The Name "Curveball"
Allegedly because the Iraqi informant disliked Americans, Germany's intelligence service (BND) classified him as a "blue" source, meaning the Germans would not permit U.S. access to him (red sources were allowed American contact). Later evidence indicated that he was in fact pro-American, and that the Germans were guarding their source. The Germans, however, did pass on information to the American intelligence agencies and the informant was given the codename "Curveball". Despite it being an American term, the Americans deny coining the name, and its origin is uncertain. The base cryptonym "ball" had been used during the Cold War when dealing with informants who had intelligence about weapons.
Read more about this topic: Curveball (informant)
Famous quotes containing the words the name:
“... my aim is now, as it has been for the past ten years, to make myself a true woman, one worthy of the name, and one who will unshrinkingly follow the path which God marks out, one whose aim is to do all of the good she can in the world and not be one of the delicate little dolls or the silly fools who make up the bulk of American women, slaves to society and fashion.”
—Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)