Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Algerian President Bouteflika Dissolves Intelligence Wing. Algerian President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika has dissolved the long-standing military spy directorate known as the DRS, creating a new agency under the control of the presidency in another step to ease the military out of politics, security sources said.

Bouteflika, rarely been seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013, began curbing the military's influence before his re-election in April 2014, in what analysts said was preparation for his eventual departure after more than 15 years in power.

But the decree to shut the Department of Intelligence and Security, or DRS by its French initials, and replace it with the Direction of Security Services is a significant move to restructure the intelligence apparatus.

Despite presidential elections, analysts say, Algeria's politics has long been dominated by the ruling FLN party elites and the military, who engage in backroom manoeuvring for political influence in the North African Opec state. [Read more: Reuters/25January2016]

Putin Implicated in Fatal Poisoning of Former KGB Officer at London Hotel. Gaunt and frail, his organs succumbing to the cruelly destructive power of radioactive poisoning, Alexander Litvinenko lay in a London hospital bed in November 2006 and identified the man responsible for his impending demise: Vladimir Putin.

Nearly a decade later, an exhaustive inquiry by a British judge concluded on Thursday that the dying former KGB operative was probably right. For the first time, the Russian president was officially implicated in a murder that seemed plucked from the pages of a Cold War spy novel but actually played out in the bar of a posh hotel in 21st-century London.

The victim: an outspoken Kremlin critic who had defected to Britain, joined the payroll of British intelligence and accused Putin of vices' including corruption and pedophilia. The killers: a pair of assassins who, the report found, were almost certainly acting on orders from the Russian spy service, the FSB, and who left a trail of radioactive evidence strewn across London. The weapons of choice: one teacup and one massive dose of a rare nuclear isotope, polonium.

The conclusions instantly set off a furious diplomatic row, with British and Russian officials accusing each other of treachery and deceit. British Prime Minister David Cameron called the findings of "state-sponsored" murder in his capital city "absolutely appalling." A Kremlin spokesman, without apparent irony, said the report would "further poison the atmosphere." [Read more: Witte&Birnbaum/WashingtonPost/21January2016]

White House Turns to Pentagon in U.S. Background Checks Shake-Up. The U.S. government will set up a new agency to do background checks on employees and contractors, the White House said on Friday, after a massive breach of U.S. government files exposed the personal data of millions of people last year.

As a part of a sweeping overhaul, the Obama administration said it will establish a National Background Investigations Bureau. It will replace the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Federal Investigative Services (FIS), which currently conducts each year more than 2 million background investigations for scores of federal agencies.

The move, a stiff rebuke for FIS and OPM, comes after last year's disclosure that a hack of OPM computers exposed the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information of roughly 22 million current and former federal employees and contractors, as well as applicants for federal jobs and individuals listed on background check forms.

Unlike FIS, the new agency's information systems will be handled by the Defense Department, making it even more central to Washington's effort to bolster its cyber defenses against constant intrusion attempts by hackers and foreign nationals. [Read more: Rascoe&Volz/Reuters/22January2016]

Senate Intel Leaders Worry Encryption Commission Too Slow. Senate Intelligence Committee leaders want to move swiftly on encryption legislation and bypass a proposed national commission to study the topic first.

"I don't think a commission is necessarily the right thing when you know what the problem is. And we know what the problem is," Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said.

Burr is working on a bill with his committee's ranking member, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), that would guarantee law enforcement access to encrypted data.

But Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) are pushing their own competing proposal that would establish a national commission to investigate the issue before crafting legislation. [Read more: Bennett/TheHill/20January2016]

Social Media Companies Must Do More to 'Police' Terrorist Content, Says British Intelligence Chief. Social media companies must do more to combat extremism by "policing" terrorist content on the internet themselves, rather than waiting for orders from the authorities, an intelligence chief has said.

Charles Farr, chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, said that on too many occasions media companies waited to be approached before taking action. 

In the past year, Scotland Yard and the Home Office have stepped up their efforts to take down thousands of items of terrorist propaganda.

But officials say the big internet companies such as Google and Facebook, as well those who run messaging apps, must take tougher action. [Read more: Verkaik/TheIndependent/24January2016]

Canada's Spy Agency Wants Ban in Terror Trial for Secrets of National Security. Canada's spy agency is back in court asking that information about its involvement in a British Columbia terrorism probe be kept secret from the public.

For the second time in two weeks, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service asked Justice Catherine Bruce of the British Columbia Supreme Court to allow a closed-door hearing into whether the RCMP entrapped a couple found guilty in a terrorist bomb plot.

John Nuttall and Amanda Korody were found guilty of planting pressure-cooker explosives at the B.C. legislature on Canada Day 2013. The convictions have been put on hold while their lawyers argue the pair was manipulated by police in an elaborate undercover sting.

This time, a lawyer representing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service argued some of the information is sensitive enough to national security that part of the closed-door proceedings must also exclude both defence and Crown lawyers, with only intelligence agency lawyers and the judge present. [Read more: Ormand/TheCanadianPress/22January2016]

Sky Soldiers, Special Operations Intelligence Specialists Refine Skills During Combined Training. Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 10th Special Forces Group began Exercise Wolfenstein, a signal intelligence training event, Jan. 5, 2016.

The 22-day training focuses on developing the Low Level Voice Intercept, or LLVI, collection techniques of the military intelligence multifunction platoon of Company D, 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 173rd Abn., which allows them to collect on enemy communications.

"The intent of the exercise is to balance classroom instruction and field training for military intelligence specialists," said 1st Lt. Shawn Robertson, the multifunction platoon leader. "We are also refining the skillsets required of the brigade's signals intelligence analysts and cryptologic linguists to serve as valuable combat enablers on Airborne-qualified LLVI teams."

Moreover, the exercise is testing the ability of the LLVI teams to plan and execute collection operations on short notice as part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Army Contingency Response Force in Europe. As such, the participating paratroopers are aiming to improve upon the readiness level of the teams and their ability to collect autonomously in a tactical setting. [Read more: Kinney/Army/22January2016]

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

Kazakhstan: Security Service Shake-Up Sets Off Succession Speculation. A shake-up at the top of Kazakhstan's intelligence agency has watchers of the country's opaque elite speculating about preparations for political life after President Nursultan Nazarbayev. 

The replacement in late December of 68-year-old National Security Committee chairman Nurtay Abykayev is not expected to usher in a significant change of Kazakhstan's political course. All signs point to the Nazarbayev family firming its grip over the key levers of power and a continuing reliance on repressive tactics as a way of keeping government critics in check.

Abykayev is being substituted at the top of the intelligence agency, which is widely known by its Russian acronym KNB, by Vladimir Zhumakanov, a career intelligence officer with over three decades of service. Also on December 25, Samat Abish, Nazarbayev's 37-year-old nephew and the son of the president's businessman brother, Bolat Nazarbayev, was promoted to first deputy KNB chief, filling the spot formerly occupied by Zhumakanov.

Abish's career trajectory has been vertiginous. [Read more: Lillis/EurasiaNet/20January2016]

The KGB: The Spies Who Protect the Russian Bear. When Vladimir Putin succeeded Sergei Stepashin as Prime Minister in 1999, he was the third former high-ranking KGB officer in a row to lead the Russian government. By the end of the year, President Boris Yeltsin - in poor health and politically weak - announced his resignation and pointed to Putin as his successor. Thus, with the new millennium, a new chapter in Russia's history began - a chapter, where former intelligence officers play a crucial role.

Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, some 500,000 active KGB officers were suddenly purposeless. Their employer was gone. And so no orders came to KGB's station in Dresden on November 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall was falling. As a KGB lieutenant on his first foreign mission, Putin felt hurt by Moscow's silence. "It was as if my country doesn't exist anymore," remembers today's President in the book from 2000, First Person.

Most of Putin's colleagues faced the same uncertainty, but not for long. With their knowledge of foreign languages, training and personal connections, the KGB officers were well prepared to succeed in the new Russia. And they were desired almost everywhere.

Many have become successful businessmen: Rosneft's Igor Sechin and Sergei Chemezov from the technological consortium Rostec, to name but a few. Others have stayed to serve, more or less loyally, to the Russian state. The KGB's successors - the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Military Intelligence Service (GRU) and the Federal Counter-Narcotics Service (FSKN) - absorbed a majority of the KGB staff. [Read more: Tucek/RussiaDirect/25January2016]

The Pick of 2016 Security Conferences. Over the past year or so, there has been an increased focus on information sharing in the field of cybersecurity in order to raise awareness and knowledge of the latest threats. Security conferences and events provide the ideal opportunity to learn from expert speakers and share experiences with peers. Here is a round up of some of the most interesting gatherings on the docket for 2016.

February's InterConnect 2016 is billed as "The Premier Cloud and Mobile Conference." Organized by IBM, it will take place in Las Vegas and feature both business content and in-depth technical sessions. In total, there are more than 2,000 sessions. InterConnect, which also features a large expo, is visited by some 24,000 attendees.

Also beginning in late February is the annual RSA Conference in San Francisco, one of the best-known and best-attended security conferences and expos worldwide. The theme of this year's event is "Connect to Protect," focusing on how knowledge sharing and collaboration can help to develop new concepts to better protect the digital world. There is also an RSA Conference Asia-Pacific and Japan being held in Singapore in July.

InfoSec World will take place in Florida in April, featuring seven conference tracks as well as a CISO Leadership Summit, IT Audit Management Summit and Risk Management Summit. It features speakers from both technology vendors and enterprises, with the aim to bridge the gap between security and business. [Read more: Howarth/SecurityIntelligence/18January2016]

Why Would Putin Have Had a Former KGB Operative Murdered? A highly anticipated British inquiry into the 2006 killing of Russian Alexander Litvinenko has reached a remarkable conclusion: Russian President Vladimir Putin likely approved the poisoning of the former KGB operative, who died after radioactive polonium slipped into his cup of green tea at London's Millennium Hotel.

The death of Litvinenko has long cast a pall over relations between Britain and Russia, and the new allegations about Putin's involvement may cause more problems in the rocky relationship between the two nations. Britain has summoned the Russian ambassador to express its "profound displeasure" at the alleged act, while the Russian Foreign Ministry has dismissed the inquiry's findings as "politically motivated."

If the Kremlin is really behind Litvinenko's death, it's worth asking a big question: Why? Why would Putin approve such an aggressive and risky act on a foreign nation's soil? What had Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence officer who was a British citizen at the time of his death, done that merited his assassination?

In the 300-plus pages of the inquiry's final report, some potential clues as to what may have lain behind Litvinenko's death can be found. [Read more: Taylor/WashingtonPost/21January2016]

CIA: 10 Tips When Investigating a Flying Saucer. Most people don't typically associate the Central Intelligence Agency with historical UFO investigations but the agency did have a big role in such investigations many years ago.

That's why I thought it was unusual and kind of interesting that the agency this week issued a release called "How to investigate a flying saucer." [The release is also a nod to the fact that the science fiction TV series X-Files returns to the screen this weekend]

In the article the CIA talks about the Air Force's Project Blue Book which investigated public reports of UFOs and operated between 1952-1969. Project Blue Book was based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Between 1947 and 1969, the Air Force recorded 12,618 sightings of strange phenomena - 701 of which remain "unidentified."

"Although the CIA was not directly affiliated with Project Blue Book, the Agency did play a large role in investigating UFOs in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which led to the creation of several studies, panels, and programs. Former CIA Chief Historian, Gerald K. Haines, wrote an in-depth article looking at the Agency's role in studying the UFO phenomenon for Studies in Intelligence. In his article, "CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90," Haines says that 'while the Agency's concern over UFOs was substantial until the early 1950s, CIA has since paid only limited and peripheral attention to the phenomena'," the CIA wrote. [Read more: Cooney/NetworkWorld/22January2016]

Section III - COMMENTARY

The U.S. Intelligence Community Wants Disruptive Change as Long as it's Not Disruptive. The senior defense department official walked up to his whiteboard and made a bunch of scattered black marks on it.

Addressing the intelligence officers seated at his conference table he said, "This whiteboard represents my area of responsibility. And those black marks represent what you have collected data on." His tone increasingly revealed his frustration as he continued, "Now, every time I say I need to understand that board as a whole you ask me to identify specific knowledge requirements so that you can task your collectors. Well, even if I knew - which I don't - and even if you could actually collect it all - which you can't - it would never even be close to sufficient. Sure, the grains you do collect may help a planner here or an acquisition guy there. But for me - a strategic leader - not so much. In sum, this whiteboard would remain mostly white."

He paused for effect and then said solemnly, "This then illustrates our conundrum: You always believe the solution to our knowledge deficiencies is more collection, I believe the solution is more thinking."

This story may be apocryphal, but it has circulated for several years now in American intelligence circles. Its longevity is a testament to its power in portraying what is now an inconvenient truth: that the intelligence community was designed for - and its legacy mindsets, structures, and behaviors remain fundamentally geared for - a strategic environment defined by a closed problem set (the Soviet Union) that demanded classified collection in order to gain relevant insight. [Read more: Kerbel/WarOnTheRocks/20January2016]

We Don't Know What to Call Russian Military Intelligence and That May Be a Problem. As I write this, Russian military intelligence doesn't have a chief. Perhaps more perplexingly, no one seems entirely sure what it's called, either. And yet this matters.

On January 3, director of military intelligence Colonel General Igor Sergun died suddenly of congestive heart failure. He was a relatively young 58, but had been suffering from overwork, and some have suggested that there was talk of transferring him, or putting him - like his ill-starred predecessor, General Shlyakhturov - on medical furlough. Some richly implausible and poorly supported tales to the contrary, there is no reason to believe there was anything suspicious about his death.

At present, despite some hints that an outsider might be parachuted into the position - perhaps someone from the Federal Security Service (FSB) or else the Presidential Security Service (SBP), Vladimir Putin's closest clients - it seems most likely the job will go to one of Sergun's deputies. However, what is the job called?

Beginning in the 1920s, Russian military intelligence was known as the GRU, standing for the Glavnoe razvedyvatel'noe upravlenie, or Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff. When Leon Trotsky established the Red Army out of the Bolshevik revolutionary Red Guard and began to regularize and professionalize it, he created its first intel branch, known initially as Registrupravlenie (the Registration Directorate) then Razvedupr (short for the Intelligence Directorate). This was the Second Directorate of the General Staff, which then became the Fourth Directorate, and then the GRU. [Read more: Galeotti/WarOnTheRocks/19January2016]

Snoopers and Scrutiny. Few balances are harder to strike than those involved in running a spy agency. After a terrorist attack, voters demand action and politicians respond by granting their spies greater powers to bug and snoop, as with America's Patriot Act in 2001 and the wide-ranging surveillance law passed after the attacks in France last year. Yet these very powers can, if abused, distort the political system, chill freedom of expression and tilt the scales of justice. When the full extent of clandestine activities come to light, as with Edward Snowden's revelations about America's National Security Agency, many feel queasy and demand that the spooks are reined in again.

So a lot is riding on Britain's attempt to update the law governing the domestic activities of its spy agencies. The draft bill will make explicit how the electronic-intelligence agency, GCHQ, may (with a warrant) plant bugs on computers and other devices, collect and analyse bulk information (such as mobile-phone activity and web-browsing records) and read private messages. Get the details right, and Britain can provide a model of how to balance security and freedom; get them wrong, and centuries of freedom might shrivel.

The bill's biggest success is its self-restraint. It does not require firms to weaken the encryption they sell to customers, as politicians in several countries, including Britain, would like. If people want security on the internet, they have no alternative to strong encryption. The agencies have other means of collecting data, including bugging phones and computers.

The draft bill is also right to require companies to retain, at least for a time, data about mobile-phone and internet activity that may, subject to a warrant, be of use to future investigations. Intelligence agencies need to be able to look back at the history of a suspected terrorist's contacts and movements.

Elsewhere, however, the bill could be better. [Read more: TheEconomist/23January2016]

To Defeat ISIS, Study the Antiquity Trade. The Islamic State's destruction of ancient sites in Syria and Iraq has dominated the headlines recently, along with claims that the group reaps enormous profits from looted antiquities. The U.S. government is focused on cutting the Islamic State's funding streams, but probably no one outside of ISIS knows exactly how much money the group is making by trafficking ancient artifacts. As a former CIA officer who worked as an economic and counterterrorism analyst, my response to the question is simple: It doesn't really matter.

Law enforcement and intelligence officials should pay close attention to the antiquities trade emanating from Syria and Iraq, but not because they need to know precisely how much money ISIS brings in. What is important is that the trade itself reveals something about the Islamic State's operational infrastructure, its links with partners and middlemen, and how the group is exploiting the local civilian population. All of this is critical to understanding how the U.S. and its allies may defeat the group militarily, financially, and ideologically. 

One way to understand an adversary's aims is to uncover how it organizes and prioritizes elements within its economy. During the Cold War, the CIA allocated significant manpower to analyze the Soviet Union economy. Analysts studied Russian industries to learn about Russian resources and to gain insight on Soviet intentions.

The Islamic State is, of course, not actually a state, but it is attempting to structure itself as such, and investigating how it organizes its industries can tell us about its priorities. [Read more: Fanusie/CNBC/25January2016]

Blog: U.S. Intelligence and Presidential Transition: Time for Change? Late in 2014, I drafted an article titled "The U.S. Intelligence Community of 2025: Smaller by Design?" The question mark was an important part of the title. The point was not to recommend a conscious reduction in force, but rather to suggest that such an outcome should be given consideration if it could deliver equal or greater capability along with greater agility and efficiency. I received prepublication review approval of the paper, then never submitted it for publication.

As I've looked at the draft from time to time, I see value in its original premises, among them that the U.S. intelligence establishment had been last reviewed after September 2001. This entailed largely a focus on counterterrorism and flush budgets, along with the consequences of dealing with legislation crafted in a post-crisis environment. However, some things have changed. Budgets no longer are flush, and terrorism is but one element in a complex set of national security issues. Only a volatile information and communications environment in which intelligence must function remains from the post-2001 matrix of transformational forces.

As we enter the last year before a presidential transition, this may be an appropriate time to consider an examination of U.S. intelligence. In looking at my 2014 draft article, I now think its focus was too narrow. It centered around only one dimension - size - and on only one possible direction: retrenchment. In the end, I may have underestimated the impact of the information environment for which I thought I had accounted. [Read more: Nolte/Signal/22January2016]

Section IV - ADMIN: Books and Upcoming Events

Books

Review: Peter Bergen's 'United States of Jihad' Surveys Homegrown Terrorism. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Peter Bergen reports in his new timely book, 330 people in the United States have been charged with some kind of jihadist terrorist crime, and a startling four out of five of them were American citizens or legal permanent residents.

Many assumptions about these militants, Mr. Bergen asserts, do not hold up: Most jihadists in the United States were not young hotheads without family obligations, and the decision to turn to terrorism, for the most part, was not rooted in some traumatic life experience. According to Mr. Bergen's research, their average age was 29, and more than a third were married - many with children. In addition, more than one in six supporters of the Islamic State in this country were women.

American jihadists, Mr. Bergen says, are "on average, as well educated and emotionally stable as the typical citizen.

"They are ordinary Americans." [Read more: Kakutani/NewYorkTimes/25January2016]

Upcoming Events

AFIO EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN COMING TWO MONTHS....

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, 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. - 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 starting at 11:30; opening ceremonies, lunch and business meeting at noon, 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.

Meeting will include special joint discussion on "Conflicts and Commitments - a Coalition perspective of the War on Terror" when Col. Keddy is joined by Col. Derek Harvey, co-Director of the Global Initiative at the University of South Florida, to co-host the post-presentation discussion. Col. Harvey served in military intelligence, as a Middle East/North Africa Foreign Area Officer and as a DIA Senior Leader, working for the CENTCOM Commander in 2009. Email by Tuesday, February 2, to sectysuncoastafio@att.net your questions and any topics you'd like included in the discussion. Open Q&A at event will be limited.
Please note that this meeting will run a little longer -- ending at 2 p.m. -- to accomodate this discussion.

Wednesday, 10 February 2016, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. - Albuquerque, NM - AFIO New Mexico Chapter hosts special election meeting.

The AFIO NM Chapter is holding the important Election Meeting to nominate and election new officers. It is imperative that all members attend to help shape and direct the chapter for the coming years.
Location: “The Egg & I” Restaurant, 6909 Menaul Blvd (East of Louisiana), Albuquerque, NM. Questions or to explore accepting an elected position in the chapter, contact Pete Bostwick (505) 898-2649 foreigndevil@yahoo.com or Mike Ford (505) 294-6133 Secpro39@yahoo.com

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 no later than 9 Feb.

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 was supplied to all member today.
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.

25 February 2016, 12:30-2 PM - Los Angeles, CA - The Los Angeles AFIO Chapter holds special election meeting.

The Los Angeles AFIO Chapter will hold a special meeting on February 25, 2016 for the election of chapter officers.
Location: L.A.P.D.-ARTC, 5651 W Manchester Ave RM.1F, Los Angeles, CA 90045.
RSVP: afio_la@yahoo.com

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.

Monday, 29 February 2016 - San Francisco, CA - The AFIO San Francisco Andre LeGallo Chapter hosts Barry Eisler, a former CIA DO Case Officer, and Gen. Michael Hayden, former Director of NSA and CIA, and PDDNI.

Barry Eisler, attorney, former CIA Case Officer in the Directorate of Operations and author and Gen. Michael Hayden, Former Director of NSA/CIA and Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence. Mr. Eisler will discuss his novel, The God's Eye View and privacy and surveillance in the 21st century. Gen. Michael Hayden will discuss "American Intelligence in the Age of Terror."

Join us for this unique behind-the-scenes look at America's anti-terror efforts. Venue: Peninsula location - address will be sent to registrants in two weeks: 11:30am buffet lunch; meeting at noon.

Member Registration until 2/1/16: open registration starting 2/1/16: Register here. Questions?: contact Mariko Kawaguchi, Board Secretary at afiosf@aol.com or Mariko Kawaguchi, c/o AFIO, PO Box 117578, Burlingame, CA 94011.

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, Irish author of newly released "Queen of Spies: Daphne Park, Britain's Cold War Spy Master."

Irish Author Paddy Hayes discusses Queen of Spies, his new book about Daphne Park (1921 - 2010) top British spy during the Cold War. Baroness Park of Monmouth (OBE) (CMG) spent her youth on the African plains and eventually became Chief of Western Hemisphere operations for the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). A fascinating successful career and book, very well reviewed!
LOCATION: Society of Illustrators building 128 East 63rd Street Between Park and Lexington Avenues in Manhattan
TIME: Registration Starts 5:30 PM. Meeting Starts 6 PM.
COST: $50/person Cash or check only.
REGISTER: Strongly suggested, not required. Phone Jerry Goodwin 646-717-3776 or Email: afiometro@gmail.com.

Other Upcoming Events

Wednesday, 3 February 2016, 11:30 am - Washington, DC - Dr. Tawfik Hamid on "Inside Jihad: How Radical Islam Works" - speaking at the Daniel Morgan Academy

Inside Jihad: How Radical Islam Works, Why It Should Terrify Us, How To Defeat It is the presentation by Dr. Tawfik Hamid, an Islamic Reformer.
Why has radical Islam become such a deadly threat, and why does it dominate the Muslim world? Dr. Tawfik Hamid will answer these questions and provide deep insights about, and opposition to, the Islamic terror movement drawn from his direct personal experiences. As a medical doctor and an expert on the psychology of the jihadist mindset, he will explain the roles that sex, fear, petrodollars and the hijab for women have played in its proliferation. He will detail his bold plan for Islamic reformation that could eventually change the jihadists' minds and end their reign of terror.

AFIO Members and their guests are invited to attend. RSVP here to register or call Frank Fletcher at 202.759.4988. For more info, email them at info@DanielMorgan.academy
Event location: Daniel Morgan Academy, 1620 L St NW, 7th Flr, Washington, DC 20036 - Near Farragut North and West Metro Stations

Wednesdays, 3 February -24 February 2016, 10:15am - Washington, DC - Spy Seminar Series: Deep Cover Spies: The Dangers of a Double Life at the International Spy Museum

What's it like to be the man on the inside? The trusted colleague who is actually working against his comrades?  Spy novels and films often hinge on the information supplied by mysterious agents who risk their lives to spy from within, but does this really happen?  What does it take to live a double life?  In this series, former undercover agents and an intelligence expert will reveal the danger, complexity, and hardship of living a life that's not really yours.  They'll share how courage and conviction can enable ordinary people to hide their true thoughts and feelings in pursuit of a greater good.
Tickets: $125  www.SmithsonianAssociates.org. Internet Quick Tix code for the program: 1M2-830.

Wednesday, 3 February 3 2016, 7-8:15 pm - McLean, VA - Dr John Poindexter discusses “National Security and the Islamic State: Foreign and Domestic”

Dr. John M. Poindexter discusses "National Security and the Islamic State: Foreign and Domestic." Dr. Poindexter recently served as Director of the Information Awareness Office (IAO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). From 1983-86 he was National Security Advisor and Deputy National Security Advisor for President Ronald Reagan, and Military Assistant in the White House prior to that. Poindexter served 29 years in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of Vice Admiral. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.
PLEASE NOTE THE EARLY START TIME.
Where: Westminster Institute, 6729 Curran St. McLean, VA
The event is free but requires registration by February 2, 2016.
TO REGISTER: click here. Or contact them at The Westminster Institute, br@westminster-institute.org 703-288-2885

Friday, 5 February 2016, 5:30 pm - Washington, DC - Amb. R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence, discusses Energy Security in the 21st Century

Event is by Invitation Only. This is the Institute of World Politics' Third Annual Brian Kelley Memorial Lecture. The topic this year is on "Energy Security in the 21st Century" with the keynote address by IWP's Chancellor, Amb. R. James Woolsey, Former Director of Central Intelligence
The Institute of World Politics 1521 16th Street NW Washington, DC. If you are not IWP Alumni, and wish to attend, contact info@iwp.edu

Saturday, 6 February 2016, 2-3pm - Washington, DC - The Magic of Spying: Tradecraft Trickery at the International Spy Museum

In the real-life world of espionage, spies often call upon the art of magic and illusion to distract the enemy, make evidence disappear, and escape unnoticed.  Join professional magician, Peter Wood, as he demonstrates the art of misdirection, sleight of hand, and other illusions used by skilled spies. This one of a kind performance, custom-designed for the Spy Museum, is guaranteed to fascinate children and adults alike.
Tickets: $10. Ages 5+ visit www.spymuseum.org

Wednesday, 10 February 2016, 6:30pm - Washington, DC - Anonymous Heroes: African American Spies of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War at the International Spy Museum

As historians look more closely at espionage history, the significance of African American intelligence contributions to the American cause in the Revolution and the Union victory in the Civil War is finally coming into focus.

Retired CIA Intelligence Officer Ken Daigler, author of Spies, Patriots, and Traitors: America in the Revolutionary War, numerous articles on Civil War espionage, and the CIA publication on African American spying for the Union "Black Dispatches," will discuss the intelligence roles played by African Americans in both conflicts. He will identify the individuals involved in various intelligence operations, describe how they operated, explain what they accomplished, and place their brave efforts within the larger context of significant victories for the American patriots and the Union Army.

Tickets: $12. Visit www.spymuseum.org

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.

Wednesday, 11 May 2016 - Washington, DC - Night of Heroes Gala - The PenFed Foundation 2016 Gala

PUT THIS DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR and then Join the PenFed Foundation, our partners and friends, Wednesday, 11 May 2016, as we honor those who lead the way in supporting our military and veterans. All proceeds benefit the PenFed Foundation, helping members of the military secure the financial future they deserve.
DINNER ★ HERO AWARDS PRESENTATION ★ LIVE AUCTION
Consider having your corporation or foundation be a sponsor for this worthwhile event. SPONSORSHIP LEVELS are as follows:
$100,000 Circle of Honor; $50,000 Legendary Hero; $25,000 Distinguished Hero; $10,000 Inspirational Hero; $5,000 Patriotic Hero; $1,000 Individual Sponsor
More details coming soon. More info here.
Location: Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, Washington, DC.

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