Slain CIA officer buried at Arlington

ARLINGTON, Va. -- CIA officer Johnny Micheal "Mike" Spann, the only American to die at the hands of the enemy in Afghanistan, was buried among the ranks of the fallen Monday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Spann was remembered as a hero as he was interred with crisp precision and full military honors by the Marine Corps, where he was a captain of artillery before he joined the CIA.

"From his earliest days ... he worked to do what was right," CIA Director George J. Tenet told mourners, including many of Spann's fellow intelligence officers. "Mike understood it's not enough simply to dream of a better, safer world. He understood it has to be built."

Spann's wife, Shannon, also a CIA employee, carried their infant son wrapped in a white blanket against the chilly day. She sat before her husband's coffin, which was borne by six Marines and draped in an American flag. Spann's two daughters, parents and other family members stood nearby.

"I want to tell you my husband is a hero," Shannon Spann said. "Not because of the way he died, but because of the way he lived."

Rioting prisoners shot and killed him at the Taliban prison uprising at Mazar-e-Sharif on Nov. 25.