I just read a quite impactful interview with John Kiriakou, a former CIA agent who worked between 1990 and 2004. The guy has a unique perspective on what the most dangerous country in the world is, and it’s not just desk opinion but field experience in 72 countries.

According to Kiriakou, Yemen is currently identified as the most dangerous place. But what’s interesting is how he reached that conclusion. He visited Yemen five times, and each time he returned, things were worse. On his last visit, the situation was so critical that they could only stay in a hotel with a ten-meter-high wall to protect against explosions. Literally, that defines the level of risk.

The breaking point came when six South Korean diplomats were ambushed and killed on the way from the airport to the hotel. Days later, intelligence officers who came to investigate suffered the same fate. That was enough for South Korea to close its embassy. For Kiriakou, that event sealed Yemen’s reputation as one of the most volatile places on the planet.

In addition to Yemen, he mentions Somalia, Gaza, Afghanistan, and certain regions of Pakistan as equally critical zones. His warning is clear: you have to sleep with one eye open in these places. You never know how things might get worse.

Kiriakou’s career is quite remarkable. He was head of Counterterrorism Operations in Pakistan after 9/11, specializing in the Middle East with training in foreign policy analysis. He worked in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain. After 9/11, he volunteered for Afghanistan, becoming one of the 16 fluent Arabic speakers at the CIA at that time.

What’s most interesting is that Kiriakou became a whistleblower about CIA interrogation methods. He considered the techniques implemented in May 2002 to be a torture program, refused to participate, and eventually leaked information to the media. He was convicted in 2012 and served 30 months in prison. No regrets, he says. He wanted to be able to sleep at night and for his children to be proud of him.

This kind of testimony quite well illustrates the complexity behind covert operations and how they contribute to the instability of regions that are already dangerous. Yemen, Somalia, and the other places he mentions are not dangerous by chance; there are deep stories behind each conflict.