AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #47-14 dated 16 December 2014

[Editors' Note: The WIN editors attempt to include a wide range of articles and commentary in the Weekly Notes to inform and educate our readers. However, the views expressed in the articles are purely those of the authors, and in no way reflect support or endorsement from the WIN editors or the AFIO officers and staff. We welcome comments from the WIN readers on any and all articles and commentary. IMPORTANT: AFIO does not "vet" or endorse research inquiries, career announcements, or job offers. Reasonable-sounding inquiries and career offerings are published as a service to our members, and for researchers, educators, and subscribers. You are urged to exercise your usual caution and good judgment when responding, and should verify the source independently before supplying any resume, career data, or personal information.]
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This will be the final Weekly Intelligence Notes for 2014.  
We will resume on 6 January, 2015.  

CONTENTS

Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

Section III - COMMENTARY

Section IV -  Upcoming Events

Upcoming AFIO Events

Other Upcoming Events

  • For Additional AFIO and other Events two+ months or more... view our online Calendar of Events 

    • WIN CREDITS FOR THIS ISSUE: The WIN editors thank the following special contributor:  pjk and fwr.  They have contributed one or more stories used in this issue.
  
Friday, 30 January 2015
AFIO National's first luncheon of 2015
features Robert T. Cardillo, the new Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and Robert L. Grenier, former CIA Station Chief Islamabad and head of CIA's Counterterrorism Center
Tysons Corner, VA
   
Robert Grenier, former CIA 11 a.m. speaker: Former Station Chief Islamabad, and CIA Counterterrorism Center Director Robert L. Grenier discusses dealing with warlords, Taliban dissidents, and Pakistani Intelligence in front of him while facing equally lethal challenges behind his own lines. Hear more about his 88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary being released the week of this event.
   
Robert Cardillo, NGA Director 1 p.m. speaker: NGA Director Robert T. Cardillo speaks on the expanded NGA mission from Ebola relief activities to providing tools, advanced tech, sophisticated techniques, and specialized expertise to policymakers, warfighters, intelligence analysts, and first responders.
Grenier Book - 88 Days to Kandahar
Timing: Check-in for badge pickup at 10:30 a.m.; Robert Grenier begins his presentation at 11 a.m.; Lunch served at noon; NGA Director Cardillo begins his presentation at 1 p.m. Event closes at 2 p.m.
Morning and Afternoon programs are On The Record
The latest intelligence books, and many others, on display and for sale throughout event.
EVENT LOCATION: The Crowne Plaza, 1960 Chain Bridge Rd, Tysons Corner, VA
Driving directions here or use this link: http://tinyurl.com/boey9vf

ABOUT GRENIER'S FORTHCOMING BOOK: The First American-Afghan War, a CIA war, was approved by President George W. Bush and directed by Grenier, the CIA station chief in Islamabad. Forging separate alliances with warlords, Taliban dissidents, and Pakistani Intelligence, Grenier launched the “southern campaign,” orchestrating the final defeat of the Taliban and Hamid Karzai’s rise to power in eighty-eight chaotic days.
In his gripping narrative, we meet: General Tommy Franks, who bridled at CIA control of “his” war; General “Jafar Amin,” a gruff Pakistani intelligence officer who saved Grenier from committing career suicide; Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s brilliant ambassador to the US, who tried to warn her government of the al-Qa’ida threat; “Mark,” the CIA operator who guided Gul Agha Shirzai to bloody victory over the Taliban; General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani, a cautious man who became the most powerful man in Pakistan, struggling with Grenier’s demands while trying to protect his country; and Hamid Karzai, the puzzling anti-Taliban insurgent, a man of courage, petulance, and vacillating moods.
Grenier’s enemies out in front prove only slightly more lethal than the ones behind his own lines. This first war is won despite Washington bureaucrats who divert resources, deny military support, and try to undermine the only Afghan allies capable of winning. Later, as he directed the CIA’s role in the Iraq War, Grenier watched the initial victory squandered. His last command was of CIA’s Counterterrorism Center (CTC), as Bush-era terrorism policies were being repudiated, as the Taliban re-emerged in Afghanistan, and as Pakistan descended into fratricidal violence.

Today�s CIA critics once urged the Agency to do anything to fight al-Qaeda.

Heard enough of the political spin by those who demanded post-9/11 we "do anything"
-- and were fully briefed on what that entailed -- yet now seek scapegoats?
Who claim nudity and loud sounds are 'torture,' while terrorists continue public beheadings, murderous rampages, and genocide. Do not be distracted by varying opinions over efficacy of the interrogations -- a smokescreen -- but remember that well-intentioned intelligence professionals were charged by the WH and Congress to carry out urgent first responses post-9/11 to avoid future attacks.
Get the facts here.....

CIA Actions Saved Lives

A PDF of the latest breaking news links - press and TV coverage - is available here.

We also invite your attention
to this OP-Ed on the Wall Street Journal website
from three former CIA Directors and Deputy Directors
which lays out the views of many CIA alumni.
The comments which follow the Op-Ed are instructive, as well.

Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

First Intelligence Agency to Host App in Amazon Cloud. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has become the first intelligence agency to host a large-scale operational capability in Amazon's cloud.

That move comes just months after the Amazon Web Services-built cloud for the intelligence community officially came online. 

NGA's migration of its Map of the World application - often called the backbone of the agency's geospatial efforts - to the C2S environment signals the IC's intent to revolutionize how it manages information technology.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin announced the development. The company deployed the interactive map underpinning NGA's Map of the World to the C2S environment through its Geospatial-Intelligence Visualization Services program. [Read more: Konkel/NextGov/9December2014]

Estonian Intelligence Charges Double Agent With Treason After Spying for Russia for 15 Years. Estonian police are charging a former agent of the state's security services (CAPO) for treason, after the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) unveiled that he had been working as a double agent for Moscow since 1996 on the Russian state broadcaster NTV on Sunday.

Uno Puusepp who retired from the Estonian CAPO and moved to Moscow three years ago, appeared in an NTV documentary entitled Our Man In Tallinn, retelling the story of how he came to join Russia's FSB and how he worked to undermine international operations in Estonia including the CIA, MI5, MI6 and the German BND.

"After 20 years of knowing you can be found out and taken away, you get used to the pressure slowly and quietly," Puusepp told NTV, recounting his exploits as a mole for Moscow which "upset the US terribly".

According to former KGB operative Nikolai Yermakov, who enrolled Puusepp into the service of the FSB and with whom Puusepp cooperated on much of his activity, the CAPO agent was not motivated by money but rather he disliked working for the Estonian establishment. [Read more: Sharkov/Newsweek/15December2014]

Hezbollah Catches Mossad Spy Working as Key Official in Its Ranks. The Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah has exposed that a key official in its external operations branch was spying for Israel's intelligence agency - Mossad, and had thwarted attacks against Israel, a Lebanese media outlet reported on Tuesday.

According to sources quoted by the Lebanese website El Nashra, the spy for the Mossad was arrested weeks ago and is part of unit 910, which carries out operations against specific Israeli targets.

The spy identified in the report as M.Sh. worked under the cover as a businessman and travelled a lot. The Mossad allegedly recruited M.Sh. in a western Asian country.

M.Sh. worked with the Mossad for a number of years and foiled many Hezbollah operations that were meant to avenge the assassination of commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus in 2008. The Shi'ite group accuses the Mossad of carrying out the attack. [Read more: [JerusalemPost/16December2014]

Argentine President Takes Parrilli to Intelligence Agency, An�bal Fern�ndez Back to Government Office. Presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro held a brief press conference today to announce the resignation of both the SI intelligence office chief H�ctor Icazuriaga and the agency's deputy secretary Francisco Larcher.

"The President accepted both resignations," Scoccimarro said adding the head of state was designating current Secretary Ceneral to the presideny Oscar Parrilli at the top of the SI agency and Juan Mart�n Mena as Parrilli's second-in-command - Mena has served as cabinet chief of Julio Alak's team at the Justice Ministry.

"I also inform that the President will designate An�bal Fern�ndez to replace Oscar Parrilli," the spokesman confirmed and explained Mr. Parrilli's swearing-in ceremony will be held today at 8 pm at the presidential palace. [Read more: BuenosAiresHerald/16December2014]

Sweden Investigating 40 Suspected Jihadi Fighters Returning From Syria. Sweden's intelligence agency Sapo is conducting a preliminary investigation into nationals suspected of having fought alongside jihadists in Syria, with some 40 fighters confirmed to have returned, Svenska Dagblatet cited operation chief Anders Kassman as saying.

"The latest estimate is that 110 Swedes were confirmed to have travelled since 2012 to join terrorist movements, such as Islamic State, in Syria - Between 25 and 30 have died in combat. Around 40 are confirmed to have come back to Sweden," Kassman said.

Kassman confirmed that the intelligence agency was looking into the circumstances of their travels, but refused to comment on the cases. He stressed however this was an increasingly serious problem that must be tackled with caution.

"It is a disturbing situation that we will be dealing with for a long time," the intelligence agency chief said. [Read more: SputnikNews/15December2014]

Finnish Intelligence: Most Who Leave to Join Isis Are Finns. The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) says that more than 50 people have left Finland to join the extremist group known as Islamic State or Isis, mostly in Syria. The security police estimate that two thirds of them are Finnish citizens. Supo says that the phenomenon peaked a year ago, but that there are no signs that the flow of individuals is drying up.

At a Finnish Defence Forces intelligence seminar in Helsinki on Thursday, Supo officials said the flow began two years ago and has led to a raised terrorism threat in Finland since last summer.

About 20 Isis members have returned to Finland, they said.

Although 6-8 of those who have left Finland have been killed, recruitment remains effective in this country, Supo asserts. Isis systematically invites foreigners to join its ranks via the internet. [Read more: Yle/12December2014]

Afghan Intelligence Arrests Alleged Islamic State Chief. The National Security Direction (Afghan Intelligence) today reported the arrest of a military chief of the Islamic State extremist group stationed in Iraq and Syria.

In a communique released in this capital, the intelligence service says that the detained is Qari Amandullah, also known as Qari Khalid.

According to reports, the arrest was made after a 15-minute shooting. Though it is believed that the extremist group does not operate in Afghanistan, it is suspected that teh extremist groups makes recruitments in this country, chiefly among university students.

Afghan authorities are concerned about the increase of extremist positions at educational centers influenced by the Islamic State. [Read more: PrensaLatina/15December2014]

Aussie Gunman Was Not on Terrorist Watch List, PM Says. The gunman who took 17 hostages in Sydney was not on a terrorist watch list despite being well known to federal police and the Australian security agency, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Tuesday.

The prime minister spoke as Australians laid mounds of flowers at the site in Sydney's central business district where 50-year-old Man Haron Monis held hostages for 16 hours at a popular cafe.

The siege ended early Tuesday with a barrage of gunfire that left two hostages and the Iranian-born gunman dead, and a nation that has long prided itself on its peace rocked to its core.

"If I can be candid with you the question we (are) asking (is), 'How can someone who has had such a long and checkered history not be on the appropriate watch lists, and how can someone like that be entirely at large in the community'," Abbott said at a news conference. [Read more: Lee/USAToday/16December2014]

Ex-CIA Officer, Miami-Dade PD Honored Posthumously. Gregg Wenzel, a former Miami-Dade assistant public defender and Florida Bar counsel who died while working as a clandestine CIA agent, is set to have a post office named after him.

Both houses of Congress passed a bill last week to rename the post office in Wenzel's hometown of Monroe, NY, the National Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency NCS Officer Gregg David Wenzel Memorial Post Office. The bill is awaiting President Barack Obama's signature.

"Called to serve his country following the horrific events of Sept. 11, Mr. Wenzel paid the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect the freedoms we all know and cherish," US Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, said in a statement. "He is an incredible local hero and a true American. Naming the Monroe Post Office after him would be a truly fitting tribute to his courage and allow his legacy to live on in an enduring way."

No one in Miami's legal community knew that Wenzel was a CIA agent until 2009, six years after he died in a car accident in Ethiopia at 33, although his best friend, Miami lawyer Brian Tannebaum, suspected it. [Read more: Kay/DailyBusinessReview/15December2014]

Majority of Americans Believe CIA's Harsh Interrogation Tactics Were Acceptable. A majority of Americans believe the harsh interrogation practices the Central Intelligence Agency used after the 9/11 terrorist attacks were acceptable under the circumstances, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

And a plurality say they'd be acceptable to use in the future to thwart potential terrorist threats.

In the poll, 51 percent say the interrogation practices used during the Bush Era were acceptable, while 28 percent say they went too far and were wrong.

In addition, 45 percent think they should be used in the future, versus 28 percent who disagree. [Read more: Murray/NBCNews/16December2014]

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

The UK Spying Agency Wants to Tell Kids How Great Encryption Is. Most of the time, when you hear about GCHQ, Britain's answer to the NSA, it's in the same sentence about mass surveillance or mobile phone hacking. But this time around, the Brit spies have made an app that teaches little kiddies how totally fantastic encryption is.

The "fun and educational" Android app teaches you about basic encryption techniques, and then lets you share them with your friends, who get to try and decode whatever you've hidden. Fun! But, also, painfully ironic. GCHQ has been at the heart of revelations of internet spying from the Snowden leaks, including reports that it hacked telecoms companies specifically to get access to citizens' encrypted communications.

The app is an attempt to cultivate the next generation of British cyber-spy by fostering an early interest in code-breaking, which seems laudable. Just don't try and use that encryption to actually, y'know, secure anything. Because then it's a dangerous tool of anti-government subversion. [Read more: Mills/Gizmodo/14December2014]

Steven Cohen Seeks Ex-FBI Agents to Join His Investment Firm. Steven A. Cohen beat them, and now he wants them to join him.

The billionaire investor, who managed to fend off a criminal insider trading investigation of himself, if not of his former hedge fund, is looking for a former prosecutor and several agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to join his new $10 billion investment firm, Point72 Asset Management, said several people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The prospective law enforcement hirings appear to be another chapter in Mr. Cohen's continuing effort to prove to federal authorities that his new firm will not tolerate the kind of aggressive behavior that led to eight people who once worked for his former hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors, to either plead guilty or be convicted of insider trading. SAC itself also pleaded guilty to securities fraud, paid $1.8 billion in fines to the federal government and agreed to stop managing money for outside investors - which is why Point72 is a family office that manages just his personal fortune.

Mr. Cohen's new firm has taken a number of steps to polish its image since SAC entered its guilty plea a year ago. Point72 is in the process of putting together an outside board of advisers to review its management practices. It has also signed a deal with Palantir Technologies, a software company that receives backing from the Central Intelligence Agency, to monitor trading. The firm has said it is now paying bonuses to employees who report unethical behavior. [Read more: Goldstein/NYTimes/15December2014]

Section III - COMMENTARY

Sen. Bob Kerrey: Partisan Torture Report Fails America. I regret having to write a piece that is critical of the Democratic members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Most of them are former colleagues and friends. I hope they will remain friends after reading this.

For eight years I served on this committee. I know how difficult and important the work of providing tough and fair oversight of our nation's $50 billion top-secret intelligence network.

I will wait until I have fully read and considered Tuesday's report to enter the debate over whether the CIA handled interrogation of detainees in an appropriate manner. Thanks to the 2005 and 2006 efforts of Senator John McCain I do not have to wait to be certain our interrogation policies and procedures are aligned with our core values.

I also do not have to wait to know we are fighting a war that is different than any in our country's past. The enemy does not have an easy to identify and analyze military. In the war against global jihadism, human intelligence and interrogation have become more important, and I worry that the partisan nature of this report could make this kind of collection more difficult. [Read more: Kerrey/USAToday/10December2014]

Another Intelligence Failure: David Ignatius. The Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's use of torture was immensely valuable. But it should have addressed Congress' own failure to oversee these activities more effectively. By giving lawmakers a pass, Sen. Dianne Feinstein weakened the very process of accountability her report was meant to enhance.

Feinstein was brave in resisting pressure to squelch her report, and she did the country a service. But with its thousands of pages, her investigation had one glaring weakness: self-examination.

A more honest report would have squarely faced the arguments made by former CIA officials that key members of Congress were informed about interrogation practices and, far from objecting, condoned the very activities we now judge to have been wrong.

"There's great hypocrisy in politicians' criticism of the CIA's interrogation program," wrote Jose Rodriguez, the CIA deputy director who oversaw it, in The Washington Post. That allegation deserves a serious response, rather than the stonewall it got from Feinstein. [Read more: Ignatius/WashingtonPost/13December2014]

What the US Can Learn From Europe About Dealing With Terrorists. This past summer, Colleen LaRose, known by her self-anointed handle �Jihad Jane', was sentenced to ten years in prison. That takes care of her but more than a decade into the "War on Terror" the question of how to deal with homegrown terrorists is still a work in progress in the US and while it's not something most Americans like to hear, Europe may have something to teach us on this score. 

LaRose's sentence was at least a decade short of what prosecutors had been angling for in a case that involved a plot to murder Swedish artist Lars Vilks for depicting the head of the Prophet Muhammad on the body of a dog.

The sentencing of LaRose might have drawn more attention had it not been drowned out by the summer's news concerning the rise of the latest brutal radical extremist group, the Islamic State. If anything, the two were connected, with the Islamic State and their emphasis on recruitment serving as a reminder that cases like LaRose's aren't going away any time soon. So it shouldn't come as a surprise the governments around the world are taking fresh looks at terrorist recruitment and exploring a variety of methods to meet the danger. One such method being pioneered by the Danish government counter-intuitively posits that finding and punishing every single Jihad Jane might be a fruitless effort. Instead, it concentrates on providing certain returning recruits with social assistance - therapy, help finding work, education - in an effort to address the circumstances that make people more likely to succumb to terrorist recruitment in the first place.

LaRose, now 50, was exposed to Jihadist philosophy the way anyone is introduced to anything in the 21st century - via the Internet. And although LaRose was brought into the terrorist fold years ago, her recruitment by Al Qaeda still serves as a sort of case study in how disaffected Americans are targeted and lured by Jihadi elements. On her way to becoming Jihadi Jane LaRose hit all the points on the Western terrorist recruit scorecard. She was a poor, abused, and dejected woman - a perfect fit for the profile of someone willing to go to violent extremes to find purpose, identity, and a semblance of agency over their lives. As Richard Barrett of the private intelligence agency Soufan Group wrote of recruits, "Presumably people are seeking a greater purpose and meaning in their lives." [Read more: Beauchamp/TheDailyBeast/15December2014]

What Is the Impact of the CIA Torture Report? The Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques has created a great deal of friction in the US intelligence community at a time when the country needs its services more than ever.

Regrettably, the report was not a bipartisan effort, which would have given it much more stature and credibility. Republican members of the committee had so many substantive problems with the inquiry at the outset that they walked away, giving Democrats an open runway to take it wherever they wished.

The CIA was left to carry its own water. Apparently some officials who oversaw the controversial program were not interviewed because of legal considerations. All of this undermined the objectivity of the report and has led to unprecedented friction between the CIA and the committee.

Most of the material in the report summary was already public, albeit not in as graphic or specific detail. So what is the value of the release? The American people already get it - namely, that in the aftermath of 9/11 the CIA engaged in authorized enhanced interrogation activities (some of which are viewed widely and critically as torture) with the approval of the Department of Justice and the White House. [Read more: Devine/Newsweek/16December2014]

And here, in a PDF, is a collection of letters and comments from our members: Winn, Morell, Morton, Luria, and others, about the Senate Select Intelligence Committee Report.

Section IV - Upcoming Events

AFIO EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN COMING TWO MONTHS....

18 December 2014, 11:30 am - 2 pm - San Francisco, CA - AFIO San Francisco Chapter hosts Russell Berman, Sr Fellow Hoover Institution, on "Freedom or Terror: Europe Faces Jihad"

The AFIO James Quesada Chapter hosts Russell A. Berman, Senior Fellow at Hoover Institution, a member of the working group on Islamism and the International Order and author of Freedom or Terror: Europe Faces Jihad and Anti-Americanism in Europe: A Cultural Problem. 11:30AM no host cocktails; meeting starts at noon. United Irish Cultural Center, 2700 45th Avenue, SF (between Sloat/Wawona). RSVP required by 12/1/14 to Mariko Kawaguchi: e-mail afiosf@aol.com and mail check made out to "AFIO" to: Mariko Kawaguchi, P.O. Box 117578, Burlingame, CA 94011. Members and students: $25; non-member guests $35 (must be accompanied by member).

Friday, 16 January 2015, 4:30 pm - Washington, DC - "How to Prepare for a Foreign Intelligence Post: Preventing Mirror-Imaging" - a talk by James R. Hughes, President of AFIO National, at the Institute of World Politics

You are cordially invited to a lecture on the topic of "How to Prepare for a Foreign Intelligence Post: Preventing Mirror-Imaging" with James R. Hughes, incoming AFIO President, (his term begins January 2015)
James R. HUGHES is beginning his service as AFIO�s 17th President in January 2015. He had a career of US Government service, spanning 37 years in numerous foreign countries with a particular focus in the Middle East. He started in U.S. Military Intelligence in the late 1960s and then joined the CIA�s Clandestine Service. He served overseas as a Chief of Station several times, and at CIA Headquarters in a number of senior management positions, including as Chief of the Near East and South Asia Division, in the Directorate of Operations [today�s National Clandestine Service]. He was also named the Associate Deputy Director of Operations (ADDO) at the National Security Agency, 1998-99.
Following his retirement from the government in 2005, he joined EDS in Herndon, Virginia, as the Client Industry Executive for the U.S. Intelligence Community. After the HP acquisition of EDS, he continued to serve in a similar capacity until his retirement in 2012.
His parents were missionaries in Turkey in the 1950s, where Jim spent his formative years. He attended the prep schools of two of the most famous missionary-founded universities in the Middle East: Robert College in Istanbul and the American University-Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon. He is fluent in Arabic, and has extensive knowledge of, and appreciation for, the arts, geography, culture, and religions of that region.
He has been an AFIO member since 2005 and joined the board in 2009.
RSVP mandatory � Business attire � VIP reception to follow
This event is sponsored by IWP�s Office of Professional Affiliations and the Student Government Association.
Event location: The Institute of World Politics, 1521 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036.
For Parking, consult this map.
RSVP: Contact sdwyer@iwp.edu with any questions.

Friday, 30 January 2015 - Tysons Corner, VA - AFIO National's first luncheon of 2015 starts with the new Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) -- Robert T. Cardillo -- and Former Station Chief Islamabad/CIA CT Center Director Robert L. Grenier

Cardillo will discuss the expanded mission of NGA from Ebola relief activities to providing tools, advanced tech, sophisticated techniques, and specialized expertise to policymakers, warfighters, intelligence analysts, and first responders. Morning speaker: Former Station Chief Islamabad, and CIA Counterterrorism Center Director Robert L. Grenier discusses dealing with warlords, Taliban dissidents, and Pakistani Intelligence in front of him... while facing equally lethal challenges behind his own lines. Hear more about his 88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary being released the week of this event.
Timing: Check-in for badge pickup at 10:30 a.m.; Grenier begins presentation at 11 a.m.; Lunch served at noon; NGA Director Cardillo begins his presentation at 1:05 pm. Event closes at 2 p.m.
Morning and Afternoon programs are On The Record.
The latest intelligence books, and many others, on display and for sale throughout event.

EVENT LOCATION: The Crowne Plaza, 1960 Chain Bridge Rd, Tysons Corner, VA Driving directions here or use this link: http://tinyurl.com/boey9vf

Saturday, 7 February 2015, 11:30 am - Melbourne, FL - The Florida Satellite Chapter AFIO hears Gene Poteat, AFIO President-Emeritus, on “The Unusual and Amusing Experiences I’ve Encountered in My CIA Career.”

Immediate Past President S. Eugene Poteat will discuss “The Unusual and Amusing Experiences I’ve Encountered in My CIA Career.” All who know him know that Gene has a keen sense of both the unusual and the amusing, and his presentation promises to be both entertaining and informative. In addition, this meeting will mark both the retirement of Chapter president Bobbie (aka Barbara) Keith and the inauguration of new FSC Chapter president. For information and reservations, contact Barbara Keith at bobbie6769@juno.com or call 321.777.5561. Event location: Indian River Colony Club At Ease Club.

Other Upcoming Events

Saturday, 20 December 2014, 1-4pm - Washington DC - Book signing with Joe Goldberg, former CIA and author of Secret Wars: An Espionage Story.

Joe Goldberg, author of Secret Wars: An Espionage Story spent eight years working for CIA engaged in covert action as well as information collection and analysis. During his tenure he earned a Meritorious Unit Citation and three Performance Awards. A recipient of numerous prestigious awards over his thirty years of working in intelligence, Goldberg is a published author including his newest, Secret Wars: An Espionage Story and frequent speaker on intelligence subjects.
Secret Wars: An Espionage Story provides the long history of the CIA�s global fight against terrorism, the weapons have remained the same: the use of force and covert action. When terrorists funded by the Libyan government strike airports in Rome and Vienna in 1985, the CIA enlists top propaganda expert Mike Garnett to help recruit a high-ranking Libyan official, Foreign Minister Abdallah Mukhtar, to work for the CIA. As violence escalates between the US military and terrorists based in Libya, Garnett utilizes CIA assets in Hollywood to produce a propaganda video designed to convince Mukhtar he was betrayed by his own regime. Garnett�s plan works―but goes sideways when it motivates the Libyan official to do something Garnett didn�t even consider. Insightful, Secret Wars: An Espionage Story is a tale of deception, betrayal, and patriotism―and Garnett soon learns they�re not as black and white as they seem when he�s forced to reevaluate the true nature of the business of deception.
Tickets: Free! No registration required. Visit www.spymuseum.org

Wednesday, 07 January 2015, 12:00pm-7:00pm - Washington DC. - "Iran-Contra: Reagan�s Scandal and the Unchecked Abuse of Presidential Power" claims author Malcolm Byrne at International Spy Museum

Through exhaustive use of declassified documents, previously unavailable investigative materials, and wide-ranging interviews, Malcolm Byrne explores what made the Iran-Contra scandal possible and meticulously relates how it unfolded―including clarifying minor myths about cakes, keys, bibles, diversion memos, and shredding parties. Byrne, the Deputy Director and Research Director at the National Security Archive, demonstrates that the affair could not have occurred without awareness and approval at the top levels of the US government. He reveals an unmistakable pattern of dubious behavior―including potentially illegal conduct by the president, vice president, the secretaries of state and defense, the CIA director and others―that formed the true core of the scandal.
Tickets: Free! No registration required. Visitwww.spymuseum.org

8 January 2015 - Washington, DC - The Returned Services League/Australia hosts Cal Carnes, Ret. CI officer, talking about "The Insider Threat."

The Returned & Services League of Australia, Washington Sub-Branch, hosts Calland Carnes speaking on "The Insider Threat. "
Event location: Amenities Room, Embassy of Australia, 1601 Massachusetts Ave NW., Washington, DC 20036.
Charge - $15.00, including buffet lunch and sodas. Alcoholic beverages- $2.00 each. Attire: Business casual
RSVP by noon on January 7, 2015 to David Ward at 202-352-8550 or via e-mail to dmward1973@gmail.com
NOTE: Valid photo ID required
Parking: While there is no parking at the Embassy, paid off street parking is available behind and under the Airline Pilots Association- 17th and Mass, and at 15th and Mass (1240 15th street). On street two hour metered parking is also available.

Wednesday, 14 January 2015, noon - Washington DC - Global Terrorism, Espionage and Cybersecurity Monthly Update

Join David Major, retired FBI agent and former Director of Counterintelligence, Intelligence and Security Programs, for a briefing on the hottest intelligence and security issues, breaches, and penetrations. Presented in partnership with The Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies (CI Centre), these updates will cover worldwide events such as breaking espionage cases and arrest reports, cyber espionage incidents, and terrorist activity. Find out Snowden�s current status and what could happen next with this case. Major uses his expertise to analyze trends and highlight emerging issues of interest to both intelligence and national security professionals and the public. Cases are drawn from the CI Centre�s SPYPEDIA�, the most comprehensive source of espionage information in the world, containing events and information that may not be reported by mainstream media outlets. Major will also highlight and review the latest books and reports to keep you current on what is hitting think tank desks.
Tickets: Free! No registration required. Visit www.spymuseum.org

Thursday, 15 January, 2015, 3 - 5 pm - Washington, DC - "The Marshall Plan for the Mind; The CIA Covert Book Program During the Cold War" at the Woodrow Wilson Center

The CIA Historical Programs Coordinator in cooperation with the Cold War International History Project of the Woodrow Wilson Center invites AFIO members to hear a panel of experts to discuss the origins, operation, and impact of the CIA’s Cold War “book program.”
The information monopoly of Communist regimes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was weakened by a covert CIA program to send books and other printed material behind the Iron Curtain.  The “book program” arranged for publication in the West of the first Russian-language edition of Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago. It distributed a wide range of Western literature, much non-political, to Soviet and East European elites --  both those identified with the regimes and dissidents -- who were cut off from the intellectual and cultural life of the West. The book program aimed to keep a critical mass of intellectuals in Soviet bloc countries informed about the values and culture of the free world.   Books and periodicals were mailed to Eastern Europe under the cover of various sponsoring organizations, including publishing houses and universities. They were smuggled in by travelers.  Between 1958 and 1991, some 10 million books and periodicals were distributed to East European and Soviet citizens.

Event Location: 5th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center, Directions to the Wilson Center

Download this event to your calendar: iCal, Google, Outlook, or Email Event.
Meetings listed at the Wilson Center are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. This meeting takes place at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC. See map and directions. Allow time for routine security procedures. A photo ID is required for entry. To confirm time and place, contact Maria-Stella Gatzoulis on the day of the event: tel. (202) 691-4188. Check this page for the latest updates and notices.

Wednesday, 11 February 2014, 8:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M - Washington, DC - The Journal of National Security Law & Policy Annual Symposium

Hold the date! Conference theme: Trials and Terrorism: The Implications of Trying National Security Cases in Article III Courts.
The symposium will feature the following three panels:
Panel 1, “Terror Suspects: Pretrial Considerations in Civilian Terrorism Investigations,” will provide an overview of international terrorism cases from investigation to indictment.
Panel 2, “Courtroom Challenges: The Evidentiary and Trial Management Issues that Arise During Terrorism Trials” will focus on the evidentiary and procedural challenges that arise during the trial of defendants charged with terrorism offenses and the implications these potential precedents could set.
Panel 3, “Convicted Terrorists: Sentencing Considerations and Their Implications on Foreign and Domestic Policy,” will focus on the factors that impact the sentencing phase of terrorism trials.
Location: Georgetown University Law School, Washington, DC
REGISTRATION: Will be available at http://jnslp.com/symposium/ in early 2015.

To attend click here and then submit the form on the page that opens, or email events@cato.org, fax (202) 371-0841, or call (202) 789-5229 by 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 11, 2014.

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