AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #07-15 dated 17 February 2015

[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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CONTENTS

Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

Section III - COMMENTARY

Section IV -  Books and Upcoming Events

Books

Upcoming AFIO Events

Other Upcoming Events

For Additional AFIO and other Events two+ months or more... Calendar of Events 

WIN CREDITS FOR THIS ISSUE: The WIN editors thank the following special contributors:  pjk and fwr.  They have contributed one or more stories used in this issue.

  

NCMF 2015 Spring Cryptologic Program

Wednesday, March 4, 2015 10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Add to My Calendar

Location: L-3 Communications at 2720 Technology Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701 Description: The NCMF is pleased to welcome Phil Thompson, Col, USAF (Ret), for the Foundation's 2015 Spring Cryptologic Program. You will not want to miss this exciting program which promises new information and humorous anecdotes.

Col. Thompson will speak about his intelligence experiences as an attaché in Poland and the challenges of overcoming conventional wisdom, preconceived notions, and an aversion to studying maps of Soviet installations. The title of his presentation is "Little Things Matter: What Our Eyes Won't See and Our Ears Won't Hear."

Col. Thompson is a retired Air Force Signals Intelligence Officer who served as the Air and Defense Attaché in Poland during the era of Solidarity and the imposition of martial law in the early 1980s. His career included assignments in Pakistan, Vietnam, Germany, Greece, and Poland, as well as tours with the National Security Agency and the Pentagon. He also served on the faculty of the US Army War College where he taught courses in national security strategy, the theory of war and strategic leadership with a special focus on Generals Ulysses S. Grant and George C. Marshall.

For further insight into the program: recommended reading is The Priest Who Had to Die by John Moody and Roger Boyes and A Secret Life by Ben Weiser. Both books are interesting reads on the cold-war era in Poland during the early 1980s and copies will be available for sale at the program.

Registration Details: Registration for the event includes lunch which will be served from 1200-1300. Register here online or mail your registration fee of $20 (NCMF Members) or $50 (Guests, includes a one-year NCMF basic membership) to the NCMF office at P.O. Box 1682 Fort George G. Meade, Maryland 20755-9998.

*** Registration will close on 26 February.***

Summer conference in Ireland. AFIO Members are invited to....

12 - 15 July 2015 - Ireland - Mercyhurst University's Global Intelligence Forum 2015 on "Intelligence-Informed Decision-Making to Build a More Secure Future"

The Theme: Intelligence-Informed Decision-Making to Build a More Secure Future
The Global Intelligence Forum continues down the path of intelligence innovation and discovery first begun in July 2010 with our exploration of the nature of analysis and its application in various intelligence professions. In 2011 and 2013, the discussion centered on the interaction between the intelligence analyst/practitioner and the decision-maker. In July 2015, we continue to build bridges between decision-makers, practitioners and scholars in the fields of cyber security, geospatial intelligence, and data analytics. Best practice panels and speakers will also explore anticipatory analytics, and the wicked problem approach to intelligence challenges. Additionally, the Forum will provide a breakout session for Higher Education leaders to discuss the application of intelligence practices to higher education decision-making. We will bring best practices in 21st century intelligence and data management to the examination of what leaders in the public and private sectors require to make more effective decisions.
Speakers:
Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan, Commissioner of the Garda, Ireland's National Police Service
Lewis C. Merletti, Former Director, U.S. Secret Service (Keynote Speaker)
The Honorable Howard Schmidt, Partner at Ridge - Schmidt Cyber (Keynote Speaker)
Ian McCulloh, Sr., Scientist in the Asymmetric Operations Dept of the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab
Abe Usher, Chief Technology Officer, HumanGeo Group
More about these and other speakers is available here.
To register, do so here.
Mailing address: Tom Ridge School of Intelligence Studies and Information Science, Mercyhurst University, 501 East 38th St, Erie, PA 16546-0002

AFIO

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Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

France Will Stay on High Alert After Copenhagen Attacks: PM. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday the threat of militant attacks in the country remained "particularly high" and that exceptional security measures would stay in place as long as needed after attacks in Copenhagen.

France has deployed some 10,000 military personnel to protect public sites and announced thousands of new hires in intelligence after 17 people were killed in a series of attacks by Islamist gunmen in January.

Valls said two attacks at the weekend in Copenhagen, which targeted a synagogue and a free-speech event involving an artist who had caricatured Mohammad, underscored the need for prolonged action against what he called "Islamo-fascism".

"We will prolong these measures as long as necessary, as long as the threat remains so high," Valls told RTL radio, describing a security plan involving deployment of troops and police in public places and near sensitive sites. [Read more: Reuters/16February2015]

LDP Examines Establishing Intelligence Agency Like CIA. In response to a recent crisis in which two Japanese nationals were abducted and killed by the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a Liberal Democratic Party project team examining intelligence and security issues will soon start discussions on strengthening the government's information-gathering capabilities, sources said.

Chaired by House of Representatives' lawmaker Takeshi Iwaya, the team will also discuss the pros and cons of setting up an independent intelligence organization such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States and Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (often known as MI6), according to the sources.

The team is set to explore comprehensive measures to bolster the current system, in addition to the establishment of an intelligence agency. It plans to hold hearings with experts on the US and British organizations, as well as to learn firsthand about the British model in the summer. The team aims to compile a proposal by autumn, the sources said.

Japan does not have an independent entity dedicated to intelligence, mainly due to strong public aversion. [Read more: TheJapanNews/12February2015]

Turkish Intelligence Agency to Screen Telecommunications Hirees. Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications L�tfi Elvan announced that Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MİT) will now be screening personnel hired by private telecommunications firms according to media reports.

"The government will be taking some precautions regarding Turkcell, Avea, Vodafone and Turk Telekom," said Elvan, adding that anyone to work at GSM operators would be subject to approval by MİT and relevant security agencies. Elvan cited the December 2013 wiretaps that had exposed alleged government corruption as justification for this decision.

Critics are concerned that this degree of intrustion into GSM personnel would give MİT the opportunity to monitor the conversations of anyone with a cell phone in Turkey. [Read more: BGNNews/13February2015]

Pakistan Likely Knew of Osama bin Laden's Presence, Admits Former Spy Chief. Ever since the discovery and death of Osama bin Laden in a leafy town not far from Islamabad in May 2011, it's been an open secret that some element within the Pakistani state must have played a role in giving the world's most wanted terrorist safe haven.

But for years, Pakistan's government and its military have publicly denied any connection with harboring bin Laden. The US raid on the al-Qaeda leader's compound was treated as a surprise and a humiliation. A 2013 report by the Abbottabad Commission, an official government inquiry into the events surrounding bin Laden's capture, charged Pakistan's civilian and military establishment with "gross incompetence" that led to "collective failures." But it said little directly about collusion.

That narrative is starting to change. In an interview with Al Jazeera scheduled to air in April, a retired Pakistani spy chief admitted that it was "probable" Pakistan's notorious military intelligence agency, known as the ISI, knew of bin Laden's location. Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani, who headed the ISI in the early 1990s, was speaking to Al Jazeera's Mehdi Hassan, host of its Head to Head program.

Here's part of Durrani's response to a question posed by Hassan, asking the former ISI chief how it was possible that the agency could have had no knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts. [Read more: Thatroor/WashingtonPost/11February2015]

Norway Intelligence Service Warns against Increasing Right-wing Extremism. The Norwegian branch of the right-wing extremist group North Front has increased its propaganda and attempted to recruit more people. The group has offices in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, writes NRK.

Operations in Norway is increasing closely connected with the recent developments in Sweden, according to the Police Security Service, PST.

There is reason to believe that there will be increased activity among extreme right groups in 2015. There are connections among extreme right groups in Northern Europe, says chief of PST, Benedicte Bj�rnland.

The Swedish branch of the North Front, known as Motst�ndsr�rslene is larger than the Norwegian branch and chaired by a convicted murderer neo-Nazi. [Read more: TheNordicPage/12February2015]

CIA Is Said to Have Bought and Destroyed Iraqi Chemical Weapons. The Central Intelligence Agency, working with American troops during the occupation of Iraq, repeatedly purchased nerve-agent rockets from a secretive Iraqi seller, part of a previously undisclosed effort to ensure that old chemical weapons remaining in Iraq did not fall into the hands of terrorists or militant groups, according to current and former American officials.

The extraordinary arms purchase plan, known as Operation Avarice, began in 2005 and continued into 2006, and the American military deemed it a nonproliferation success. It led to the United States' acquiring and destroying at least 400 Borak rockets, one of the internationally condemned chemical weapons that Saddam Hussein's Baathist government manufactured in the 1980s but that were not accounted for by United Nations inspections mandated after the 1991 Persian Gulf war.

The effort was run out of the CIA station in Baghdad in collaboration with the Army's 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion and teams of chemical-defense and explosive ordnance disposal troops, officials and veterans of the units said. Many rockets were in poor condition and some were empty or held a nonlethal liquid, the officials said. But others contained the nerve agent sarin, which analysis showed to be purer than the intelligence community had expected given the age of the stock.

A New York Times investigation published in October found that the military had recovered thousands of old chemical warheads and shells in Iraq and that Americans and Iraqis had been wounded by them, but the government kept much of this information secret, from the public and troops alike. [Read more: Chivers&Schmitt/NewYorkTimes/15February2015]

Libyan HoR Removes Intelligence Chief Salem Al-Hassi. The House of Representatives (HoR) announced yesterday that it had removed the head of the intelligence service Salam Al-Hassi from his post.

There are conflicting reports as to whether a replacement had been appointed or not. Some media reports reported HoR spokesperson as saying a replacement had been appointed, without naming him.

The HoR Media Department on its Facebook page, however, reported that Hassi's replacement will be elected at a later time by HoR members. The choice will be made from a list of those who put forward their names for the job. It reported that 48 out of 66 members voted to remove Al-Hassi at yesterday's session.

The reasons given for Hassi's removal were the murder of the 21 Egyptian workers by IS extremists in the city of Sirte, media sources reported. [Read more: LibyaHerald/17February2015]

Australian Spies Sent Into Iraq for ISIS Fight. The Australian overseas spy agency has dramatically increased its footprint across the Middle East, reopening its defunct Iraq station and increasing the number of officers in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

The move by the Australian Secret Intelligence Service is part of a historic new "pivot" to the Middle East by intelligence and police agencies in an effort to meet the threat posed by Islamic State and its army of foreign fighters, many of whom are Australian.

As the terrorist group's campaign has spilled from Syria into Iraq, the Australian Federal Police, ASIO and ASIS have responded by increasing the number of liaison officers they have stationed in key countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, considered the best regional source of intelligence on Syria.

Last year, the AFP stationed a liaison officer in Turkey, the gateway to the Syrian battlefield, and boosted its presence in Lebanon and Jordan. [Read more: Maley&Stewart/TheAustralian/19February2015]

New Senate Panel Chairman Overhauls Intelligence Hearings. While change can be slow on Capitol Hill, the new Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is already overhauling how public hearings into some of the nation's most sensitive matters are handled.

Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina will begin this process Thursday with the committee's first public hearing, inviting the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Nicolas Rasmussen to testify on the current US threat picture. Also known as the NCTC, the group was created after 9/11 to be the nation's hub for threat assessments.

Previous committee chairs relied on the highly anticipated "world wide threat hearing" once a year to bring together the US government's most senior intelligence officials. It also was the only opportunity for the public to hear from the intelligence community's decision makers.

Burr, who served five terms in the House and is now in his second term in the Senate, plans to hold a public hearing quarterly with a major intelligence community newsmaker. [Read more: Herrige/FoxNews/11February2015]

Former Turkish Intelligence Chief Found Dead in Romania. The former head of a Turkish espionage agency was recently found dead in Romania. He is believed to have killed himself, according to the Daily Sabah.

Eser Şahan, 66, a retired colonel, former head of the intelligence agency of the Turkish naval force, was found dead on a bench in a Bucharest park, with a gun next to him. Local authorities have not revealed any information about the cause of death.

Şahan has allegedly been living in Romania for the last 10 years. Three years ago, he asked for political asylum in Romania. [RomaniaInsider/15February2015]

US Army to Provide Equipment, Intelligence to Fight Boko Haram. The US military will share communications equipment and intelligence with African allies to assist them in the fight against Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, the commander of US Special Forces operations in Africa said.

West African military commanders have long complained that cross-border operations against Islamist groups, from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Mali to Boko Haram in Nigeria, have been obstructed by lack of compatible communications equipment, making it hard to swap information and coordinate.

Major General James Linder said that, as part of the annual US-sponsored "Flintlock" counter-terrorism exercises this year in Chad, the United States would introduce technology allowing African partners to communicate between cellphones, radios and computers.

The RIOS system would allow soldiers in the field to transmit photos from a remote location in the Sahel immediately to a central command room and can also precisely pin-point the coordinates of personnel, a US military official said. [Read more: Flynn/Reuters/17February2015]

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

A Guide to the Not-So-Secret Spy Palaces of the World. Where do spies meet when they plan their secret missions? Often, they gather in buildings that look like giant fortresses that are anything but covert. Here are some of the most incredible spy palaces from around the world. At least - these are the ones we know about. [Read more: Nagy/Gizmodo/10February2015]

Vladimir Putin: 17 Things You Didn't Know About Russia's President. If you think Russian President Vladimir Putin is nothing more than a ruthless thug who relishes political power and personal preening on the world's stage - he's got you right where he wants you. 

"The ruthless part is quite real, but there is so much more to the truth," said Marin Katusa, author of the new book The Colder War: How the Energy Trade Slipped from America's Grasp. 

"Putin is not a regular politician like we are used to in the West," said Katusa, who has long studied Russian politics and Putin. "The narrative of, �Make change, try your best, leave office, write a memoir, get paid for speeches' is of no interest to Putin. He believes his mission is to steer Russia toward its past glory as a global superpower." 

It's why Americans who view this complicated world leader through a simplified lens do so at their peril, said Katusa. "Putin is less of an ogre [than we think] but far more dangerous than politicians and the media would lead you to believe." 

Here are some other things most people don't know about Putin: [Read more: Mackey/TheFiscalTimes/9February2015]

Live and Let Die: Canada's Spies Seek Their Own Cemetery in Ottawa. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service wants to create a national burial site for its employees at Ottawa's Beechwood Cemetery.

The intelligence service and a society representing many former spies have approached Beechwood about reserving part of the venerable resting place for CSIS members and their families.

The cemetery, a short drive east of Parliament Hill, already has dedicated sections for the RCMP, National Defence and Ottawa police.

These areas are "an impressive and touching tribute to the service and sacrifices of Canada's men and women in uniform," CSIS director Michel Coulombe said in a letter to James Patterson, Beechwood's director of family services. [Read more: Bronskill/TheGlobe&Mail/17February2015]

Inside Ole Miss' Intelligence and Security Studies Minor. There is a vast array of major and minors at the University of Mississippi. While of the most popular are English, business and theatre, it's one you may not hear very often that is one of the most critical, Intelligence and Security Studies.

The ISS program is internationally certified by the International Association for Intelligence Education, an organization that boasts an intense set of 32 certification requirements. A part of the UM School of Applied Sciences, the ISS's goal is to train students for careers in intelligence analysis and provide educational and scholarly resources to the national intelligence community, and to prepare students for entry-level positions in the United States Intelligence Community.

Unlike most minors, there is a very unique process to get into the program. Students must apply for the minor and undergo a rigorous selection process. If the students are accepted, they must keep a minimum of a 3.0 GPA, finish the six courses, and complete an intelligence analysis internship. [Read more: HotToddy/15February2015]

Section III - COMMENTARY

What ISIS Really Wants. What is the Islamic State? Where did it come from, and what are its intentions? The simplicity of these questions can be deceiving, and few Western leaders seem to know the answers. In December, The New York Times published confidential comments by Major General Michael K. Nagata, the Special Operations commander for the United States in the Middle East, admitting that he had hardly begun figuring out the Islamic State's appeal. "We have not defeated the idea," he said. "We do not even understand the idea." In the past year, President Obama has referred to the Islamic State, variously, as "not Islamic" and as al-Qaeda's "jayvee team," statements that reflected confusion about the group, and may have contributed to significant strategic errors.

The group seized Mosul, Iraq, last June, and already rules an area larger than the United Kingdom. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been its leader since May 2010, but until last summer, his most recent known appearance on film was a grainy mug shot from a stay in US captivity at Camp Bucca during the occupation of Iraq. Then, on July 5 of last year, he stepped into the pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, to deliver a Ramadan sermon as the first caliph in generations - upgrading his resolution from grainy to high-definition, and his position from hunted guerrilla to commander of all Muslims. The inflow of jihadists that followed, from around the world, was unprecedented in its pace and volume, and is continuing.

Our ignorance of the Islamic State is in some ways understandable: It is a hermit kingdom; few have gone there and returned. Baghdadi has spoken on camera only once. But his address, and the Islamic State's countless other propaganda videos and encyclicals, are online, and the caliphate's supporters have toiled mightily to make their project knowable. We can gather that their state rejects peace as a matter of principle; that it hungers for genocide; that its religious views make it constitutionally incapable of certain types of change, even if that change might ensure its survival; and that it considers itself a harbinger of - and headline player in - the imminent end of the world.

The Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), follows a distinctive variety of Islam whose beliefs about the path to the Day of Judgment matter to its strategy, and can help the West know its enemy and predict its behavior. [Read more: Wood/TheAtlantic/March2015]

CTIIC to Be a Useful Agency: Issues addressed by Former Intelligence Community Technology Leaders. Cybersecurity is one of the most important issues facing organizations today. It is so important that President Obama addressed it on 20 January during his State of the Union address. The President talked about the urgent need to ensure that "no foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids." He then went on to add: "We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism."

Currently, there are many elements across Government dealing with cyber security and information sharing, but up to this point there has been very little integrated intelligence on cyber threats compared to integrated counterterrorism information. Cognitio noted at the time of the State of the Union that President Obama was making overtures of changes to come.

On 10 February, the White House announced that a new Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center (CTIIC) would be stood up in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, mirroring the efforts for counterterrorism information sharing. CTIIC will be responsible "for producing coordinated cyber threat assessments, ensuring that information is shared rapidly among existing cyber-centers and other elements within our government, and supporting the work of operators and policy makers with timely intelligence about the latest cyber threats and threat actors."

Cognitio surveyed our senior staff and advisors, comprised of former Intelligence Community executives and cyber security practitioners, to provide a pulse check on the most significant issues around the standup of the CTIIC. Cognitio has outlined what we believe are the top issues for Congress, the CTIIC Standup Team, and Industry that will need to be addressed in order for the CTIIC to be a useful agency. [Read more: Southmayd/CTOVision/13February2015]

Section IV - Books and Upcoming Events

Books

How Monopoly Helped Win World War II. In her book The Monopolists, Mary Pilon explores the secret origins of the game Monopoly, which begin with Lizzie Magie, a forgotten feminist who patented her Landlord's Game in 1904 - not, as many think, a man during the Great Depression.

By World War II, Monopoly was a blockbuster, with Magie already largely written out of the narrative. The game's legend only grew, as did stories of what role it played during the war. In this excerpt, we learn how the game intersected with prisoners of war. [Read more: Pilon/DeadSpin/18February2015]

AFIO EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN COMING TWO MONTHS....

5 March 2015 - San Francisco, CA - The AFIO Andre LeGallo Chapter hosts Lt. Col. Enrique Oti, National Security Affairs Fellow, Hoover Institution. Topic: "Chinese Threats to the Internet - It is Not Just Hacking." The briefing will cover Chinese hacker methodologies and will dive deeply into Chinese vision for the future of cyberspace and the threats to the United States that this entails. Four unique Chinese cyber strategies (domestic development, international environment, domestic security and war) will be discussed.

11:30AM no host cocktails; meeting starts at noon. United Irish Cultural Center, 2700 45th Avenue, SF (between Sloat/Wawona). E-mail RSVP to Mariko Kawaguchi at afiosf@aol.com and you will be sent an Eventbrite link to reigster. Alternately, mail a check made out to "AFIO" to: Mariko Kawaguchi, P.O. Box 117578, Burlingame, CA 94011. Members and students: $25; non-members $35. $35 at the door. RSVP is required for this meeting.

Thursday, 19 March 2015, 11:30 am - Colorado Springs, CO – The Rocky Mountain Chapter presents Col. T. Small, Special Operations Command North.

The presentation is about Turkey, the Region and Current Conflicts. To be held at The Monument Hill Country Club, 18945 Pebble Beach Way, Monument, CO 80132. Please RSVP to Tom VanWormer at robsmom@pcisys.net Directions are here.

19 March 2015, 12.30-2pm - Los Angeles, CA - AFIO-LA Chapter Meets to discuss spy "Christopher Marlowe" with Francis Hamit

Francis Hamit will be discussing "Christopher Marlowe" an upcoming film about the poet, playwright and spy who helped to defeat the Spanish Armada. The spy thriller is based on the 1988 stage play about Christopher Marlowe's service as a secret agent for the Crowne. The film will be shot in the UK later this year and Francis Hamit will serve as the Executive Producer. More about that movie can be seen here.
Location: LAPD-ARTC, 5651 W Manchester Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Francis Hamit served in the US Army Security Agency during the Vietnam War. Francis Hamit discovered this story when he worked for the Encylopaedia Britannica and wrote a number articles about intelligence organizations and personalities, he has written several historical fiction spy thrillers and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and a member of AFIO since 1987.
RSVP via email AFIO_LA@yahoo.com

Other Upcoming Events

Friday, 20 February 2015, 1:00pm - 4:00pm - Washington DC - Meet A Spy: Sandy Grimes at the International Spy Museum

Join us at the International Spy Museum Store and “Meet A Spy” – uncover the world of espionage and intelligence from people who practiced professionally. Sandy Grimes is a longtime veteran of the CIA’s clandestine service who—along with her co-worker Jeanne Vertefeuille—helped capture Aldrich Ames, the infamous CIA officer turned traitor. Meet Sandy Friday, February 20.
Tickets: Free! No registration required. Visit www.spymuseum.org

Saturday, 21 February 2015, 1 - 4pm - Washington DC - Meet A Spy: Melissa Mahle, at the International Spy Museum

Join us at the International Spy Museum Store and “Meet A Spy” – uncover the world of espionage and intelligence from people who practiced professionally. Melissa Mahle is a former US intelligence officer and 16-year covert operative for the CIA in the Middle East. Meet Melissa Saturday, February 21.

Tickets: Free! No registration required. Visit www.spymuseum.org

Wednesday, 25 February 2015, 6:30pm-8:45pm - Washington DC - "The Role of African Americans in Intelligence Operations" at the International Spy Museum

In the history of intelligence, African American contributions have too often been unknown, overlooked, and understated. To provide a more complete and accurate account, Connie Huff, a retired US Army counterintelligence special agent and instructor, will focus not only on key events, but also on the implications of race and gender in espionage. She’ll also discuss spies on the personal level: their motivations, risk taking, sacrifices, contributions, accomplishments—and betrayals. This survey begins with the Revolutionary War Era; and includes the organizers of the Underground Railroad, who used intelligence tradecraft and collection techniques without benefit of training or mentoring; the Civil War era slaves and free blacks who took initiative at great personal risk to provide information they observed or heard in the course of their work tasks; the daring 20th century spies, double agents, and in some cases traitors to America; and individuals who are part of the intelligence community today.
Tickets: $12. Register at www.spymuseum.org

Wednesday, 4 March 2015, 10 am - 1 pm - Annapolis Junction, MD - National Cryptologic Museum Foundation [NCMF] 2015 Spring Cryptologic Program featured Col. Phil Thompson, USAF(R) on "Little Things Matter: What Our Eyes Won't See and Our Ears Won't Hear."

The NCMF is pleased to welcome Phil Thompson, Col, USAF (Ret), for the Foundation's 2015 Spring Cryptologic Program. You will not want to miss this exciting program which promises new information and humorous anecdotes. Col. Thompson will speak about his intelligence experiences as an attaché in Poland and the challenges of overcoming conventional wisdom, preconceived notions, and an aversion to studying maps of Soviet installations. The title of his presentation is "Little Things Matter: What Our Eyes Won't See and Our Ears Won't Hear."
Col. Thompson is a retired Air Force Signals Intelligence Officer who served as the Air and Defense Attaché in Poland during the era of Solidarity and the imposition of martial law in the early 1980s. His career included assignments in Pakistan, Vietnam, Germany, Greece, and Poland, as well as tours with the National Security Agency and the Pentagon. He also served on the faculty of the US Army War College where he taught courses in national security strategy, the theory of war and strategic leadership with a special focus on Generals Ulysses S. Grant and George C. Marshall.
For further insight into the program: recommended reading is The Priest Who Had to Die by John Moody and Roger Boyes and A Secret Life by Ben Weiser. Both books are interesting reads on the cold-war era in Poland during the early 1980s and copies will be available for sale at the program.
Registration Details: Registration for the event includes lunch which will be served from noon-1 pm. Register here online or mail your registration fee of $20 (NCMF Members) or $50 (Guests, includes a one-year NCMF basic membership) to the NCMF office at PO Box 1682, Fort George G. Meade, MD 20755-9998. ***Registration will close on 26 February.***
Event Location: L-3 Communications at 2720 Technology Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701

Tues-Wed, 24-25 March 2015 - Washington, DC - International Conference on Exercises, Gaming, and Simulations for Intelligence and National Security, Communication, Culture & Technology Program (CCTP)

Dates and times: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 8:30 AM - Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 7:00 PM (EDT)
This international conference, between the Center for Intelligence Services and Democratic Systems at Rey Juan Carlos University and the School of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University will enhance the role of experiential learning methods and techniques showcasing original simulations, exercises, and games applied to national security intelligence, competitive intelligence, and foreign affairs. The conference will bring together ideas, concepts and demonstrations that can further train and educate military, law enforcement, and national security professionals.
A sample of conference topics include:  Scenario-based approach for developing the links between analysis and reporting;  Computational Simulation In Intelligence Analysis;  The Induction Game and Intelligence Education;  Gaming and Modeling Before a Crisis;  Use of Gaming and Exercise as Part of an Engagement Strategy;  Gaming the Nexus between Intelligence and Policy;  Concrete Tabletop Exercises for Cognitive Skill Development in Analysts;  Serious gaming & how to create visionary practitioners and policy makers;  Balancing Realism and Playability in the Intelligence Classroom;  Structured Analytic Techniques for Cyber Security through Role Playing; Cyber-Attack and Ethics Simulations;  Virtual Training Systems and Survival Humanistic Factors;
Discounted hotel accommodations, questions or comments should be directed to Dr. Jan Goldman jg28@georgetown.edu or Dr. Ruben Arcos Martin, ruben.arcos@urjc.es (outside North America)
Registration and Information is available here.

Thursday, 09 April 2015, 7 - 10pm - Washington DC - An Evening with a Futurist: Dinner with Marc Goodman at the International Spy Museum

Futurist Marc Goodman was voted by the TED Talks community as the speaker “most likely to freak you out.” A global thinker, writer, and consultant focused on the profound change technology is having on terrorism, crime, and security, he was the FBI’s Futurist in Residence and has worked for INTERPOL, the United Nations, NATO, and the LAPD—and tonight he’ll be your companion at dinner. As the founder of the Future Crimes Institute, Marc Goodman shares his thoughts on how disruptive technologies—such as artificial intelligence, the social data revolution, synthetic biology, virtual worlds, robotics, ubiquitous computing, and location-based services—form the basis for his new book Future Crimes. At this gathering, International Spy Museum historian Dr. Vince Houghton will lead a conversation with Goodman about the future of cyber intrigue. They will cover everything from cyberterrorism to the Dark Web to how individuals, businesses, and governments can protect themselves from cyber crimes too terrifying to imagine. You will be one of only seven guests at Poste Moderne Brasserie for this three-course dinner. You will receive a copy of Future Crimes when you reserve your space.
To Register: contact Laura Hicken lhicken@spymuseum.org or 202.654.0932. Tickets: $300. Visit www.spymuseum.org

Friday, 10 April 2015, 4:30-6:30 PM - Washington, DC - British Patriot or Soviet Spy? Clarifying a Major Cold War Mystery

AFIO members are cordially invited to a presentation analyzing whether former MI5 Director General, Roger Hollis, was or was not a Soviet agent.
Will include argument maps by Paul Monk, Ph.D. Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Australian Defence Intelligence Organization; Argument mapping/Bayesian expert; Co-founder of Austhink, a critical-thinking skills consulting firm.
Reception to follow
Panelists are:
Raymond J. Batvinis, Ph.D., Retired FBI Supervisory Agent; IWP Professor of counterintelligence history; author of The Origins of FBI Counterintelligence.
David L. Charney, M.D., Consulting psychiatrist to the U. S. intelligence community; expert on the psychology of the “insider spy”; Medical Director, Roundhouse Square Counseling Center.
Harvey Klehr, Ph.D., Intelligence historian, Emory University; Co-author of Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America.
Moderator
John L. Wilhelm, Former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer; TIME magazine correspondent; Independent PBS Writer/Producer/Director; author of a forthcoming history of Russian Military Intelligence (the GRU).
More information about this conference can be found here.
To register online, do so here.
Event location: The Institute of World Politics, 1521 16th St NW, Washington, D.C. 20036. Parking map.
Please contact sdwyer@iwp.edu with any questions

Monday, 13 April 2015, 6:30pm - Washington DC - Sensors Everywhere: Satellites and Mobile Technology for Documenting Human Rights Abuses - at the International Spy Museum

Human rights investigators increasingly use advanced technologies such as imagery satellites in their work documenting abuses around the globe. Traditionally these tools have been reserved for national intelligence services, but now they are standard tools for research by private organizations as well.
These readily available “eyes in the sky” give safe access to dangerous conflict zones such as Syria, or closed-off areas such as political prison camps in North Korea. Next generation micro-satellites even have the potential to provide full-motion video documentation. While satellite imagery has been likened to looking through a soda straw, the spread of cell phones and digital social networks provides visual documentation in real-time on a massive scale. However, this comes with its own challenges, as videos or pictures shared via YouTube or Facebook can be faked or shared within the wrong context.
Join us for a thought-provoking evening with Christoph Koettl of Amnesty International on the opportunities and pitfalls of advanced technologies in the hands of private researchers and investigators.
Dr. Mark Stout, the program director of the MA in Global Security Studies and the Certificate in National Security Studies at Johns Hopkins University, will host.
Tickets: $10. Visit www.spymuseum.org

Tuesday, 21 April 2015, 6:30pm - Washington DC - The Rosenbergs: The 'Definitive' Debate at the International Spy Museum

More than sixty years after their execution in June 1953 for conspiring to steal atomic secrets for the Soviet Union, in a few hardbitten, blind-to-facts circles, the debate still rages about the Rosenbergs guilt or innocence. Especially among their family members and friends. Mike Meeropol, the son of Julius and Ethel, has spent his life whitewashing, finetuning, and nitpicking the perfidy of his parents’ secret lives, their trials, their well-deserved convictions for espionage, and ultimately their executions. Sam Roberts, journalist for The New York Times, is the author of The Brother, a book written with exclusive access to David Greenglass, Ethel’s brother, whose testimony almost single-handedly convicted the couple in the era before classified VENONA decrypts were released to show they were guilty as charged. In this debate, these Rosenberg scholars—with different perspectives on a case long-settled by intelligence scholars—will take on the divisive issues and key questions that remain to the few holdouts despite the declassification of intelligence files from the United States and the Soviet Union that prove they were guilty and deserving of the punishment they received.
As a voice of reason, Dr. Vince Houghton, historian and curator of the International Spy Museum and an expert on nuclear intelligence, will moderate this debate on the Rosenberg case.
Tickets: $15, Members of the Inner Circle: $12. Visit www.spymuseum.org

26 April to 3 May 2015 - Berlin and Vienna - ESPIONAGE IN EUROPE: Now and Then - a New York Times Journey with AFIO Member/former CIA Officer, Jon Wiant.

Reserve now to travel on this exciting eight day intelligence excursion. "Espionage in Europe: Now and Then" is a journey focused on history & context. From the Cold War to present day government phone-hacking. Berlin and Vienna are two of Europe's capital cities that have seen more than their fair share of activity. Explore how, why and who was involved, the back stories and realization that it will never go away.
Join us on a unique tour to Berlin and Vienna, to learn about both underground goings on and those taking place in plain site, how World War II shaped Cold War intelligence operations and why our espionage bases in Berlin and Vienna became the dangerous front lines of our conflict with the Soviet Union. The Times-selected expert accompanying this trip is Prof. Jon A Wiant, retired Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, former White House director of intelligence policy and former member of the CIA. To hear more about this tour, listen to Jon Wiant speak, during a recent webinar.
Cost: $7,450 pp, +$1,000 single supplement. Deposit $500. Itinerary: 8 days, 7 nights. Activity Level: More active trips involving hiking over moderately strenuous and varied terrain, usually — but not always — with vehicle support and at elevations most often below 10,000 feet, or trips with significant hiking days, wilderness camping, or other mandatory activity. On some trips, you can elect to skip a day’s hike, depending on logistics. Questions? Call 855-698-7979.

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