Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Congress Tightens Belt, Trims Spy Budget for 2013. Congress has drastically trimmed the budget for U.S. spies and satellites for 2013, though not quite as deeply as the White House wanted.

In one of the last votes of the year, House lawmakers voted Monday 373-29 in favor of a Senate-passed bill to slightly boost the president's $72 billion budget request for intelligence agencies including the CIA, adding extra cash for the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida, and the counterintelligence fight against foreign governments trying to spy on the U.S.

That's down sharply from roughly $80 billion in 2012, which marked the peak of intelligence spending since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"The bill holds personnel levels, one of the biggest cost drivers, generally at last year's levels," said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich. "Even so, the bill adds a limited number of new personnel positions for select, high-priority positions, such as FBI surveillance officers to keep watch on terrorists."

The House Intelligence Committee's ranking member, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., said the bill "invests in personnel and programs that are working and cuts things that aren't."

The bill was stripped of several measures meant to block the leaking of classified information, including a provision that would have limited which government officials could brief journalists on intelligence. The measures had been drafted after lawmakers objected to a series of news stories that anonymously quoted senior administration sources describing sensitive intelligence programs, such as the process by which targets are chosen for lethal drone strikes overseas. [Read more: Dozier/ABC/31December2012]

Obama Signs Renewal of Foreign Surveillance Law. President Barack Obama has signed into law a five-year extension of the U.S. government's authority to monitor the overseas activity of suspected foreign spies and terrorists.

The warrantless intercept program would have expired at the end of 2012 without the president's approval. The renewal bill won final passage in the Senate on Friday.

Known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law allows the government to monitor overseas phone calls and emails without obtaining a court order for each intercept.

The law does not apply to Americans. [Read more: AP/30December2012]

Senate, House Pass Amended Bill To Stiffen Fines for Foreign Economic Espionage. The Senate, in considering a House bill (H.R. 6029) that would stiffen penalties for foreign, economic espionage convictions, substituted in its own slightly different version, which passed Dec. 19. The House then debated the bill Dec. 29 and passed the legislation late on the evening of Jan. 1.

Unlike the House's version of the bill, the Senate's version does not directly increase the maximum jail time available for persons convicted of economic espionage. Rather, the bill that passed the Senate would require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to "review, and if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines" with respect to convictions for economic espionage where the misappropriated trade secret is transferred, or attempted to be transferred, outside of the United States.

Over the last few years trade secret misappropriation, and in particular misappropriation on behalf of foreign companies, has gained considerable attention on Capitol Hill.

Just one day before the Senate action on H.R. 6029, the House on Dec. 18 passed a different bill seeking to close an apparent loophole in the federal trade secrets statute (245 PTD, 12/21/12). The Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012 (S. 3642) addresses a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit regarding the taking of computer source code by a former employee.

S. 3642 was introduced Nov. 27 by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and approved by unanimous consent of the Senate on the same day (229 PTD, 11/29/12). That legislation was a reaction to United States v. Aleynikov, 676 F.3d 71, 102 USPQ2d 1458 (2d Cir. 2012) (71 PTD, 4/13/12). With the Dec. 18 House-passage of S. 3642, that measure is now cleared for President Obama's signature.

Meanwhile, in an earlier attempt to curb economic espionage abroad, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) in 2011 introduced a bill (S. 678) that would increase penalties for the international theft of U.S. trade secrets (63 PTD, 4/1/11). [Read more: Bason/Bloomberg/3January2012]

Big Data in Demand for Intelligence Community. The National Security Agency [NSA] is poised to deliver an initial cloud computing capability for the entire intelligence community [IC] that will significantly enhance cybersecurity and mission performance, and unleash the power of innovation for intelligence agencies, Lonny Anderson, NSA chief information officer, says.

Early last year, the director of national intelligence tapped the NSA to lead the effort to build a scalable, accessible and secure cloud computing environment available on demand for the entire intelligence community. "NSA is at the forefront of the IC's efforts to implement big data analytics and an underlying cloud computing infrastructure. NSA is on schedule to deliver an initial capability and is working closely with the director of national intelligence and IC partners to realize this objective," Anderson reports.

The NSA currently uses big data techniques and cloud computing infrastructure to tackle some of its most difficult analytic challenges. "Simply put, these problems would be impossible to solve using conventional methodologies," Anderson asserts. "For national security, cloud computing represents a paradigm shift in how we construct, execute and disseminate community analytics. Beyond enhancements in data sharing and access, the IC should be able to significantly improve the quality of information it provides to decision makers, all at the same or reduced cost."

Furthermore, big data and cybersecurity "go hand-in-glove," he says. "Cloud computing and big data expand our ability to implement cross-domain mission solutions and offer the ability to enforce security protocols at incredible levels of granularity, all with the dramatic improvements in auditability," Anderson explains. "On the other hand, the initiatives force us to rethink our security framework and accreditation methodologies."

The agency already has made progress. [Read more: Seffers/AFCEA/4January2013]

CIA Sued To Release NYPD Spying Report. A non-profit government watchdog has sued the Central Intelligence Agency to uncover information about its controversial collaboration with the New York City Police Department's counter-terrorism surveillance program.

The suit, filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center on Dec. 20, seeks to force the release of a report by the agency's inspector general into whether it violated legal prohibitions against spying on American soil. In 2011, the Associated Press revealed that the agency was deeply involved in training the NYPD's Intelligence Unit, which spied on Muslims in New York even when there was no evidence they had committed any crimes.

After those revelations, the agency's inspector general launched an investigation into its work with the NYPD. In December 2011, the agency said the inspector general had found "no evidence" that any laws were broken or that the agency was directly involved in domestic spying. But the report was apparently critical, and the next month the AP reported that an experienced CIA operative was being removed from his assignment with the NYPD.

In March, EPIC made a Freedom of Information Act request for the inspector general report, but the agency has thus far failed to release it, citing a "substantial backlog" of such requests. [Read more: Sledge/HuffingtonPost/31December2012]

Japan Mulls Spy Drones for East China Sea. JAPAN is considering introducing US spy drones to boost surveillance of its territorial waters near islands in the East China Sea at the centre of a bitter dispute with Beijing, Kyodo News says.

The Japanese defence ministry hopes to introduce the unmanned Global Hawk aircraft by 2015 "in a bid to counter China's growing assertiveness at sea, especially when it comes to the Senkaku Islands", the news agency said, citing unnamed government officials.

Beijing has been sending maritime patrol vessels into waters around the Japanese-controlled islands, which China claims as Diaoyu, since Tokyo nationalised the chain in September. [Read more: AAP/1January2013]

Spy Chiefs to be Quizzed in Public Next Year. New measures will mean a designated group of MPs and peers can demand sensitive material from MI5, MI6 and GCHQ and investigate any operation they wish.

Officials will be able to go to the agencies to review and retrieve documents in person rather than relying on them to decide what evidence is relevant to any inquiry.

And spy chiefs will be grilled in public for the first time early in 2013, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), said the changes will mean parliament and the public can have confidence "nothing is being held back".

The agencies have previously been accused of withholding relevant information from the committee, claims they have always strongly denied. 

The new measures are part of a revamp of the ISC, which is made up of MPs and peers and tasked with monitoring the work of the spy agencies. [Read more: Whitehead/TheTelegraph/26December2012]

Ex-Officer Is First From C.I.A. to Face Prison for a Leak. Looking back, John C. Kiriakou admits he should have known better. But when the F.B.I. called him a year ago and invited him to stop by and "help us with a case," he did not hesitate. 

In his years as a C.I.A. operative, after all, Mr. Kiriakou had worked closely with F.B.I. agents overseas. Just months earlier, he had reported to the bureau a recruiting attempt by someone he believed to be an Asian spy.

"Anything for the F.B.I.," Mr. Kiriakou replied.

Only an hour into what began as a relaxed chat with the two agents - the younger one who traded Pittsburgh Steelers talk with him and the senior investigator with the droopy eye - did he begin to realize just who was the target of their investigation.

Finally, the older agent leaned in close and said, by Mr. Kiriakou's recollection, "In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that right now we're executing a search warrant at your house and seizing your electronic devices."

On Jan. 25, Mr. Kiriakou is scheduled to be sentenced to 30 months in prison as part of a plea deal in which he admitted violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act by e-mailing the name of a covert C.I.A. officer to a freelance reporter, who did not publish it. The law was passed in 1982, aimed at radical publications that deliberately sought to out undercover agents, exposing their secret work and endangering their lives.

In more than six decades of fraught interaction between the agency and the news media, John Kiriakou is the first current or former C.I.A. officer to be convicted of disclosing classified information to a reporter. [Read more: Shane/NYTimes/5December2013]

Graham Seeks Delay to Confirmation of Brennan until Benghazi Questions Answered. A top Republican senator called Monday for a delay in the confirmation of President Obama's pick for CIA director until more questions are answered on the deadly attack last year on a U.S. consulate in Libya.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina didn't single out Obama's nominee, John Brennan, for criticism, but he accused the administration of ignoring requests for more information about the Sept. 11 attack, which also targeted a CIA annex in Benghazi.

"I have not forgotten about the Benghazi debacle and still have many questions about what transpired before, during and after the attack on our consulate," Graham said. "In that regard, I do not believe we should confirm anyone as director of the CIA until our questions are answered."

Graham is specifically concerned about U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice's talking points in the days after the attack, when she said that the attack seemed to be "spontaneous" violence growing out of protests over an anti-Islam film. She later admitted that some of that information was incorrect, though she said her comments were based on the information available at the time from the intelligence community.

An independent investigative report commissioned by the State Department faulted the department for failing to adequately protect the consulate. And a followup report by a Senate committee said officials did little to improve security despite clear indications that the region was "flashing red."

Republicans, however, have focused much of their criticism on how administration officials initially explained the attack, suggesting there was a political motive in downplaying the role of terrorism.

Brennan, who worked for 25 years in the CIA, is currently Obama's national counterterrorism adviser. Obama introduced him Monday as his nominee for CIA director, but Brennan faces potential hurdles to confirmation because of past controversial comments and his role in the CIA's past program of so-called enhanced interrogations. [Read more: FoxNews/7January2013]

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

Fact-Checking the CIA's Fact-Check on 'Zero Dark Thirty'. "The CIA is a lot different than Hollywood portrays it to be," reads an official explainer issued today by the Central Intelligence Agency - a thinly veiled attempt to continue debunking Zero Dark Thirty, the controversial Oscar favorite that its director admittedly hates. Referring to James Bond, the fictional MI6 agent, depictions of "shootouts and high speed chases," and scenes of "CIA officers chasing terrorists through the American heartland," the memo goes on to try and dispel an array of "myths" pertaining to the agency's operations, from its impact on foreign policy to its ability to spy on Americans. The effort follows a December 21 letter addressed to CIA employees from the agency's acting director, Michael Morrell, concerning the "artistic license" of Zero Dark Thirty. Today's release touches on the same themes: whether the CIA of our popular imagination corresponds to the CIA of reality, and how movies like Zero Dark Thirty (which isn't name-checked directly) blur the distinction between fact and fantasy. Should you believe the CIA's interpretation of Hollywood? We break down each agency claim with actual details from the movies - and Homeland, obviously. [Read more: Trotter/AtlanticWire/28December2012]

Iran Spy Network 30,000 Strong. Iran's intelligence service includes 30,000 people who are engaged in covert and clandestine activities that range from spying to stealing technology to terrorist bombings and assassination, according to a Pentagon report.

The report concluded that Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, known as MOIS, is "one of the largest and most dynamic intelligence agencies in the Middle East."

The ministry actively supports Iran's radical Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) that has been involved in terrorist bombings from Argentina to Lebanon, according to the report produced by the Pentagon's Irregular Warfare Support Program and published last month by the Library of Congress Federal Research Division.

The Washington Free Beacon obtained a copy of the 64-page unclassified report.

"MOIS provides financial, material, technological, or other support services to Hamas, Hezbollah, and al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), all designated terrorist organizations under U.S. Executive Order 13224," the report said.

The spy service operates in all areas where Iran has interests, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Central Asia, Africa, Austria, Azerbaijan, Croatia, France, Georgia, Germany, Turkey, Britain, and the Americas, including the United States. [Read more: Gerz/FreeBeacon/3January2013]

Who is John Brennan? John Brennan, who President Barack Obama is poised to pick to lead the CIA after the fall of David Petraeus, is an agency veteran who spent the last four years devising White House counterterrorism strategy.

Brennan, a 25-year Central Intelligence Agency veteran, is an Arabic-speaking Middle East expert who once told reporters when asked about his work ethic: "I don't do down time." Brennan, 57, may have lost out on the top spot at the CIA in 2009 over his support for the use of certain "enhanced interrogation techniques" under the administration of George W. Bush - an issue sure to come up at his confirmation hearing.

His appointment as deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counter-terrorism in 2009 did not require Senate confirmation and thus sidestepped congressional scrutiny.

Trained as a spy, Brennan rose quickly as a counter-terrorism analyst and manager in the Near East and South Asia branch of the agency's intelligence directorate.

By 1995, he was executive assistant to George Tenet, the agency's deputy director at the time who later became the agency's longest-serving director.

Brennan moved on to become a CIA Middle East station chief in 1996, returning to Washington in 1999 to be Tenet's chief of staff until 2001 and CIA deputy executive director through 2003.

He capped a 25-year CIA career by becoming the interim director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center from 2004 to August 2005. [Read more: AgenceFrancePresse/7January2013]

The Art [Literally] of Espionage. When is art a tool of war? On the blog BLDGBLOG, a historical anecdote drawn from architectural historian Massimo Scolari's new book "Oblique Drawing" gives a remarkable example. The story dates from the 1529 siege of Florence:

"During the night, Tribolo and an assistant secretly built an accurate relief model in cork, several meters wide, of the city and its fortifications. It was smuggled out of the besieged city in various pieces concealed inside bales of wool. This allowed the pope, aided by Baldassarre Peruzzi, to direct operations from a distance."

The ruse worked. After laying siege for 10 months, papal forces - aided by their cork model - retook the renegade Republic of Florence on Aug. 10, 1530. Tribolo, the creator of the model, went on to enjoy a life of patronage under the grateful, reinstalled Medici.

Art has often been a tool of espionage, as it turns out. Scolari tells of Goethe, who in 1786 had a sketch he'd made of an abandoned castle confiscated by suspicious Italian authorities, and of 16th-century "painter-spies" who used their occupation as a cover to depict enemy fortifications. [Physical models, such as the Florentine cork relief or the sandstone carving of Jaisalmer Fort in India shown here, were particularly rich sources of information in the pre-satellite era.]

Over the years, governments have caught on. As one commenter noted, it's been illegal in Britain for a century to create art that "might be or is intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy." [Read more: Hartnett/BostonGlobe/30December2012]

How Cyber Security Helps Combat Espionage in the Digital Age. Today's businesses are facing new kinds of threats, not physical ones but those that attack through the Web.

Hackers have focused on the private sector, using technology to commit espionage against companies of all sizes, gaining access to secrets from U.S. businesses to leverage a competitive advantage.

"This has created a very real cyber war zone. It's no longer just a hacker nuisance," says Pervez Delawalla, president and CEO of Net2EZ.

Smart Business spoke with Delawalla about the tools that companies can use to combat the very serious threat of a cyber breach.

What types of threats do businesses face?

Companies face a range of threats. For example, business identity theft can lead to a breach where credits can be issued or obtained under a business's unique identity. Or a company's trade secrets could be compromised through leaks in its cyber security.

If a hacker wants to get information about a company, the first thing he or she will do is look for personal information about its CEO, which could be available on networking and social media websites, and also by gaining access to the CEO's personal computers. These multilevel and multithreaded attacks are very precise. Whereas previously, cyber attacks could be compared to carpet bombing, they're now more like precision missile strikes.

What aspects of a business are most at risk?

Financial data are most at risk in the private sector, as this information is very useful and profitable for groups to exploit and sell. The second most at-risk area is business secrets, which are stolen and used to gain a competitive advantage against companies. [Read more: SmartBusiness/1January2013]

The Truth About the Culper Ring, the First U.S. Spy Family - and the Real Agent 355. Agent 355, a vital character in the DC series Y: The Last Man, claims to be a member of the clandestine [and centuries old] spy organization, the Culper Ring. And it turns out there really was such an organization - and it began in the 18th century, under the orders of George Washington. There was even a real-life Agent 355.

George Washington knew the value of quality military intelligence, with first president serving as a British Colonial spy in 1753.

Washington surveyed the Ohio Territory during this time, gathering informational about French military presence and troop movements in the area.

Thanks to a first hand knowledge of the value of military intelligence, Washington allotted a considerable amount of money - over 10% of the total armed forces budget during the Revolutionary War - to establishing intelligence networks. General Washington tasked one of his most trusted officers, Major Benjamin Tallmadge, with forming this early intelligence community.

Operational from the summer of 1778 to 1783, the Culper Ring consisted of approximately twenty civilians from the village of Setauket, an area on the North Shore of modern Long Island. The group specialized in relaying information regarding movements of British troops through British-controlled New York City.

Washington did not know the true identities of most Culper Ring members, but this did not impact his trust in the group of patriotic spies. Two key code names appear repeatedly in tales of the Culper Ring - those of Samuel Culper, Senior and Samuel Culper, Junior. We now know that Culper, Sr. was really Abraham Woodhull, and Major Benjamin Tallmadge selected Woodhull due to their longstanding friendship. Woodhull led the Culper Ring, and recruited the pacifist Robert Townsend to aid in its operations as Culper Jr. [Read more: Veronese/IO9/31December2012]

Section III - COMMENTARY and RESEARCH REQUESTS

Similar Visions. By picking Chuck Hagel to be his defence secretary and John Brennan to succeed David Petraeus as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Barack Obama has made plain the qualities he is looking for in his most senior security officials: experience, caution and, perhaps above all, personal loyalty. Both men see the world very much as Mr. Obama does, which is to say, complicated, messy and all too frequently impervious to the use of American power even when wielded with the best of intentions.

Of the two, Mr. Hagel, who currently serves as co-chairman of the president 's intelligence advisory board, is by far the more controversial choice. Although a decorated Vietnam soldier [he would be the first to hold the top job at the Pentagon] and a Republican senator for 12 years, his nomination is likely to be more contested by members of his own party than by Democrats [although he has relatively few friends in that camp as well]. Lindsey Graham, the hawkish senator from South Carolina who sits on the Armed Services Committee, took to the airwaves over the weekend to describe the Nebraska Republican as well out of the "mainstream" in terms of his foreign-policy views and, if confirmed, "the most antagonistic secretary of defence towards the state of Israel in our nation's history". John McCain, a committee colleague of Mr. Graham's and his party's losing presidential candidate in 2008, says that to "allege that Hagel is somehow a Republican... is a hard one to swallow". Pro-Israeli groups, such as Emergency Committee for Israel, have also entered the fray, describing Mr. Hagel as "not a responsible choice". Some of the wilder comment has even come close to accusing Mr. Hagel of being an anti-Semite.

This is mostly preposterous. During his Senate career, Mr. Hagel regularly voted for large chunks of military aid to go to Israel. He has never said anything that could be taken as hostile to the country, other than by those who believe that support for Israel's government should be unconditional. However, it is understandable why Mr. Hagel rouses strong feelings in some quarters. [Read more: MJS/TheEconomist/7January2013]

Call for Papers for International Association for Intelligence Education for their 9th Annual Conference in El Paso, Texas

Conference Theme: "Expanding the Frontiers of Intelligence Education." Submit ideas for papers, presentations, and panels for this annual conference. They seek papers from those who support and are aligned with the mission to advance research, knowledge and professional development in intelligence education. They seek presenters and papers in the following areas: a) Pedagogical approaches both theoretical and applied; b) Research initiatives; c) History of intelligence analysis; d) Future trends in the field of intelligence analysis; e) Nexus between intelligence education and intelligence training; f) Regional and functional analytic questions; g) Current successes and lessons learned in intelligence education; g) Student papers that contribute to the field; h) Role of intelligence education in developing the profession; i) International perspectives on the discipline and the profession.
Accepted papers and copies of any audiovisual materials are due no later than April 15, 2013. IAFIE intends to publish these materials in conference proceedings.
All participants are responsible for their own conference registration. Conference registration details will be forthcoming.
Please submit your proposals (Name, Paper or Panel Title, & Abstract) to Larry A. Valero, Ph.D., Events Chair, at lavalero2@utep.edu no later than close of business on November 15, 2012. Acceptance notifications will go out no later than January 15, 2013.
Event date and location: When: May 20-23, 2013, Union Building, The University of Texas at El Paso. Lodging: Hilton Garden Inn and Double Tree Inn, El Paso

Section IV - Deaths, Books, and Coming Events

Deaths of Note

Death of Jeanne Vertefeuille, CIA, died 29 December 2012, uncovered KGB Mole.
Comments by Acting Director/CIA, Michael Morell: I wanted to take a moment to observe the passing last Saturday of one of our legends, Jeanne Vertefeuille—a true CIA icon who served our Agency for 58 years and played a central role in uncovering the KGB mole, Aldrich Ames. A quintessential expert on counterintelligence and a Soviet and Eastern Bloc specialist, Jeanne led the unit charged with the mole hunt. She was both uniquely suited for the job and determined to find the traitor whose devastating betrayal had led to the death of key CIA agents in the Soviet Union. Jeanne joined CIA in 1954 as a GS-4 typist and proceeded to blaze a trail for women in the NCS at a time when it was an overwhelmingly male enterprise. She worked her way up to leadership positions and retired as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service in 1992. Without as much as a day's break in service, she continued her work as a contractor after mandatory retirement well beyond the arrest of Ames in 1994. She was still making invaluable contributions to our mission when she became ill a few months ago. For many of us, Jeanne was both a friend and a widely admired colleague. She was a beloved member of our Agency family, and I join with all of you in mourning our loss as we also celebrate her life and the legacy she entrusted to us.

Books

Former Neo-Nazi Reveals How he Switched from Palestinian Terrorism to CIA. A German criminal who worked for the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September has revealed in a new book that the CIA recruited him following the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics to thwart anti-Israel activities.

Willi Voss, 68, now lives in Europe and earns his living writing detective novels. His connections with the Palestinian terrorists were revealed in July when the German magazine Der Spiegel published classified documents released by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany, ahead of the 40th anniversary of the massacre of the Israeli athletes at Munich. In a correspondence with Haaretz this summer, Voss admitted to and apologized for his involvement in the massacre.

Now, half a year later, he has revealed another thrilling part of his tangled and shady biography: He was also an agent of the American Central Intelligence Agency, operating under the code name Ganymede - after a servant of the gods in Greek mythology.

In a feature article this week in Der Spiegel, Voss claims he provided the United States with information and documents that helped thwart terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe.

Beginning in 1975, Voss says, he worked as a CIA mole in the Black September organization, taking advantage of his closeness to three Palestinian terrorists: Abu Daoud, Abu Nidal, and Abu Jihad.

In his new capacity, Voss exposed terror cells in various countries, photographed documents at the Palestinian Liberation Organization intelligence headquarters, and provided information about connections between neo-Nazis and Fatah activists under Yasser Arafat's leadership. [Read more: Aderet/Haaretz/3January2012]

Christine Keeler was not Mistress of KGB Spy. The tryst between dashing Soviet spy Yevgeny Ivanov and Christine Keeler, lover of Tory war minister John Profumo, was one of the most notable acts of 20th century espionage, ultimately leading to the fall of Harold Macmillan's government.

However, a controversial book last week claimed that this act of Cold War seduction never happened.

Author Richard Davenport-Hines disputes the accepted version highlighted in the 1989 film Scandal of a liaison which devastatingly compromised Profumo.

Keeler's story about GRU military intelligence spy Ivanov emerged only after she was "encouraged by journalists" waving money in her face, he claims. Yet his theory was derided in Moscow yesterday by Ivanov's biographer Gennady Sokolov, a longtime friend of the agent who was posted to London under the cover of assistant naval attache. 

"It is preposterous to say there was no sexual relationship between Ivanov and Keeler," said Sokolov, who co-wrote The Naked Spy, the Russian agent's account of the affair. "Ivanov always claimed that they had slept together.

"When the Sunday Express brought them together in Moscow years later, after the fall of the Soviet Union, it was clear from their conversation that both accepted there had been a sexual relationship between them. 

"At his funeral in Moscow in 1994, Ivanov was officially criticised in part because he slept with Keeler, something not sanctioned by his spy chiefs. This is a puzzling attempt to rewrite history." [Read more: Stewart/TheExpress/6January2012]

The Formative Years of an African-American Spy: A Memoir. This story traces the childhood experiences of an African-American C.I.A. officer. Poverty and racism were lesser evils than the Cinderella-like experiences in his dysfunctional family. He endured the volatility of a no-nonsense mother who used the rod at his slightest infraction, and the loathing of two stepfathers that sought to isolate him from the family. By age fifteen, he was the primary caregiver for six half-brothers and sisters. The twists and turns of growing up in a dysfunctional family forced an emotional, intellectual, and spiritual renaissance in his life. Through adversity and chance, at an early age he learned to decouple his self-image from his turbulent childhood experiences. More importantly, he learned to keep a cool head in the face of antagonistic and ambiguous situations, and refused to let others define his personal worth. At sixteen, an unbearable home situation caused him to drop out of high school and join the U.S. Navy. He welcomed the Navy's carefully constructed value system that demanded teamwork, courage, and personal confidence. On his seventeenth birthday he was sailing across the Pacific Ocean to such far off places as Japan, Hong Kong, Guam, and Australia. He discovered that the world was big, complicated, and very different from the one he had known. Yet, he felt safe for the first time in his life. After the Navy, he worked at several dead-end jobs. Friends and colleagues convinced him to complete his education. He received his high school diploma at age twenty-three, and attended undergraduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.), and graduate school at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (S.A.I.S.). He worked for several international businesses before coming to the attention of the C.I.A. The Agency offered him a unique opportunity to serve his country that he could not refuse. Unlike most books about C.I.A. spies, this one is deeply personal and offers an insight into the mind of an African-American C.I.A. officer. It traces many of his positive and negative childhood experiences that, in hindsight, proved essential to his success as a case officer in the covert services of the Central Intelligence Agency. [LCIBooks/25December2012]

A CIA Reading List. As you compile your resolutions for the new year, Best Defense is offering three different reading lists to help you. Here is a list from CIA veteran Hayden Peake. One reason I don't write much about intelligence is that I don't know much about it - as this list reminds me - I haven't read any of them. But he does. [Read more: Ricks/ForeignPolicy/31December2012]

Coming Educational Events

EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN COMING TWO MONTHS....

MANY Spy Museum Events in 2013 with full details are listed on the AFIO Website at www.afio.com. The titles for some of these are in detail below and online.

9 January 2013, 11 am - Albuquerque, NM - AFIO New Mexico hosts monthly meeting.

Location: "The Egg & I" at 6909 Menaul Blvd NE (just East of Louisiana). Sign in and order lunch at 1100 Hrs - Call to Order NLT 1145 Hrs - Adjourn at 1300. More information at foreigndevil@yahoo.com.

Monday, 14 January 2013, 4:30 PM - Washington DC - Persuasion and Power: The Art of Strategic Communication by James P. Farwell at the Institute of World Politics

The publisher's description follows. Now more than ever, in the arenas of national security, diplomacy, and military operations, effective communication strategy is of paramount importance. A 24/7 television, radio, and Internet news cycle paired with an explosion in social media demands it.
According to James P. Farwell, a former political consultant, the US government's approach to strategic communication has been misguided. Persausion and Power stands apart for its critical evaluation of the concepts, doctrines, and activities that the US Department of Defense and Department of State employ for the art of strategic communication including psychological operations, military information support operations, propaganda, and public diplomacy. Farwell stresses that words, deeds, actions, and symbols may qualify as strategic communication and aim to mold or shape public opinion to influence behavior in order to attain specific objectives, advance interests, or-viewed from a military perspective-satisfy or create conditions that produce a desired end-state. He contends that a message that is true, consistent, and persuasive is more powerful than any deception.
Persuasion and Power is a book about communication strategy, and how figures from Julius Caesar to Barack Obama, Napoleon to Hugo Chavez, Martin Luther to Margaret Thatcher have used it to influence the outcomes of crises, conflicts, politics and diplomacy across different cultures and societies. This insightful volume will help communications, policymakers, and students understand when, where, and how they can apply the principles of communication strategy to advance national security interests.
About the Author: James P. Farwell is a defense consultant who advises the US Department of Defense and the US Special Operations Command on a range of global initiatives and actions, including strategic communication. He is also a senior research fellow in strategic studies at the Canada Centre for Global Security Studies in the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He is the author of The Pakistan Cauldron: Conspiracy, Assassination, and Instability.
Location: The Institute of World Politics, 1521 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036    Parking map 
Please click here to register.

Tuesday, 15 January 1013, noon - "Spying in America: Espionage from the Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War" by author, form D/NCS, CIA Mike Sulick at the International Spy Museum

Can you keep a secret? Maybe you can, but the United States government can't. Since the birth of our country, nations from Russia and China to Ghana and Ecuador, have stolen some of our country's most precious secrets. Join Michael Sulick, former director of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, as he discusses his new book, Spying in America, which presents a history of more than thirty espionage cases inside the United States. They include Americans who spied against their country, spies from both the Union and Confederacy during the Civil War, and foreign agents who ran operations on American soil. Some of the stories are familiar, such as those of Benedict Arnold and Julius Rosenberg, while others, though less well known, are equally fascinating. In each case he focuses on the motivations that drove these individuals to spy, the secrets they betrayed, their tradecraft, techniques for concealing their espionage, their exposure and punishment, and the damage they ultimately inflicted on America's national security.
Tickets: Free! No registration required. For more information visit www.spymuseum.org

Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm - Scottsdale, AZ - Two experts discuss "the National Security Agency."

Guest Speakers Ken Fauth EdD and Richard S. Post, PhD provide an unclassified look-see at the world's most secretive intelligence and security agency along with its strategic/tactical partners, its tentacles, its roles, and some of its now known stories.
Needed is your RSVP NO LATER than 72 hours ahead of time. If you do not show up for the lunch meeting and have not cancelled 48 hours prior, please send your check to Simone – you will be charged for the lunch. Meeting fees are as follows: $20.00 for AFIO AZ Members; $22.00 for Guests
For reservations or questions, please email Simone: simone@afioaz.org or simone@4smartphone.net. To call, please leave a message on 602.570.6016.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Location: McCormick Ranch Golf Course, 7505 McCormick Parkway, Scottsdale AZ 85258.

Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 3 pm - Washington, DC - Yalta 2 and Stalin's Secret Agents with Marek Jan Chodakiewicz

Dr. Chodakiewicz, Professor of History, Kosciuszko Chair in Polish Studies at the Institute of World Politics, will discuss Stalin's Secret Agents: The Subversion of Roosevelt's Government by M. Stanton Evans and Herbert Romerstein. This lecture is part of a series on the Intermarium.
Location: The Institute of World Politics, 1521 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036.
Attendance only by RSVP. Do so here.

Thursday, 17 January 2013, 6:30 pm – Washington, DC - "On the Front Line: Protecting Presidents and Prime Ministers" at the International Spy Museum

If anyone wants to do it, no amount of protection is enough. All a man needs is a willingness to trade his life for mine. –President John F. Kennedy
As Inauguration Day nears and security around the nation's capital intensifies, consider what it's like to guard the President. Imagine the whole world watching you work on your toughest day. A lesser version of this scenario occurs whenever national leaders venture into public. This evening two men who know what it's like to keep the head of their government safe from harm will share their experiences in the field of protection. Mark J. Basil served with distinction in the United States Secret Service for ten years. He coordinated covert protection for Presidents Bush and Obama and for major National Special Security Events. Daniel J. Mulvenna retired from the Security Service of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after 21 years working in Personnel Security, Counter-Subversion and Counterintelligence. In addition to his government experience in dignitary and VIP protection, he has worked for over 25 years as a security and risk management consultant to multinational corporations and government clients and has conducted personnel protection and counterterrorism training programs for clients all over the world. They'll share the concerns that protection officers must address in light of today's fast-moving culture where anyone with a smartphone can report on the latest movements of Presidents and Prime Ministers.
Tickets: $15. To register or for more information visit www.spymuseum.org

Saturday, 19 January 2013, 2 pm - Kennebunk, ME - Maine Chapter of AFIO hears from Libya expert on the Arab Spring

Dr. Ali Ahmida, Chairman of the Sociology Department at the University of New England, born in Libya, will speak about the geographical and tribal divisions of Libya, the eventual result of the "Arab Spring," and the relationship of Libya's government to the extremist groups which have entered the country. The meeting, open to the public, will be held at the Brick Store Museum Progam Center, 2 Dane Street, Kennebunk. For information call 207-967-4298.

Wednesday, 23 January 2013, 6:30 pm - Washington, DC - "Inside Stories - Spy Hunters: The Women Who Caught Aldrich Ames" at the International Spy Museum

WHAT: "… he seriously considered us dumb broads." – Sandy Grimes

Meet Sandy Grimes, a former CIA Operative in the Agency's Clandestine Service, and hear how she and her fellow operative Jeanne Vertefeuille used their determination, hard work, and cunning to enable the capture and conviction of their former colleague and infamous CIA officer-turned traitor:  Aldrich Ames.  His acts of betrayal were finally halted thanks in large part to the dogged perseverance and penetrating analysis of this remarkable pair.  International Spy Museum Executive Director, Peter Earnest, who was once Ames' immediate supervisor, will also offer comments on the case. The women were finally able to tell the inside story of the unmasking of the CIA's most notorious traitor in their remarkable book Circle of Treason: A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed which will be available for sale and signing.
International Spy Museum: 800 F Street, NW Washington, DC Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail Station. Tickets: $9. Register at www.spymuseum.org

Friday, 25 January 2013, 1:00 pm - Washington, DC - Thomas Caplan, The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen at the International Spy Museum Store

An in-store book signing of The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen by Thomas Caplan, with an introduction by President Bill Clinton. The Spy Museum calls this "A classic international spy novel with a fresh, contemporary twist full of daring adventure that makes for edge-of-your-seat reading. Reminiscent of the novels featuring James Bond and Jason Bourne, The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen addresses the very relevant and current threat of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands."
No registration required. Visit https://www.spymuseum.org

Wednesday, 30 January 2013, noon - Washington, DC - "Power and Policy in Syria: Intelligence Services, Foreign Relations, and Democracy in the Modern Middle East" at the International Spy Museum

The world has watched the bloodbath in Syria where President Bashir al-Assad used the full power of his security forces. A key component of his machinery of repression has been the Syrian intelligence service, which also plays a major role in Syria's foreign policy decision-making. However, very little has been known about this service…until now. Join Radwan Ziadeh, Director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies, as he presents a fresh and penetrating analysis of Syria's political structure and the Syrian intelligence service in the new edition of his book, Power and Policy in Syria: Intelligence Services, Foreign Relations and Democracy in the Modern Middle East.
Tickets: Free! No registration required. For more information visit www.spymuseum.org

30 January 2013 - Yorba Linda, CA [Nixon Library] - "President Nixon and the Role of Intelligence in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War" - a CIA Historical Documents 'Release Event' Conference co-hosted with The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

AFIO members and guests are invited to attend this CIA-Nixon Library Conference examining intelligence community's handling of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. It underscores the difficulty for the IC - in the past and today - to reliably predict the unexpected, especially in the Middle East. Event features former policymakers and analysts, as well as historians and Middle East experts discussing how intelligence played into the decisionmaking process before, during, and after the conflict. Invited speakers include Brent Scowcroft (National Security Advisor under Presidents Ford and Bush), Charles E. Allen, (former Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security), William Quandt (Middle East expert at the National Security Council), Andy Liepman (former Deputy Director, National Counterterrorism Center), Dick Kovar (former chief of CIA's Middle East Task Force), James Gelvin (Historian, UCLA), Emile A. Nakhleh, PhD (former CIA Middle East expert), and the new Director of the Nixon Library (announcement expected soon). There is no cost to attend.
When: 30 January 2013 from 1 - 5:30 PM
Location: Richard Nixon Presidential Library, 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard, Yorba Linda, CA 92886
REGISTER your interest in attending event by clicking email address at right to obtain additional details: events@afio.com
Provide your name, email address, and how many guests you might be bringing with you to the January 30th CIA-NIXON Library Conference being held in Yorba Linda, CA [right outside Los Angeles]. You will be sent further details as event approaches.

Saturday, 2 February 2013 - Melbourne, FL - AFIO Florida Satellite Chapter hosts AFIO National President Gene Poteat on "Secret History of History: Selected Key Events Through Eyes of CIA Officer."

Event location: Indian River Colony Club, At East Club, 1936 Freedom Dr, Melbourne, FL 32932. Details and reservations: Bobbie Keith at 321 777-5561 before Jan 29.

Monday, 4 February 2013, 11:30 am - MacDill AFB, FL - Meeting/Luncheon by Florida Suncoast Chapter featuring AFIO President Gene Poteat speaking on "The Secret History of American History: What history books fail to include."

AFIO President and retired CIA Senior Scientific Intelligence Officer Gene Poteat will speak on "The Secret History of American History; What our history books fail to include." He will explain in a presentation laced with humor that Intelligence is as old as mankind, yet may not be the second oldest profession as claimed. He gives a sweeping review of historically significant events, the outcome of which was influenced by intelligence rather than as reported.
Location: MacDill AFB Surf's Edge Club, 7315 Bayshore Blvd, MacDill AFB, FL 33621.
RSVP no later than Wednesday, January 30, for yourself and include the names of any guests.
Email or call the Chapter Secretary at (813) 832-1164 or at mfshapiro@att.net or visit www.suncoastafio.org
Cost: $20. You must present your $20 check payable to "Suncoast Chapter, AFIO" (or cash) at check-in to cover the luncheon. If you make a reservation, don't cancel and get a cancellation confirmation by the response deadline and then don't show up, you will be responsible for the cost of the luncheon.

Wednesday, 6 February 2013 - Washington, DC - Intrigue in Vienna: An Evening Inspired by The Third Man - sponsored by the International Spy Museum

The Vienna sewers, the Giant Ferris Wheel in the Prater, Orson Welles, and the haunting theme music of Anton Karas – In 1949, the iconic masterpiece The Third Man showed a mysterious and intriguing side of Vienna previously unseen on the big screen. Remembering this time of exciting adventures, elusive truths, and sheer elegance, the International Spy Museum together with the Embassy of Austria are hosting a Third Man themed event. For one evening, you will have the unique opportunity to immerse yourself in this thrilling world of secrets, spies, and mysteries while discovering the Vienna of the Cold War era. The event will feature original artifacts, multimedia presentations, as well as notable speakers. So join us for this night of great suspense and action but always remember: Trust No One.
WHERE: L2 Lounge, 3315 Cadey's Alley NW, Washington, DC 20007
TICKETS: $25. To register or for more information visit www.spymuseum.org

Wednesdays, 6 - 27 February 2013 10 am - Washington, DC - "Spy Seminar Series: Exfiltrations, Captures, or Kills: Famous High Stakes Intelligence Operations" at the International Spy Museum

Intelligence operations that hold human life in the balance are some of the most difficult missions any intelligence service will ever undertake. Exfiltrations are supremely delicate. This is the process of extracting a person or people from a targeted site with absolute urgency due to a sudden change which makes the site hostile. This could happen when a spy's cover is blown or a change in leadership puts people in danger. Captures are just that: snaring an enemy. And lastly kills. Wet jobs. Assassinations. When the enemy is bad enough that termination is the only answer. In this series, a distinguished group of experts and former intelligence personnel will introduce you to some of the greatest of these intense operations.

February 6 - The Operation that Killed Osama bin Laden
When Osama bin Laden declared war against the United States for the first time to a Western audience, Peter Bergen was there. He produced Osama bin Laden's first television interview and has written extensively on the terrorist and on Al Qaeda. His book, Manhunt: the Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden—from 9/11 to Abbottabad focuses on the difficulty of finding the world's most dangerous man—the missed opportunities, the lucky breaks, and dedication of the people who finally tracked him down. Bergen will share his professional connection to bin Laden, what it was like to actually "know" him, and his thoughts on the execution and results of Operation Neptune Spear.

February 13 - How the Mossad Captured Eichmann
For 15 years the hunt for Eichmann, architect of the mass murder of Europe's Jews, stretched from war-ravaged Europe to the shores of Argentina. In researching his book, Hunting Eichmann, best-selling author Neal Bascomb gathered groundbreaking new information and interviews, and newly declassified documents to fully tell the story of how the notorious Nazi was brought to justice. He will reveal how the young Israeli spy agency, the Mossad, organized this colossal operation—dispatching operatives like Isser Harel and Zvi Aharoni on their harrowing mission to Argentina to capture and deliver Eichmann.

February 20 - Saving Ryszard Kuklinski
In 1972, Polish Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski volunteered to spy for the United States. His self-appointed mission: to undermine his country's Soviet-dominated leadership to save Poland from nuclear destruction. Over the next nine years of high-risk, clandestine exchanges, he copied tens of thousands of secret documents and covertly passed them to the CIA—including plans to crush the Solidarity movement. Learn the inside story of this extraordinary case and of Kuklinski's last-minute, daring escape from International Spy Museum Executive Director, Peter Earnest, a former CIA officer who did unprecedented research into Agency records for Benjamin Wesier's A Secret Life: The Polish Officer, His Covert Mission, and the Price He Paid to Save His Country. Former CIA officer, Sue Burggraf, who worked with Kuklinski in Warsaw will also comment on the heroic Pole.

February 27 - Canadian Caper
International Spy Museum board member and former CIA chief of disguise Tony Mendez led the famous rescue of six Americans who were trapped in Iran after they had escaped from the US Embassy during the Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979. Mendez came up with an ingenuous plan to get the Americans out by creating a fake movie called ARGO, setting up a cover film studio, and disguising them as a location scouting team from Canada. Mendez will take you behind the scenes of the operation, recently immortalized in the real film ARGO, from Canada's incredible support of the rescue to what kind of props he brought to make the Americans look more like film industry types.

WHERE: International Spy Museum: 800 F Street, NW Washington, DC Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail Station
TICKETS: Tickets: $120 (must be purchased through the Smithsonian)
To register: (via phone) 202.633.3030; (online) www.SmithsonianAssociates.org. Internet Quick Tix code for the program: 1M2-647. For more information visit www.spymuseum.org

Tuesday, 9 April 2013, 11:30 am - MacDill AFB, FL - "My Life in the CIA" with Richard Holm at Meeting/Luncheon by Florida Suncoast Chapter

Richard Holm, a former paramilitary adviser, decorated operations officer, senior manager and station chief for the Central Intelligence Agency, will share fascinating stories of his experiences during the Cold War. Drawing from the material he used in writing his book, The Craft We Chose: My Life in the CIA, he will recount highlights of his 35-year Agency career and explain why it is imperative for Americans to understand and support what the CIA does--a goal that also underlies AFIO's efforts to raise public awareness of the importance of national intelligence. He will also touch on the impact of an intelligence career on one's family and family life.
Location: MacDill AFB Surf's Edge Club, 7315 Bayshore Blvd, MacDill AFB, FL 33621.
RSVP: no later than Wednesday, February 28, for yourself and include the names of any guests.
Email or call the Chapter Secretary at (813) 832-1164 or at mfshapiro@att.net or visit www.suncoastafio.org
Cost: $20. You must present your $20 check payable to "Suncoast Chapter, AFIO" (or cash) at check-in to cover the luncheon. If you make a reservation, don't cancel and get a cancellation confirmation by the response deadline and then don't show up, you will be responsible for the cost of the luncheon.

For Additional Events two+ months or greater....view our online Calendar of Events

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