Michael G. Vickers

Michael George Vickers (born April 27, 1953) is an American defense official who served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD-I). As USD-I, Vickers, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010, was the Defense Department's top civilian military intelligence official. Before becoming USD-I, Vickers served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. Prior to joining the Defense Department, Vickers served in the U.S. Army Special Forces as both a non-commissioned officer and commissioned officer, as well as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) paramilitary operations officer from the elite Special Activities Division. While in the CIA, he played a key role in the arming of the Islamic mujahideen against the communist government in the war against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Some of the mujahideen groups armed by Vickers became the Taliban and Al-Queda/Afganistan while other parts became their opposition, the Northern Alliance.