Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Senior IDF Intelligence Chief Quits Over Tension Among MI Top Brass. Brig. Gen. Eli Ben-Meir, head of the research department of the Israel Defense Forces' Military Intelligence Directorate, is leaving his post due do professional differences with his superiors, Haaretz learned on Monday.

The position, the second most senior in Military Intelligence, involves the consolidating of intelligence assessments and presenting them to the political leadership.

Last week, Ben-Meir informed his commanding officer, MI chief Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, that he wished to step down due to disagreements over working methods in the department. 

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot was informed of the request and approved it. Ben-Meir will not leave his position immediately, and a search has begun for his replacement. [Read more: Cohen/Haaretz/11January2016]

Gunmen Kill Lebanese Intelligence Officer Near Syria Border. Lebanese security officials say masked gunmen have shot and killed a police intelligence officer and wounded his wife in an attack on the officer's car in a town near the Syrian border.

The officials say the officer, Zaher Izzedine, died instantly in Friday's attack while his wounded wife was taken to hospital. The couple's daughter was unharmed.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. They say that the motive for the shooting in the eastern border town of Arsal was not immediately clear.

Militants, including members of the ISIS and the al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, known as the al-Nusra Front, are known to be active on the outskirts of Arsal. [AP/9January2016]

Somalia Intelligence Agency Detains Journalist for Weeks. Somali authorities should immediately release journalist Abdirisak Omar Ahmed or disclose any charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency arrested Abdirisak, a freelancer who wrote for the privately owned, Somali-language, news website Xogmaal, on the morning of December 17, near the Jubba Hotel in the Shanghani district of Mogadishu, according to a statement by the National Union of Somalia Journalists (NUSOJ).

"Somali authorities have held Abdirisak Omar Ahmed incommunicado for 20 days without presenting a shred of evidence he broke the law. That is 20 days too long," said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Sue Valentine. "If Abdirisak is accused of committing a crime, authorities should disclose those charges immediately. Otherwise, they should release him now."

Abdirisak was detained alongside journalist Abdukar Mohamed Ali of Star FM while the pair was walking to a coffee shop. Abdukar was released without charge the next day, but Abdirisak remains in detention, and has not been brought before the courts, according to his family and the Somalia journalists union. He is being held at the intelligence agency headquarters near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, NUSOJ secretary general Mohamed Ibrahim told CPJ. Ibrahim said he has raised Abdirisak's case with authorities, but has been unable to learn anything about his case. [Read more: CPJ/6January2016]

Bahamas Intelligence Agency Legislation Completed. Keith Bell, State Minister for National Security, said that while the long anticipated legislation to support the National Intelligence Agency is complete, it must now make its way through Cabinet before it is brought to Parliament.

His comments came more than a year after National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage made similar statements to reporters, bringing the Christie administration's credibility on the matter into question.

Yesterday, following a Cabinet meeting, Senator Bell and Deputy Prime Minister Philip "Brave" Davis also declined to talk about the government's plans to deal with violent crime in the country, weeks after Prime Minister Perry Christie promised to introduce new, tougher measures to deal with the issue.

The NIA is intended to be an intelligence gathering hub where law enforcement agencies would combine their efforts to pinpoint and address threats to the national security of the country. It was launched by the PLP shortly after the 2012 general election. [Read more: Rolle/Tribune242/6January2016]

Masked Men Attack Saudi Intelligence Compound With Firebombs. Masked men threw firebombs at an intelligence service compound in the city of Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, activists said on Monday, in an apparent reprisal for the execution of a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric earlier this month.

A Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman said "there was a failed terrorist attempt to burn the building with Molotov cocktails" and that one of the assailants was captured.

Video footage posted on social media and dated Jan. 9 showed several masked young men moving under cover of darkness and lobbing firebombs over the protective outer wall of a building compound. Most of the firebombs were seen exploding on the ground inside, setting a nearby tree on fire.

The authenticity of the footage could not immediately be confirmed. [Read more: Reuters/11January2016]

Top Intel Panel Staffer to Join Department of Homeland Security.   A top congressional aide at the center of the bruising battle between the CIA and the Senate Intelligence Committee over the government's use of torture has been hired to take a senior position at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), charged with funneling threat information to law enforcement agencies, state and local governments, and large corporations across the United States.

David Grannis, the intelligence panel's Democratic staff director, will become principal deputy undersecretary at DHS's Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Foreign Policy has learned. He will make the move after a lengthy tenure as a top staffer for Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.

"David Grannis will be missed. He not only has a keen knowledge of the intelligence community, he also has the steady judgment on which I have come to rely," said Feinstein in a statement to FP. 

Serving in the position of staff director since 2009, Grannis has played an influential role in a string of high-profile and contentious national security debates, ranging from the disclosures of widespread government spying by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden to efforts to close the terrorist detention center in Guant'namo Bay, Cuba. [Read more: Hudson/ForeignPolicy/8January2016]

ODNI Names Leadership Team of Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has appointed Tonya Ugoretz, Maurice Bland and Thomas Donahue to be on the leadership team of the newly-formed Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center.

ODNI said Thursday Ugoretz will head CTIIC, Bland will serve as deputy leader and Donahue will be the research director.

"CTIIC will lead integrated community analysis of our cyber adversaries and support interagency efforts to develop whole-of-government opportunities against cyber threats," DNI James Clapper said.

"I am confident this capable team will work seamlessly with intelligence community and federal partners to integrate intelligence on foreign cyber threat capabilities and activities." [Read more: Forrester/ExecutiveGov/8January2016]

Dutch Push Intelligence Sharing After Missed Signals in Paris. The Netherlands called on Monday for greater sharing of intelligence data, including lists of suspected foreign fighters and their banking details, at a gathering of global counter-terrorism officials.

The Dutch, who hold the rotating European Union presidency, circulated a draft outlining the objective to roughly 250 delegates of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF) and the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL meeting in The Hague, Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said.

Although a legal framework for sharing confidential intelligence already exists, the Dutch hope to boost the use of databases at the European and international police agencies Interpol and Europol, in the wake of weak communication before the Nov. 13 Paris attacks.

Several of the Paris attackers, who killed 130 people with guns and suicide vests, had been on the radar of authorities in various countries, providing opportunities to stop them. [Read more: Deutsch/Reuters/11January]

Missing US Missile Shows up in Cuba. An inactive Hellfire missile sent to Europe for training was inadvertently shipped to Cuba, where it has remained since 2014, sources familiar with the matter said Friday.

Hellfires are air-to-ground missiles typically fired from helicopters. Although initially designed as anti-tank weapons, they are often modernized and currently deployed from drones in anti-terrorism operations.

The missile wrongly sent to Cuba is called a Hellfire Captive Air Training Missile (CATM), a "dummy missile" used in exercises. Sources said that it contained an incomplete guidance section and was not fitted with a warhead, fusing system rocket monitor or operational seeker - all components needed to successfully hit a target.

But while it was not operational, the missile still contained sensitive American weapons technology, such as targeting and sensor information, that US officials said would be concerning if it fell into the hands of adversaries. The Wall Street Journal first reported the missile's location. [Read more: Labott/CNN/8January2016]

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

Intelligence Agency Wants Computer Scientists to Develop Brain-Like Computers. If you are a computer scientist and have any thoughts on developing human brain-like functions into a new wave of computers, the researchers at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity want to hear from you.

IARPA, the radical research arm of the of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence this week said it was looking at two groups to help develop this new generation of computers: computer scientists with experience in designing or building computing systems that rely on the same or similar principles as those employed by the brain and neuroscientists who have credible ideas for how neural computing can offer practical benefits for next-generation computers.

From the IARPA request for information: ..."the principles of computing underlying today's state of the art digital systems deviate substantially from the principles that govern computing in the brain. In particular, whereas mainstream computers rely on synchronous operations, high precision, and clear physical and conceptual separations between storage, data, and logic; the brain relies on asynchronous messaging, low precision storage that is co-localized with processing, and dynamic memory structures that change on both short and long time scales."

The group breaks out a number of questions on specific topics it wants computer scientists in particular to offer answers to including: [Read more: Cooney/NetworkWorld/8January2016]

CIA Eyes Russian Hackers in 'Blackout' Attack. US intelligence and security agencies are investigating whether Russian government hackers were behind a cyber attack on the Ukrainian power grid last month, multiple sources familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast.

Computer security experts at the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Homeland Security Department are examining samples of malicious software recovered from the networks of a power company in western Ukraine, which said on Dec. 23 that a large area of the country had been left without electricity due to "interference" in its systems. Approximately 700,000 homes were without power for several hours.

If the blackout is positively attributed to the work of hackers, it will be the first documented case of a cyber attack on an electrical power facility that led to a loss of electricity. While hackers are suspected of having caused a blackout at least once in the past, there has never been a publicly confirmed case with technical data to back it up.

"It is a milestone," John Hultquist, the director of cyber espionage analysis at computer security company iSIGHT Partners, which is analyzing hacking tools used in the intrusion, told The Daily Beast. [Read more: Harris/TheDailyBeast/6January2016]

Why BlackBerry Messenger Is App of Choice for Cartels and Governments. Your accountant uncle who still wears his phone in a holster on his hip loves BlackBerry Messenger. And so, apparently, does one of the world's most notorious drug kingpins.

Joaqu'n "El Chapo" Guzm'n was recently recaptured after escaping from prison last year, and in a bizarre twist, it emerged that actor Sean Penn met with the fugitive when he was on the run, and that BlackBerry Messenger played a pivotal role in their communications.

BlackBerry encrypts data such as emails and its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) messages sent between a user's phone and public networks, ensuring greater privacy for users; but sometimes making life harder for police and intelligence agencies. The company has long touted that its products offer more security than those of rivals such as Apple.

BlackBerry declined to comment for this story. [Read more: Breen/NBC/11January2016]

The Moon in the Crosshairs: CIA Monitoring of the Soviet Manned Lunar Program - Endgame. The US intelligence community produced a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on the Soviet space program in June 1969, only a month before Apollo 11 was scheduled to land on the Moon. The NIE discussed the Soviet lunar effort in more definitive terms than before, abandoning earlier ambiguity about the existence of a manned lunar landing program. It also stated "there is no evidence that the program is experiencing major technical difficulties."

What American intelligence officials were unaware of was the fact that the Soviet lunar rocket, which the CIA had officially designated the "J vehicle" and which the Soviets had designated the N-1, had already exploded in flight in February 1969. Although American spy satellites had detected evidence of construction explosions at the Baikonur launch range - which the CIA referred to as Tyura-Tam - and the powerful FPS-17 radar and the signals intercept station in Turkey regularly tracked launches from the range, the first J vehicle launch was not detected by American intelligence assets. It had exploded downrange from the launch site. The photo-interpreters had no reason to look far downrange from the launch pads for signs of debris, and the rocket had never gotten high enough to be detected from distant Turkey. 

Sayre Stevens was no longer in the CIA's Space Division by this time, but he still followed the Soviet space effort by reading the reports of his old division. "I do remember that," Stevens said in 2003 when asked about the February N-1 launch explosion. "But I don't recall anybody asserting that that was the first [explosion] rather than the second." They saw evidence of a big explosion in July 1969. "And then they started looking downrange and they found the second one. I think that's what." The problem, as Stevens remembered it, was nobody at the CIA knew exactly when the explosion that produced the downrange wreckage they found had occurred, so they could not tie it to the February 1969 explosion.

There have been rumors that Britain's MI6 was aware of the February explosion. [Read more: Day/TheSpaceReview/11January2016]

Section III - COMMENTARY

New Harvard Law Review Feature on Intelligence Oversight. Harvard Law Review has published a new issue, now available online, which includes a feature article and several responses concerning the role of the President and National Security Council in overseeing foreign intelligence collection. The feature article and overall series could not be more timely, particularly in light of last month's Wall Street Journal report on US Intelligence Community surveillance of Israeli leaders and the fall-out on Capitol Hill. The WSJ report, of course, is just the latest iteration of the legal and policy discussion of how granular White House and Congressional oversight is or should be over specific foreign intelligence targeting decisions.

And so anyone interested in this issue, including lawfare readers who are students, practitioners and scholars of the Intelligence Community more broadly, will certainly want to read the new Harvard Law Review article and accompanying responses. The feature piece, Presidential Intelligence, is by Professor Samuel Rascoff, Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Center on Law and Security, New York University Law School. 

There are three responses pieces: one by Steve Slick, Director of the Intelligence Studies Project at the University of Texas at Austin; one by Philip Bobbitt, the Herbert Weschler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence at Columbia Law School and Distinguished Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas Law School; as well as my own response. The written debate concludes with Professor Rascoff's response to his critics. [Read more: Cordero/Lawfare/11January2016]

Encryption, Broadband Privacy, Data Security Enforcement Crowd 2016 Agenda. The new year is shaping up to be one full of privacy battles, including a potential fight in Congress over whether technology companies should be forced to assist the US government with unlocking encrypted communications to track down criminals and terrorists.

The encryption debate pits national security hawks on Capitol Hill against privacy advocates and Silicon Valley companies.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a broadband privacy rule and the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission will continue their privacy and data security efforts in 2016. [Read more: Bloomberg/Alexis/11January2016]

Brazil's Digital Backlash. A S'o Paulo judge sent shock waves across Brazil last month with a ruling that required Brazilian telecommunications operators to block the use of the instant messaging platform WhatsApp for 48 hours. Less than 13 hours later, another S'o Paulo judge reversed the decision, restoring service. But in the meantime, as many as 100 million Brazilians had been seriously inconvenienced, and civil libertarians around the world looked on with dismay.

Brazilians take their social media very seriously. The country has one of the fastest growing populations of Internet users in the world. Online tools like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are used not only to express opinions; they are an affordable alternative to exorbitantly priced Brazilian telecom providers. One recent study in Brazil found that WhatsApp was used by 93 percent of those surveyed who had Internet access.

The official reason for the judge's decision to suspend WhatsApp was because its parent company, Facebook, refused to comply with requests to provide personal information and communications records to prosecutors in an investigation into organized crime and drug trafficking. This is not the first time that the Brazilian authorities have jousted with tech companies. Notwithstanding the seriousness of the crimes being investigated, the judge's action was reckless and represents a potentially longer-term threat to the freedoms of Brazilians.

The ruling was not entirely out of the blue. [Read more: Muggah&Thompson/NYTimes/12January2016]

Section IV - ADMIN: Research Requests, Job Announcements, Obituaries and Upcoming Events

Obituaries

Death of former AFIO President Ann Caracristi, 94 - former Deputy Director, NSA

Ann Caracristi, who became one of the highest ranking and most honored women at the code breaking National Security Agency after a career extending from World War II through much of the Cold War, died Jan. 10 at her home in Washington. She was 94. 
Ms. Caracristi formally retired from her intelligence career in 1982, after becoming the sixth deputy director of the NSA, the secret agency that collects and deciphers covert communications from all over the world. She was the first woman to serve as deputy director.
By the time she stepped down, code breaking had become dauntingly computerized and relied on abstruse techniques of higher mathematics. Except for retaining its close-mouthed ethos, it was a far cry from the occupation she embarked on more than 70 years ago, only days out of college.
The world of cryptanalysis that she entered near the outset of World War II appeared to rely less on the power of electrical or mechanical devices than on the insight and dogged, pattern-recognizing persistence of talented individuals. [Read more: WPost/12January2016]

Former AFIO Board Member, Barbara Larrabee - former CIA Officer

Passed away peacefully on January 5, 2016 after a long illness; she is survived by her husband Donald Larrabee. She is also survived by her sister Frances Princelau Dixon of Laguna Hills, CA; two nephews, George Craig Hjelte and spouse Maureen of Tahoe City, CA and Steven Paul Hjelte of Pasadena, CA; two nieces, Susan Hjelte Waltz and spouse Kevin, of Soquel, CA and Lynne Hjelte Fowler and spouse Tom of Portland, OR. Barbara also leaves behind her loving step-daughter, Donna Larrabee Palmer, and husband Jack of Chevy Chase, MD. Barbara was a foreign service intelligence officer with the CIA. Her employment with the US Government spanned 28 years of service in Europe and Latin America beginning in 1954. Barbara retired from the CIA in 1982. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be sent to Villa Esperanza Service, 2096 East Villa Street, Pasadena, CA, 91107 in honor of Barbara P. Larrabee. Interment will be private and a memorial service in celebration of Barbara''s life will be held at a later date.

Businessman, WWII Veteran, Philanthropist Ralph Hauenstein Dies at 103. A businessman and philanthropist whose generous imprint is felt across West Michigan, Ralph Hauenstein kept quiet for decades about his greater contribution to the nation.

Hauenstein played a considerable part in winning World War II through his role in the "Ultra" secret, a covert program that broke the German code and afforded a key strategic advantage to the Allied war effort. Ralph Hauenstein died Sunday, Jan. 10, at age 103.

Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower called Ultra "decisive" in the victory over Nazi Germany.

In addition to his service as US Army colonel and chief of intelligence for the European Theater of Operations, Hauenstein gave freely to local medical and educational programs. [Read more: Tunison/MLive/10January]

Upcoming Events

AFIO EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN COMING TWO MONTHS....

Wednesday, 13 January 2016, 11 am - Albuquerque, NM - The AFIO NM Chapter hosts Robert Hull on "Training Inspectors for CBW Surveys in Iraq"

Mr. Robert Hull from the Los Alamos Lab will discuss "Training the Inspectors for Chem-Bio Weapons Surveys in Iraq."
Event location: The Egg & I Restaurant, 6909 Menaul Blvd (East of Louisiana), Albuquerque, NM.
Registrations or Questions to: Pete Bostwick at foreigndevil@yahoo.com.

Thursday, 21 January 2016, 11:30am - Monument, CO - Foreign Service Officer Joanne Cummings addresses the AFIO Rocky Mountain Chapter on "The Background and Players in Yemen and the Gulf."

Joanne Cummings is a career Foreign Service Officer (FSO) of the Department of State (DOS). She currently serves on detail at the US Air Force Academy. She will discuss "The Background and Players in Yemen and the Gulf."

She has served extensively in the Middle East, North Africa, and East Africa. Daughter of an FSO, she was raised in Lebanon, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. In the private sector and for DOS, she has worked in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Jerusalem, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Syria, and Ethiopia, as well as nine years working regionally from Morocco through Pakistan. Ms. Cummings has served as POLAD, Refugee Coordinator, Consular Officer, Political Officer, and Economic and Pol/Econ Section Chief in various posts. She has lived through, and served in, a variety of stress and conflict environments. She was evacuated several times between 1958 and 2014, from Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. She speaks Arabic fluently (Lebanese, Egyptian, Saudi, and Iraqi dialects) and French, and is familiar with Spanish, Hebrew, Farsi, and Kurdish.
The cost of the meal is $15. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Please RSVP to Tom VanWormer at robsmom@pcisys.net
Event location: In the Country Club at Woodmoor, 18945 Pebble Beach Way, Monument, CO 80132.
All presentations to the RMC, AFIO are non-attribution so the speakers can feel free to provide data with the assurance it will not be published.
Directions to the Country Club at Woodmoor (Monument Hill) from exit 161 on I-25. Follow the signs to Woodmoor Dr. Proceed on Woodmoor Dr. up two hills and down one. At the top of the second hill is the entrance to the Country Club, if you go past the 30 MPH sign at the top of the second hill, you need to turn around. Most GPS systems are not accurate in giving the route to the Country Club. If lost call me at 719 418 3096. (The meeting is at our usual location, except the new owners changed the name).

21 January 2016, noon - 2 pm - Los Angeles, CA - The 2016 LA AFIO Chapter Annual Meeting

The Los Angeles AFIO Chapter will hold its annual membership meeting on Jan 21, 2016. The meeting will cover the election of new officers and the business program agenda for 2016. The meeting is open to all current members in good standing. Please RSVP: afio_la@yahoo.com
Location: LAPD-ARTC: 5651 W. Manchester Ave, L.A. CA 90045

Wednesday, 3 February 2016 - Las Vegas, NV - The "Roger McCarthy" AFIO Las Vegas Chapter hosts Dennis Fulkerson of NNSA/DOE on "Insider Threats."

Dennis Fulkerson, Senior Counterintelligence Officer, National Security Technologies, LLC (Management and Operating Contractor to the National Nuclear Security Administration, US Department of Energy) will be the featured speaker at this first 2016 event of the Las Vegas chapter. His topic deals with the insider threat.

Event location: Texas Station Hotel, 2101 Texas Star Ln, North Las Vegas, NV. Corner of Rancho Blvd. and West Lake Mead Blvd.
To register: email Christy Zalesny (christyzalesny@yahoo.com) Corresponding Secretary or call her at 702- 271-5667, if you have any questions.

Tuesday, 9 February 2016 - MacDill AFB, FL - AFIO Suncoast Chapter's first 2016 meeting speaker is Col Paul Keddy, CENTCOM, on "Coalition Perspective of the War on Terror."

Colonel Paul Keddy, Senior National Representative - Canada, CENTCOM, Vice Chairman of the International Coalition, will be speaking on 'Conflicts and Commitments ' a Coalition perspective of the War on Terror.'

LOCATION: MacDill AFB Surf's Edge Club, 7315 Bayshore Blvd, MacDill AFB, FL 33621. Please RSVP to the Chapter Secretary for yourself and include the names and email addresses of any guests. Email Michael Shapiro at sectysuncoastafio@att.net. You will receive a confirmation via email. If you do not, contact the Chapter Secretary to confirm your registration. Check-in at noon; opening ceremonies, lunch and business meeting at 1230 hours, followed by our speaker.
FEE: 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.

Saturday, 13 February 2016, 11:30am - 2:30pm - Melbourne, FL - AFIO Florida Satellite Chapter Luncheon features Gene Poteat, discussing 'Women in Espionage"

The Florida Satellite Chapter is pleased again to welcome former CIA official, AFIO President-emeritus and our good friend, Gene Poteat. Gene's topic for the occasion, 'Women in Espionage' will examine the roles women have played in the second oldest profession from Joshua's Rahab of Jericho, to Putin's Anna Chapman of New York and Moscow, and a great many in between. Meeting will be at the At Ease Club of the Indian River Colony Club, 1936 Freedom Drive, Melbourne, FL 32940.
For information and reservations, please contact FSC Chapter President at afiofsc@afio.com.

Saturday, 13 February 2016, 11 am to 3 pm - Orange Park, FL - AFIO North Florida Chapter hosts Arden Brey, a Navy Photoanalyst

The guest speaker is tentatively Mr. Arden Brey, a former Navy photoanalyst, who had experience during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and further adventures after that. A current bio of Brey will be supplied in a few weeks.

Location: Country Club of Orange Park. Questions and reservations: Quiel Begonia at qbegonia@comcast.net call (904) 545-9549. Cost will be $24 each, pay the Country Club at the luncheon. Remember that family and guests and potential members are cordially invited.

February 2016 (date TBD), 5:30 PM - Atlanta, GA - Atlanta GA AFIO Chapter features Mark Riebling on "Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler."

Many in the intelligence community consider Mark Riebling the leading historian on matters of espionage and secret policy. Riebling's 1994 book Wedge: The Secret War Between the FBI and CIA all but predicted 9/11. Indeed, Riebling's analysis of security failures influenced post-9/11 intelligence reforms to a significant degree. Deputy US Attorney Andrew C. McCarthy―who prosecuted the 1993 World Trade Center bombing―wrote in The Wall Street Journal in 2006 that "Riebling's analysis has now become conventional wisdom, accepted on all sides. Such, indeed, is the reasoning behind virtually all of the proposals now under consideration by no fewer than seven assorted congressional committees, internal evaluators, and blue-ribbon panels charged with remedying the intelligence situation." His books have been translated into German, French, Italian, Dutch, Czech, Portuguese, Polish, Spanish, and Japanese.

Event timing: 5:30 PM (cocktail reception). Introduction, presentation, and moderated Q&A is at 6:30 PM, followed again by a cocktail reception.
For updated information visit the chapter website.
Location: email our Speakers Committee Chair for an invitation with location details.

Friday, 18 March 2016, 10:30am - 2pm - Tysons, VA - AFIO National Spring Luncheon features Gen. Michael V. Hayden, former director, CIA and NSA, discussing "Playing to the Edge" and David Priess, author and former CIA analyst and briefer, on The President's Book of Secrets

Michael Hayden at this luncheon will provide a high-level master narrative of America's intelligence wars. He is the only person to helm both CIA and NSA, at a time of heinous new threats and major change. For General Michael Hayden, playing to the edge means playing so close to the line that you get chalk dust on your cleats. Otherwise, by playing back, you may protect yourself, but you will be less successful in protecting America. "Play to the edge" was Hayden's guiding principle when he ran the National Security Agency, and it remained so when he ran CIA.  In his view, many shortsighted and uninformed people are quick to criticize, and this book will give them much to chew on but little easy comfort; it is an unapologetic insider's look told from the perspective of the people who faced awesome responsibilities head on, in the moment.

David Priess, author and former CIA analyst, manager, and intelligence briefer, is the author of The President's Book of Secrets which will be released at this event.
Every day, the President receives a report revealing the most sensitive intelligence reporting and analysis of world events: the President's Daily Brief, or PDB. CIA spies, the NSA’s listening posts, and the nation’s reconnaissance satellites steal secrets for it, while America’s enemies send undercover agents to try to unearth its classified content. No major foreign policy decisions are made without it. Yet the PDB’s stories have gone untold—until now. The Priess book contains original input from more than 100 interviews with former intelligence leaders and policymakers--including all of the living former Presidents and Vice Presidents ​and the vast majority of living former CIA Directors, DDIs, National Security Advisors, and Secretaries of State and Defense. This new work also incorporates previously unpublished material from various Presidential libraries.

Register here while space remains.

Sheraton Tysons Hotel, 8661 Leesburg Pike, Tysons, VA 22182. Phone: (703) 448-1234. Driving directions at this link.

Monday, 21 March 2016, 5:30 - 8 pm - New York, NY - The AFIO NY Metro Chapter Meeting features a presentation by Paddy Hayes, author of newly released "Queen of Spies: Daphne Park, Britain's Cold War Spy Master."

Hayes shows the fortitude of a woman intelligence officer who ascended the ranks of the British SIS. Daphne Margaret Sybil D'sir'e Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth (1921'2010), spent her girlhood on the African plains, and eventually became Chief of Western Hemisphere Operations for the Secret Intelligence Service. Hayes provides personal interviews, documents, and other secondary sources, and vividly describes Park's character, revealing a woman who succeeded with wit, charm, and intellect.

Venue: The Society of Illustrators Club 128 E 63 St, midtown Manhattan. More details to follow. Inquiries or registration to Jerry Goodwin, President AFIO New York Metropolitan Chapter, afiometro@gmail.com.

Other Upcoming Events

Wednesday, 13 January 2016, 7:30 PM-8:45 PM - McLean, VA - 'Lasting and Expanding: The Next Generation of Jihad and Global Warfare." Hassan Mneimneh at the Westminster Institute

Hassan Mneimneh is a Scholar at the Middle East Institute and one of the most penetrating analysts of radicalism and factionalism in the Middle East, North Africa and the wider Islamic world. He is a regular contributor to al-Hayat. He is also affiliated with Middle East Alternatives and Fikra Forum, with which he published his recent article on "A New Wave of Global Terrorism? The Islamic State in its Third Age." He served for many years as the director of the Iraq Memory Foundation.
Where: Westminster Institute, 6729 Curran St. McLean, VA
The event is free but requires registration by 12 January 2016. Register here.

Thursday, 14 January 2016, 11:30 am - Washington, DC - Playing Chess with Putin - Dr. Leon Aron of AEI at the Daniel Morgan Academy

Playing Chess with Putin will be the presentation by Dr. Leon Aron, one of America's foremost scholars of Russian affairs
Dr. Aron will examine Vladimir Putin's strategic objectives. He will discuss how Putin's assertive foreign and military policies underpin his personal power and domestic political standing. Dr. Aron will recommend policy options that could weaken Putin's internal political power by slowing and/or rolling back Russia's strategic and tactical advances.

LOCATION: Daniel Morgan Academy, 1620 L St NW, 7th Flr, Washington, DC 20036
Near Farragut North and West Metro Stations

Space is limited. To RSVP do so here.

NEW DATE - Thursday, 14 January 2016, 6:30pm - Washington, DC. 100 Deadly Skills: An Evening with Navy SEAL Clint Emerson at the International Spy Museum

The world can be a very dangerous place and former Navy SEAL and JSOC Operator Clinton Emerson wants you to be prepared. He can give you the tools to thwart the people who want to exploit you-threats to your personal safety are everywhere. From acts of terror to mass shootings to the unseen (and sometimes virtual) matrix of everyday crime, danger is no longer confined to dark alleys or unstable regions.

In his new book, 100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative's Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation, Emerson draws on over 20 years' experience with actual special forces operations to teach you how to protect yourself. This evening, he'll share practical hands-on advice for civilians who want to learn self-defense skills, evasion tactics immobilizing maneuvers, and get started on the path to surviving any dangerous situation.

Tickets: $10. Visit www.spymuseum.org

Wednesday, 20 January 2016, 7:30 to 8:45PM - McLean, VA - Dr. Walid Phares speaks on Jihadi Threats at the Westminster Institute

Dr. Walid Phares will be offering his remarks about the multiple Jihadi threats coming from the Middle East, including the expansion of ISIS and the widening of Iranian operations in the region. Dr Phares is an advisor to members of the US Congress and the European Parliament. He is the author of many books, including Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies against the West and The Lost Spring: US Policy in the Middle East and Catastrophes to Avoid. He has taught at National Defense University, Florida Atlantic University and BAUI University in Washington, DC, where he currently serves as Provost and Director for international studies.
Where: Westminster Institute, 6729 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101
Event is free but requires registration by January 19, 2016. Register here.

Thursday, 25 February 2016, 6:30pm - Washington, DC - "United States of Jihad" with Peter Bergen at the International Spy Museum

The tragic, ISIS-inspired attack in San Bernardino was a harsh reminder that “homegrown” terrorism is a real and present danger. CNN national security analyst and New York Times bestselling author Peter Bergen has been chronicling Islamist terrorism through groundbreaking reporting on the Middle East, al-Qaeda, and homeland security for more than twenty years. His new book United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists, gives an unprecedented look at the factors that lead to the radicalization of American citizens and offers expert insights into the shape of the threat confronting us. Join Bergen as he shares the forces that have led Americans like Anwar al-Awlaki, Samir Kahn, the Tsarnaev brothers, and so many others down the path to terrorism and investigates the effectiveness of counterterrorism strategies from the FBI’s efforts to those of Imam Magid, who is spearheading an effort to reach fundamentalist youths before it is too late.
United States of Jihad will be available for sale and signing at the event.

Tickets: $10. Visit www.spymuseum.org Please RSVP to lzaris@spymuseum.org.

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