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CIA Home > News & Information > Press Releases & Statements > Press Release Archive 2004 > Statement on the Death of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski

Statement on the Death of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski

Statement by George J. Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence, on the Death of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski

February 11, 2004

"I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, a true hero of the Cold War to whom we all owe an everlasting debt of gratitude. This passionate and courageous man helped keep the Cold War from becoming hot, providing the CIA with precious information upon which so many critical national security decisions rested. And he did so for the noblest of reasons – to advance the sacred causes of liberty and peace in his homeland and throughout the world. It is in great measure due to the bravery and sacrifice of Colonel Kuklinski that his own native Poland, and the other once-captive nations of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, are now free."


Historical Document
Posted: Apr 12, 2007 07:59 AM
Last Updated: Jun 17, 2008 03:35 PM
Last Reviewed: Apr 12, 2007 07:59 AM