The White House has revealed to reporters the name of the Central Intelligence Agency's top officer in Afghanistan, in an apparent accidental release as President Barack Obama was making a previously unannounced visit to the country.
 
The Washington Post reported that the name of the spy agency chief in the country was on a list of U.S. officials the White House gave to one of its reporters who was serving as the so-called "pool reporter" to provide details of the trip to other news organizations.

The list contained the names of officials who took part in a briefing with Obama, including National Security Adviser Susan Rice, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan General Joseph Dunford and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham.

The Post said the reporter contacted the White House to ask if the CIA station chief's name was meant to be on the list, and a short time later a new list without the name was distributed to the media.