Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Russia Wants to Fly Hi-Tech Spy Planes Over US Russia will ask permission on Monday to start flying surveillance planes equipped with high-powered digital cameras amid warnings from US intelligence and military officials that such overflights help Moscow collect intelligence on the United States.

Russia and the United States are signatories to the Open Skies Treaty, which allows unarmed observation flights over the entire territory of all 34 member nations to foster transparency about military activity and help monitor arms control and other agreements. Senior intelligence and military officials, however, worry that Russia is taking advantage of technological advances to violate the spirit of the treaty.

Russia will formally ask the Open Skies Consultative Commission, based in Vienna, to be allowed to fly an aircraft equipped with high-tech sensors over the United States, according to a senior congressional staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the staff member wasn't authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

The request will put the Obama administration in the position of having to decide whether to let Russia use the high-powered equipment on its surveillance planes at a time when Moscow, according to the latest State Department compliance report, is failing to meet all its obligations under the treaty. And it comes at one of the most tension-filled times in US-Russia relations since the end of the Cold War, with the two countries at odds over Russian activity in Ukraine and Syria. [Read more: AP/22February2016]

North Korea Preparing to Conduct Cyber, Terror Attacks in South Korea, Intelligence Officials Say. Following widespread condemnation of North Korea's satellite launch earlier in February and its alleged hydrogen bomb test in January, South Korean officials warned that Kim Jong Un asked his military officials and intelligence agents to boost preparations for launching terror attacks in South Korea, according to Yonhap. The report comes as Seoul is working with the US and United Nations Security Council to expand sanctions against Pyongyang after the satellite launch on Feb. 7.

Lee Chul-woo, a representative for South Korea's state intelligence agency, attended an urgent meeting - between the ruling party and the government - over North Korea and said Thursday that the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau was preparing to conduct disruptive acts, including cyber attacks, in the South. The government reportedly told lawmakers at the meeting that North Korea may also poison or kidnap South Korean nationals.

Lee added, according to Yonhap, that South Korea's intelligence service was trying to collect more information on the possible attacks by Pyongyang.

On Monday, Oh Joon, the South Korean ambassador to the UN Security Council, called for extraordinary measures against North Korea to make it evident that the international community would not tolerate Pyongyang's "nuclear blackmail." [Read more: Shankar/InternationalBusinessTimes/18February2016]

Kenya Army: Air Raid Kills Al-Shabab's Intelligence Chief. An airstrike killed the head of intelligence of the Somali-based extremist group al-Shabab, who is believed to have been among those who planned attacks on Kenyans, Kenya's military said Thursday. Al-Shabab denied the claim.

Mahad Karate, also known as Abdirahim Mohamed Warsame, was killed along with 10 mid-level al-Shabab members and 42 recruits in an airstrike 10 days ago in Nadris camp in Somalia's south, military spokesman Col. David Obonyo said.

Al-Shabab denied the claim, saying it was aimed at drawing attention from "significant losses" of Kenyan soldiers in a recent attack by al-Shabab in Somalia.

"The claims by Kenyan government that it killed what they called the al-Shabab intelligence chief is a mere fabrication," the online al-Shabab radio Andulus said. [Read more: Odula&Guled/AP/18February2016]

Court Considers Whether Drone Strikes Count As Intelligence in ACLU Case. Is a drone strike an intelligence activity?

This was a question posed by judge David Tatel of the US court of appeals for the DC circuit on Wednesday.

Tatel and colleagues Thomas Griffith and David Sentelle were considering the latest chapter of a long-running case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for the release of CIA lists of drone killings.

Since 2010 the ACLU has been fighting in the courts to find out when, where, and against whom the unmanned aerial weapons have been authorised, and how the US ensures compliance with international laws relating to extrajudicial killings. [Read more: Smith/TheGuardian/17February2016]

Saudis Open Iran Spy Trial Against Shiite Minority. Saudi Arabia has opened a trial against 32 Shiites for allegedly spying on behalf of arch-rival Iran. The espionage trial may increase already tense relations as Saudi and Iranian proxy wars engulf the region. 

The 32 Shiites, including an Iranian and an Afghan, face a host of espionage charges in a secret court related to protests against the Sunni kingdom over entrenched discrimination against the Shiite minority.

The allegations come after the two rivals cut diplomatic ties following the storming and burning of the Saudi embassy in Tehran in January. That unrest came as a response to Saudi Arabia executing prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who led largely peaceful protests against the kingdom in 2011.

The execution exacerbated already tense relations as the two countries vie for regional influence through proxy struggles in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and Yemen that are fueling destabilization in the region. [Read more: AFP&Reuters/22February2016]

CIA Has Dedicated Program to Recruit Transgender Individuals. The Central Intelligence Agency three-year "Diversity and Inclusion Strategy" includes a dedicated program to recruit transgender individuals and agency-wide "unconscious bias" training.

The plan, released by the CIA's Diversity and Inclusion Office last week, lays out several goals for "weaving diversity and inclusion throughout the talent cycle."

One agency goal is "Becoming an Employer of Choice," and includes "dedicated programs" to recruit every demographic imaginable.

"Cultivating an inclusive culture that encourages collaboration, flexibility, and fairness enables all officers to contribute to their full potential," the CIA plan stated. "When employees feel included, have a voice, and are given opportunities to develop and maximize their potential, we create an organization of choice and become a model employer for the full diversity of America's talent." [Read more: Harrington/FreeBeacon/18February2016]

Bill Seeks to Revamp Oversight of Israeli Intelligence Services. A new bill to be proposed on Monday would turn the Ministry of Intelligence Affairs into a statutory ministry headed by a full-time minister with expansive authority regarding budgets and appointments in the intelligence services. Passage of the bill would bring Israel in line with other Western countries, whereas the intelligence services - the Mossad and Shin Bet - currently answer directly to the prime minister

The Secret Services Bill, initiated by opposition MKs Ofer Shelah and Yaakov Perry (both Yesh Atid), could spark an intense debate within the political echelon and the defense establishment. Members of the governing coalition have in the past argued in favor of a change regarding responsibility over the intelligence services, saying that the prime minister may not be available to handle them given his vsat array of duties. 

According to Shelah, who formulated the bill after researching the topic and the model in other countries, "regulating the intelligence services' activities and governmental oversight is a necessary step that should have occurred a long time ago." He noted that these services have answered directly to the prime minister. "In this situation," he said, "the secret services have no ministerial oversight like what the IDF and other intelligence services in the world have."

The first section of the bill regards regulation of ministerial supervision over the secret services, and would turn the Ministry of Intelligence Affairs into a statutory ministry headed by a full-time minister who would also serve as a regular member of the Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs (AKA the Security Cabinet).  [Read more:  Azulay/Ynet/22February2016]

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

American Snitch: Inside the Life of a Counterterrorism Informant. Since the 9/11 attacks, the feds have won more than 500 terrorism convictions. In nearly half of those cases, confidential informants played a key role in bringing down the alleged bad guys. Of course, snitches have been around since Judas flipped on Jesus. That they are crucial to making cases is beyond debate. How reliable they are is not. Beyond the scattered community of grieving parents, civil liberties lawyers and a few crusading journalists, however, little attention has been paid to the abuses of the system in which the FBI coached informants to build flimsy cases against the defendants.

Now comes (T)error, an astounding documentary film that casts serious doubt on the rectitude of the government's cases. (The parenthesis is supposed to emphasize error.) By trailing along in real time with a key counterterrorism informant who invited the filmmakers into his demimonde - without telling his FBI handlers - the documentary reveals how snitches persuade their marks to move from idle talk about jihad to contemplating - if not actually doing - something more serious. While the film was screened to rapt acclaim at Tribeca and Sundance last year, it's bound to gain new fans when it has its debut on the PBS series Independent Lens on Monday, February 22.

The star of what amounts to this noir home movie is Saeed Torres, a 63-year-old former Black Panther and ex-con who is working as a middle school cook, serving hot dogs at a basketball game, as the film opens. The flabby, graying Torres, cover name "Shariff," claims he had made hundreds of thousands of dollars as a counterterrorism informant in the first years after the September 11, 2001, attacks, the film says, but when co-director Lyric Cabral encounters him in 2005, business has dried up. As it turns out, Torres and Cabral had been neighbors in Harlem a few years earlier, when Cabral was a budding photographer in New York. At the time, she thought Torres was a legal aid worker, but that was just his cover job. Now, as journalistic luck would have it, Torres unburdens himself to Cabral as an FBI informant and, for reasons that remain mystifying, agrees to let her and cinematographer and co-director David Felix Sutcliffe into his dark ops. [Read more: Stein/Newsweek/21February2016]

Global Intelligence Service: Fancy Fiction or Reality Within Reach? There is not yet a unified global intelligence service, however what are the chances of the one being created? Sputnik Italia sat down with Franco Frattini, President of the Italian Society for International Organizations (SIOI) and former Italian foreign minister to review the pros and cons.

"The role of intelligence is vitally important to European countries such as Italy. By all means, it is equally important in Russia, where Daesh can also strike a blow," the Italian politician told Sputnik.

"For two years I was the minister in Italy, whose area of responsibility included the supervision of the intelligence services," he added.

The former diplomat added however that information is still exchanged between nation states. [Read more: SputnikNews/21February2016]

Are Intelligence Sector Reforms Enough to Protect Colombia's Journalists? When Colombia's national intelligence agency, known as DAS, was disbanded in October 2011 after revelations of illegal surveillance and harassment of the press and public figures, many journalists breathed a sigh of relief. But recent claims of reporters being spied on and government agencies buying advanced surveillance technology without ensuring clear guidelines over its use, has raised questions about the country's commitment to ending abusive practices.

President Juan Manuel Santos disbanded DAS (the administrative department of security) after news magazine Semana found in 2009 that some of its members were illegally spying on journalists, had issued death threats against investigative reporter Claudia Julieta Duque and her daughter, and used agents disguised as body guards for surveillance.

Santos appeared committed to ending the culture of surveillance, breaking up the agency in October 2011 and signing in Colombia's first intelligence law, which went into effect in 2013.

The law, which established political oversight for intelligence agencies, including the police and the armed forces, was perceived by its supporters as a way to prevent illegal spying. "The law sets limits for intelligence and counterintelligence activities and establishes harsh consequences for those who do not comply with the law," Senator Juan Manuel Gal'n, who authored the bill, wrote in an email to CPJ. [Read more: Ellerbeck/CPJ/February2016]

Revolutionizing Intelligence - Part One. Closed off from all non-essential personnel in a secured, vault-like work environment known as a Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility, the 204th Intelligence Squadron is a mystery to those outside the squadron.

Who are they? What is their mission? What have they accomplished? How have they proven to be a vital part of not only the 108th Wing, but the whole United States Air Force?

The 204th is the first Air National Guard squadron solely dedicated to providing intelligence instruction and training products directly to Air Mobility Command.

Commanded by Lt. Col. Robert M. Kelly, the 108th Wing unit consists of 79 Airmen, 65 intelligence personnel - 13 full-time and 14 support personnel - six full-time, who work within the 8,000 square foot SCIF allowing the Airmen to be in a self-contained intelligence unit. [Read more: Novak/DVIDS/20February2016]

Throwing a Fresh Light on Secret Intelligence. British government secret intelligence and foreign policy files from 1873 to 1953 - with a particular focus on the inner workings of British intelligence services - have been released in a new digital resource, writes Robert Roe. 

The Taylor & Francis collection Secret Files from World Wars to Cold War, sourced from the UK National Archives, provides researchers with a view into the workings of the UK government during this time and aims to enable new research into intelligence, foreign policy, international relations, and military history.

The Churchill War Rooms, a once-secret World War Two bunker used for hundreds of clandestine meetings between Churchill and senior members of the government, military and intelligence services was the setting for the launch of the resource, which provides access to more than 144,000 pages of British government secret intelligence and foreign policy files from 1873 to 1953. It provides access to previously classified files that will enable new research into intelligence, foreign policy, international relations, and military history in the period of Appeasement, through the Second World War, and into the early Cold War.

Anthony Glees, from the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, commented on the importance of the collection to researchers: "Few resources can be of greater use to the student of twentieth-century history than easy access to the original documentary evidence of how Britain's foreign policy was shaped by secret intelligence." [Read more: ResearchInformation/19February2016]

A New Voice in Town: Global Security and Intelligence Studies. IHS is proud to announce that we'll be featuring cutting-edge articles from the new, open-access publication: Global Security and Intelligence Studies (GSIS).

GSIS is a bi-annual, peer-reviewed journal designed to provide a forum for the academic community to engage in dialogue about contemporary global security and intelligence issues. The journal is published by the Policy Studies Organization (PSO), a political science think tank based in Washington, DC.

The journal features articles from experts in the fields of intelligence analysis, political science, international security, homeland security, and many other topics and disciplines - along with in-depth book reviews.

Dr. Yoav Gortzak is the managing editor of GSIS. A former faculty member at Arizona State University, Dr. Gortzak is currently an associate professor in the international relations program at American Military University. [Read more: Cosker/InHomelandSecurity/17February2016]

Amazing Insight Into What US Intelligence Knew About Hitler in 1943. One of history's most brutal tyrants was a diagnosed schizophrenic on a mission to avenge his childhood years of repressed rage, according to Henry Murray, an American psychologist and a Harvard professor.

In 1943, the US Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to the CIA, commissioned Murray to study Adolf Hitler's personality to try to predict his behavior. In his 229-page report, Analysis of the Personality of Adolf Hitler, Murray described Hitler as a paranoid "utter wreck" who was "incapable of normal human relationships."

"It is forever impossible to hope for any mercy or humane treatment from him," Murray wrote. [Read more: Macias/BusinessInsider/22February2016]

Section III - COMMENTARY

Behind Saddam Hussein's Deception: Saddam Faked Having Weapons of Mass Destruction, But He Had Nuclear Ambitions. Now that Donald Trump has resurfaced the issue of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, Saddam Hussein's own words to the FBI are instructive.

In seven months of secret FBI debriefings after his capture, Saddam admitted that he faked having weapons of mass destruction when he was in power but had planned on developing a weapons of mass destruction program with nuclear capability within a year.

Saddam made the admissions in videotaped interviews with George L. Piro, an FBI agent who was assigned by the FBI with the CIA's approval to try to develop the former dictator's cooperation.

For my book "he Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to the Next Attack, Mr. Piro described the debriefings, which had never been previously revealed. [Read more: Kessler/WashingtonTimes/18February2016]

America Was Founded on Secrets and Lies. With all due respect to early-American hagiographer Parson Weems, George Washington knew how to tell a lie. In fact, he told a lot of them. Moreover, talent for deception was shared by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, all of whom, to borrow from former Vice President Dick Cheney, worked the "dark side." And though these Founding Fathers' knack for the shadows may cut against the image of modern-day saints that has grown up around them, it is difficult to see the American Revolution succeeding without it.

In popular history, clandestine operations, and their control by the executive, are a cancerous growth that began in the 20th century with the so-called "imperial presidency" and the rise of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. This is fiction. Unfortunately, this fairy tale account of American history is gospel in far too many quarters. It was accepted as fact by the Church Committee in the 1970s, resurrected again in the majority report of the Iran-Contra Committee in 1987, and now finds renewed life on the libertarian right. As Jefferson noted, for the founders, the "laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger," overrode traditional standards of conduct or any written law. Enlisting their legacy in the cause of restricting or banning these operations can only be achieved by either distorting or ignoring their repeated use of underhanded means.

Facing off against the greatest superpower of his day, Washington understood that when fighting a more formidable foe, deception acts as a force multiplier. Though Washington's commitment to espionage may have been written out of the laudatory histories that established America's first president as the "Jupiter conservator," striking a demigod pose, the work of spying was never far from his mind.

One of Washington's first acts upon taking command of the Continental Army in 1775 was to hire a spy to go behind the enemy lines and report on British activities in Boston. [Read more: Knott/ForeignPolicy/15February2016]

Do-It-Yourself Military Intelligence. An unparalleled, indiscriminate and growing wave of transparency is exposing the deployment of military assets - once found only through labored searches of technical publications - and high definition, near-real-time images of geographical locations worldwide, are obtainable through the click of a mouse. As tensions rise between the United States and potential state and non-state adversaries, the veil of secrecy that at one time could only be lifted by intelligence agencies is now accessible to virtually anyone via the worldwide web.

Many news outlets picked up on the recent expansion of an airstrip in Remeillan, Syria - a Kurdish-controlled area 365 miles from NATO Incirlik air base in Turkey. The strip, that was just 2,300 feet long by 82 feet wide on April 17, 2015, has been expanded to 4,330 feet by 190 feet wide, with an 82 feet by 92 feet apron, as of December 18, 2015. CNN placed a reporter on the ground to give an eyewitness account of the activities taking place near the strip - described as herdsmen with sheep, oil pumps, and mud brick houses. Yet, this leaves many unanswered questions.

Why does the expansion of an isolated airstrip warrant attention? It is not only the improvement of the airstrip, but also how it was discovered. The construction was observed by IHS Janes using commercial satellite imagery gathered, in this case, from Airbus Defence and Space, but which could be purchased from a number of sources for a few thousand dollars. What are the deeper implications of this runway? Without taking a trip to Syria or accessing classified sources, can a person answer this question using only open sources? [Read more: Oppenheimer&Picozzi/CouncilofForeignRelations/18February2016]

Think US Intel Is in Decline? These Declassified Memos May Change Your Mind. The supposed sorry state of US intelligence, along with the need to fix it, remains an easy applause line on the campaign trail. "When I'm president, we are going to rebuild our intelligence capabilities, and they're going to tell us where the terrorists are," Marco Rubio said at a Republican presidential debate in late January.

But are US intelligence capabilities really that bad? While the budget for intelligence has been dropping for a number of years because of America's quasi-drawdown from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the pernicious effects of sequestration, the funding allocated for the intelligence community remains far above what it was before 9/11. Of course, merely spending money doesn't necessarily get great results. By at least some measures, though, our intelligence collection and analysis seem vastly more sophisticated than they used to be.

Consider the president's daily intelligence report.

The CIA last year released 2,500 of its flagship intelligence documents from the 1960s. Now, regular folks can read, with some occasionally major redactions, what the agency served to Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson six mornings a week. Kennedy received something called the President's Intelligence Checklist, which became the President's Daily Brief (PDB) in 1964. [Read more: Peritz/WashingtonPost/19February2016]

Jobs

3 March 2016, 2 to 8 pm EST- online - Intelligence Community Holds Virtual Career Fair

Explore the online career fair being held by the U.S. Intelligence Community here.

TECHEXPO Top Secret March and April Hiring Events

March Hiring Events: Secret Clearance or above is Required to Attend

Wednesday, March 9 at BWI Marriott, Linthicum Heights, MD; Thursday, March 10 at Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, McLean, VA

Polygraph - Only April Hiring Events: CI or Full Scope Polygraph is Required to Attend

Wednesday, April 13 at BWI Marriott, Linthicum Heights, MD; Thursday, April 14 at Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, McLean, VA 

Cyber Security Hiring Event: Cyber Security Experience is Required to Attend

Wednesday, April 27 at Sheraton Columbia Town Center, Columbia, MD

Companies Confirmed at MD 3/9:  AECOM Government Services; BCT LLC; Bridges Consulting; CGI World Wide; Chameleon Integrated Services - Virtual Exhibitor; CIA- Central Intelligence Agency; CSRA
Freedom Consulting Group; General Dynamics; Innoplex; Inovex; Intelligence Careers; ISHPI Information Technologies; M.C. Dean; National Security Agency; Raytheon; Serco; The Josef Group – Virtual Exhibitor; Varen Technologies; and more!

Companies Confirmed at VA 3/10: Amazon Web Services; Chameleon Integrated Services - Virtual Exhibitor; Deloitte; Freedom Consulting Group; General Dynamics; GovEvents; Innovative Defense Technologies; Intelligence Careers; ISHPI Information Technologies; Jacobs Federal Network Systems; Leidos; MDA Information Systems; Noblis; Red Hat; Security University; Software Engineering Institute; Vencore; Veteran Career Counseling Services; WiSC Enterprises; and more!

Obituaries

John Debenham Taylor, Intelligence Officer. John Debenham Taylor, who has died aged 95, was one of the first instructor agents recruited by the Special Operations Executive; during the Second World War he served in Finland and the Far East, later rising to the high echelons of SIS (MI6) and becoming one of the organisation's official historians.

Though generally tight-lipped about his time with "the office", last year he was interviewed for Legasee, a project to record the memories of those who had been involved in the Secret War. He talked of the three years he had spent in the Control Commission for Germany in the late 1940s when West Berlin was blockaded, supplied only by an Allied airlift, and when a chronic shortage of soap meant that "a bar of Lifebuoy went a long way in securing whatever you wanted."

Among other things he told of a remarkable operation involving a stable of prostitutes that he was "running" in the hope that the girls would persuade Russians to defect or spy for the West, or, at the very least, obtain some "pillow talk". In a private memoir written for his family he recalled "nights spent on stations and road junctions keeping rendezvous near the Russian sector to which we hoped one girl or another would turn up, complete with a Russian." When asked whether the operation was successful, however, he replied: "Not really, but we probably gave them some terrible diseases."

John Debenham Taylor was born at Wallington, Surrey, on April 25, 1920 and educated at Aldenham School, where he captained the First XI. [Read more: TheTelegraph/21February2016]

Upcoming Events

AFIO EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN COMING TWO MONTHS....

Thursday, 25 February 2016, 5:30 PM - Atlanta, GA - AFIO Atlanta Chapter event features Mark Riebling on Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler.

The AFIO Atlanta Chapter, the Harvard Club of Georgia, the UC Berkeley Alumni Club of Georgia, and the Syracuse University Alumni Club of Atlanta invite you and a guest to an evening with AFIO member Mark Riebling. Mr. Riebling is a path-breaking writer on secret intelligence. His 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.' Mr. Riebling will discuss his recent bestseller Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler. The event will be moderated by Prof. Nathan A. Sales, a leading light among legal scholars focused on emerging national security issues. He teaches at Syracuse University College of Law.

Please see event details below, and use link to register. AFIO members and guests pay no fee to attend this special event. Questions? Contact Brian J. Hooper, President, AFIO Atlanta Chapter at brian@afioatlanta.com or call him at 404.879.2440

5:30 - 6:30 pm:  Cocktail Reception; 6:30 - 7:30 pm:  Presentation by Mark Riebling, followed by Q&A; 7:30 - 8:30 pm: Cocktail Reception.

Register here.

WHERE: Womble Carlyle; Skyline Room (25th Floor); Atlantic Station, BB&T Building; 271 17th Street, NW, Suite 2500; Atlanta, GA 30363-1017.

RSVP by Feb. 18 by clicking on the registration button above.
*Event is limited to first 100 registrants. NOTE:  Attendees receive two (2) hours complimentary parking in the Atlantic Station parking deck. Nominal cost for additional hours. For updated information visit the chapter website.

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

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.

Thursday, 17 March 2016, 11:30 am - Colorado Springs, CO - "I have lived within 60 miles of a dangerous, cunning terrorist for the past 25 years." - Presentation at the Rocky Mountain Chapter

Warren Gerig, the RMC Vice President, will discuss "I have lived within 60 miles of a dangerous, cunning terrorist for the past 25 years."
Mr. Gerig will discuss his dealing with a terrorist who is currently confined in the Florence SuperMax prison. This story and information at the time was not available to US Government Intelligence Services because it all happened in the confines of privately owned airlines in the Far East some 25 years ago.
Please RSVP to Tom VanWormer at robsmom@pcisys.net for location details.
The cost of the meal is $15.
We will also discuss the passing of the Rocky Mountain Chapter refounder, Board Secretary Richard Durham. The Chapter Board is looking for a replacement secretary for Mr. Durham.
All presentations to the RMC, AFIO are non-attribution so the speakers can feel free to provide information with the assurance it will not be published.

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. A review of Playing to the Edge just appeared in the Wall Street Journal at this link.

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.
Do you wish to stay in hotel overnight?
A special room rate of $189 for Thursday evening, only, is available at this link.
Wake up, enjoy breakfast, and come down elevator to the meeting.

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

Tuesday, 23 February 2016 4:30 - 5:30 pm - Washington, DC - Intelligence as a Career Path: Black History Month After School Program featuring Malcolm Nance at the Spy Museum

Meet counterterrorism expert & author Malcolm Nance. He's been undercover in terrorist hotspots, passed hostile border crossings in disguise, submitted to waterboarding, and now he's prepared to share his life experiences with students. Malcolm W. Nance is a counterterrorism and terrorism intelligence expert with wide-ranging field and combat experience.
A frequent guest commentator on breaking news, he's the author of The Terrorist Recognition Handbook among other books. Drawing on his experience as a 20-year veteran of the US intelligence community's Combating Terrorist program, he's been a consultant for the US government on special operations, homeland security, and intelligence. As a master Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) instructor, he can handle any tricky situation including testifying before the US Congress and speaking to teenagers.
Middle and High School Students only. In partnership with the Greater Washington Urban League.
Tickets: Free! Advance registration required. Register at 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.

Friday, 26 February 2016, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. - Washington, DC - True World Ops hosts book signing with investigative reporter Bryan Denson, author of The Spy's Son.

True World Ops hosts a book-signing with journalist Bryan Denson, author of The Spy's Son, the true story of the highest ranking CIA officer ever convicted of espionage and the son he trained to spy for Russia.

Event location: Martin's Tavern, Washington, DC. No fee. RSVP here.

1 March 2016, 6:30-8:00 pm - Arlington, VA - Augustyn, Kappes, Rolince, Cohen Presentations and Panel on "What is the current threat level in the United States?" at Marymount University

Presentations and Q&A Panel
Joseph W. Augustyn, Moderator; Executive Vice President, Security and Intelligence at Jefferson Waterman International; Former Deputy Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Homeland Security

Panelists: Stephen R. Kappes, Partner and the Chief Operating Officer at Torch Hill Investments; Former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Michael Rolince, Independent consultant supporting the FBI's countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Office; Former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office Counterterrorism.
David Cohen, Senior Advisor to the Command Consulting Group; Former CIA Deputy Director of Operations of the National Clandestine Service; Appointed Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence for New York in the wake of 9/11.

Location: Marymount University's Reinsch Auditorium, 2807 N Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22207
No charge to attend, and no preregistration required. Attendees should show up at the Reinsch Auditorium, located in the Reinsch Library Building on the main campus of Marymount at the intersection of N Glebe Rd and Old Dominion Dr in Arlington. There is a parking lot that can be accessed from 26th St.

Event is Sponsored by The Department of Forensic & Legal Psychology, Marymount University.

Tuesday, 1 March 2016, 9am – 4:30pm - Washington, DC - Journal of National Security Law & Policy annual symposium on "Strengthening National Security by Protecting Public Health"

The symposium will also feature a keynote speech by Prof. Lawrence Gostin, Faculty Director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, on "Global Health Security in an Era of Explosive Pandemic Potential: Lessons from SARS and MERS to Ebola and Zika."
Panel 1: “Why Global Health Matters to National Security” (9:30 - 11 am) explores international health issues and US support for global health systems, connecting global health priorities with national security.
Panelists: J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director, Global Health Policy Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Christine Sow, President and Executive Director, Global Health Council; Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Coordinator for Threat Reductions Program, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, U.S. Department of State; Moderator: John Monahan, Senior Scholar, O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Panel 2: “Federal and State Authority and the Role of the Military During Public Health Crises” (12:30 - 2 pm) - discusses federal faultlines and the role of the military during responses to public health crises.
Panelists: James Hodge, Jr., Professor of Public Health Law and Ethics, Director of Public Health Law and Policy Program, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University; Stephen Dycus, Professor of Law, Vermont Law School; Robert Salesses, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense Integration and Defense Support of Civilian Authorities, US DOD; Francesca Christy Music, Program Director for Health and Medical Support, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense & Americas' Security Affairs, US DOD; Jessica Fantinato, Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, US HHS; Moderator: William C. Banks, Interim Dean, Professor of Law, Founding Director of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, Syracuse University College of Law, JNSLP Editor-in-Chief

Panel 3: “Public Health as a Driver for Conflict and Instability” (2 - 3:30 pm) - delves into domestic public health and security, touching on such issues as assessing the adequacy of the US public health regulatory system during public health emergencies and U.S. preparedness for potential acts of bioterrorism.
Panelists: Rebecca Katz, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Emergency Medicine,The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services; Jonathan Greene, Acting Director, Health Threats Resilience Division, US DHS; Richard Jaffe, Director of the Division of Medical Countermeasures, Strategy, and Requirements, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, US HHS; Daniel Gerstein, Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation; Moderator: David Koplow, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
A reception will follow. Event location: Georgetown University Law School.
To explore or RSVP, do so here.

Wednesday, 9 March 2016, 10 - noon - Annapolis Junction, MD - NCMF Spring Cryptologic Program features Dr. David Sherman, NSA Assoc Dir for Policy and Records

Members are invited to attend the NCMF [National Cryptologic Museum Foundation] Spring Cryptologic Program featuring Dr David J. Sherman, NSA's Associate Director for Policy and Records. Dr Sherman oversees the agency's information security policy and its responsibilities under FOIA. He will discuss NSA's redaction program and the challenges faced declassifying and protecting sensitive information in the volumes of documents released to the public. Authors, researchers, professors, and the curious wondering about the intricacies of the declassification and release program will not want to miss this program.

Location: L3 Conference Center, National Business Park, 2720 Technology Dr, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701. Sherman speaks from 10 to 11:15 a.m., followed by a Q&A to 11:45. Lunch follows. Also take time to browse a selection of unusual, used books for sale from the NCMF's collection.

To register: $20 for NCMF members; $50 for guests (includes 1 yr membership). Send payment to: NCMF, PO Box 1682, Fort George G Meade, MD 20755-3682. Or register online here. Registration closes on 4 March.

Tuesday, 15 March 2016, 11:30 am - Washington, DC - Amb Joseph DeTrani and William Brown discuss "Dealing with a Nuclear North Korea" - at the Daniel Morgan Academy

The Daniel Morgan Academy national security lecture features Ambassador Joseph R. DeTrani with Discussant William B. Brown
Ambassador DeTrani will discuss the strategic implications for US and international security of recent actions by North Korea related to their nuclear and missile programs. William Brown will discuss North Korean economic issues.

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

RSVP to Attend Event by contacting Frank Fletcher, Director of Lectures and Seminars, DMA, 202-759-4988 or events@danielmorgan.academy

Friday, 29 April 2016 - Austin, TX - Gala Dinner Honoring Admiral Bobby R. Inman

A Gala Dinner Honoring Admiral Bobby R. Inman has been announced by University of Texas/Austin President Gregory L. Fenves to take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas.
Presented by the Clements Center for National Security and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, a gala dinner for Admiral Bobby R. Inman will feature former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as the keynote speaker. Mr. Red McCombs will serve as the Honorary Gala Chair. Admiral Inman is on AFIO's Honorary Board.

To attend or for more information, contact the Clements Center at 512-471-2601 or explore this link.

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.

15 - 18 May 2016 - Orlando, FL - 2016 USGIF GEOINT Symposium - "The GEOINT Revolution"

The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation's (USGIF) GEOINT 2016 Symposium takes place May 15-18 at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The GEOINT 2016 theme is "The GEOINT Revolution" — in recognition of the advent and confluence of multiple technologies advancing geospatial intelligence and promoting its ubiquity.

Options include GEOINT Foreword, the pre-symposium science and technology-focused day, and some 60 hours of training and education sessions! To explore the main program and the options, visit here.

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