, 2008. But I missed his passing in the blur of the presidential election and all that entailed.
Why do I care? I knew Philip, — not as a bad-boy socialist spy, but as an American father living abroad with his family. He may have been responsible for the deaths of other CIA operatives — but he was a heck of a nice guy.
I was just 12 when my family moved to Cambridge, England. The year was 1976 — America's bicentennial year. My father planned to study at the university, and I and my two brothers would attend public school there.
I found myself one of just two or three Americans in my grade. Naturally, we sought each other out. There was one (very cute, I thought) young man named Chris. As kids do when they meet, we talked about our families. I explained that my father was a Lutheran minister on sabbatical, and that he was studying at the university.
"And what does your dad do?" I asked.
"He's a spy."
There was an awkward silence. Then I laughed. "No, really," I said. "What does your dad do?"
Well, it turned out that his dad WAS, in fact, a spy — no less than Philip Agee. He had just published "The CIA Diary" in London, and his family was living in Great Britain after having fled the United States.
Chris's older brother, also Philip, hung around with my older brother. Our families got together several times over the course of our time in England. Despite his notorious reputation, he seemed like a normal, genial father to me.
We left the Agees behind after our year in England, never to communicate again. I have since learned that Philip lived in Cuba with his wife, arranging vacations in Cuba for American travelers through loopholes in the law.
In this current political climate of letting evil-doers slip through the cracks in the law (Karl Rove? Dick Cheney, anyone?) Philip's death makes me consider: If I had been involved in the CIA in those days, helping prop up South American dictators and supporting the oppression of the people, would I have had the courage to do what he did?
Or would I have just held silent?
Agree with him or not, until his death on Jan. 7, 2008, Philip Agee lived what he believed. I wish we all could do the same.
A look back at Philip's life can be found in this week'sNew York Times Magazine.