AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #20-22 – 17 May 2022

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CONTENTS

Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Section II - IC PODCASTS, COMMENTARY, BLOG UPDATES

Section III - BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION BY MEMBERS

VIDEOS, PODCASTS, SPECIAL REPORTS

Section IV - Books, Research Requests, Jobs, Obituaries

Books — Newly Released, Overlooked, Forthcoming

Research Requests

Jobs

Obituaries

  • No Obituaries to release as we go to press

Section V - Events

Upcoming AFIO Events

Other Upcoming Events from Advertisers, Corporate Sponsors, and Others

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

WIN CREDITS FOR THIS ISSUE: The WIN editors thank the following special contributors: db, cp, gh, fwr, jd, db, cp, sb, vn. They have contributed one or more stories used in this issue.

The WIN editors attempt to include a wide range of articles and commentary in the Weekly Notes to inform and educate our readers. However, the views expressed in the articles are purely those of the authors, and in no way reflect support or endorsement from the WIN editors or the AFIO officers and staff. Notices in the WINs about non-AFIO events do not constitute endorsement or recommendation by AFIO.
CAVEATS: IMPORTANT: AFIO does not "vet" or endorse research inquiries, career announcements, or job offers. Reasonable-sounding inquiries and career offerings are published as a service to our members, and for researchers, educators, and subscribers. You are urged to exercise your usual caution and good judgment when responding, and should verify the source independently before supplying any resume, career data, or personal information.]
If you are having difficulties with the links or viewing this newsletter when it arrives by email, members may view the latest edition each week at this link.

National Cryptologic Museum remains closed due to COVID-19. However, virtual opportunities are available - see listings here:

      

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold War: Spy Museum Infiltration at the PMML
Thursday, 2 June 2022, 5pm CDT - In-Person in Chicago, IL or Virtual

Join the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, in partnership with the International Spy Museum, for an evening of drinks, intelligence, and espionage.
From 5-6 pm mix and mingle with former members of the intelligence community as well as leadership from the SPY Museum and the PMML. Following the reception, SPY Museum historian and curator, Dr. Andrew Hammond will host a conversation with Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa, and retired senior FBI agent John Quattrocki, to talk Cold War intelligence, espionage, and their experiences in the field.
Costa, a former intelligence officer of 34 years with 25 of those in active duty in hot spots such as Panama, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq is also a past Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council.
Quattrocki retired from the Senior Executive Service (SES - 4) as a Special Agent of the FBI with 19 years of operational experience against the Soviet Union/Russia, the countries of the (former) Warsaw Pact, East Asia, Islamic extremist groups, and domestic terrorism. He also has 14 years of experience in U.S. National Security policy development and implementation at FBI Headquarters (FBIHQ) and in the Intelligence Directorate on the National Security Council (NSC) staff at the White House as the Director of Counterintelligence Programs.
Not able to join us in person? Indicate under "Attendance Options" if you wish to attend in person or virtually to access the free livestream of the program. The livestream will begin at 6:00 PM CDT.
Register here

Released exclusively to members last week...

Struggles for Freedom: The Hostage Crisis — US Embassy Islamabad Burned — The Soviets Invade Afghanistan


Released 10 May 2022

Andrew Hammond PhD
Historian & Curator, International Spy Museum Former Embed in G2 Intelligence and Security Unit,
discusses the Soviet-Afghan War of 1979-89 and major shifts in Cold War Geopolitics

Interview of Thursday, 17 March 2022 between Andrew Hammond, author/historian, and AFIO President James Hughes, a former Senior CIA Operations Officer.
They discuss the Soviet-Afghan War which ran December 24, 1979 – February 15, 1989 and was a time of major shifts in Cold War Geopolitics: The Hostage Crisis, US Embassy Islamabad Burned; the Soviets Invade Afghanistan. A monumental year for the West and the Cold War. America's international status much less assured after 1979. CIA shifts to technical intelligence gathering. Followed by Reagan and Casey with a different approach to covert action. The Carter Era was genesis of narrative ascribed to the Soviet-Afghan War. Covert Action shifts from nonlethal aid to lethal.
The interview runs 38 minutes.

Access the Hammond interview here or click above image.

Other Videos in the "AFIO Now" Series

Click title above or here to view the public and member-only interviews in the AFIO Now series.
Or view the publicly-release-only interviews on our YouTube page. Or listen to the podcast version at the links below.

Newest podcast: Shane Harris, Intelligence and National Security Reporter, The Washington Post, on the US Intelligence Community's unique role in this latest Ukraine-Russia War. It was recorded 19 April 2022
PODCASTS: AFIO NOW content is also available on various podcasting platforms. Search for 'AFIO Podcast' for a selection of public released videos on Podbean; iTunes; Google; Spotify; Amazon Music; Amazon TuneIn + Alexa; iHeartRadio; and Pandora

Log into the Member-only area to view private and public interviews.

Visit, Follow, Subscribe to AFIO's LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube pages to receive updates.

Members who use social media or wish to explore, will find new announcements and other material on AFIO's Twitter and LinkedIn pages. New videos on our YouTube page appears below as well.
Access them here: LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. By following or subscribing on those sites, one can be notified as new material appears.
  

PODCASTS: Are you too busy to sit and watch an entire "AFIO Now" episode above on YouTube? Would you rather listen in your car or while accomplishing other tasks? Now you can quickly download or stream episodes on your favorite podcasting platform. AFIO is now available on 8 podcasting platforms. Search for 'AFIO Podcast' for a selection of the interviews above (public released ones) on Podbean; iTunes; Google; Spotify; Amazon Music; Amazon TuneIn + Alexa; iHeartRadio; and Pandora.


One of the special benefits of membership in AFIO: access to CIA's inhouse gift shop — the EAA Store.

It requires a quick preapproval process described here to all newly joined and current AFIO members. And then allows you to purchase directly from the EAA online for their unusual logo'd gift items for self or colleagues. Above is the latest photo EAA released on 13 May 2022 featuring some of their newest or most popular items.

NEW STORE GIFT ITEMS

Now available: Black short-sleeved polo shirts with embroidered AFIO logo
Show your support for AFIO with our new Black short-sleeve polo shirts. Shirts are shrink and wrinkle resistant of fine cotton with a soft, "well-worn, comfy" yet substantial feel. They feature a detailed embroidered AFIO seal. Get a shirt for yourself and consider as gifts for colleagues, family, and friends. Only $50 each which includes domestic shipping.
Sizes for (M) men, only; Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL, and XXXL. $50 per shirt.
You may pay by check or credit card. Complete your order online here or mail an order along with payment to: AFIO, 7600 Leesburg Pike, Ste 470 East, Falls Church, VA 22043-2004. Phone orders at 703-790-0320. Questions? Contact Annette at: annettej@afio.com.

Other items: Popsockets, cap, and duffle. More about them online here.

Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Is Putin Sick – Or Are We Meant to Think He Is? - Weiss in NewLines, 12 May 2022
An oligarch close to the Kremlin was recorded on a tape saying the president is 'very ill with blood cancer.' Is this true, idle speculation or disinformation designed to make an erratic and paranoid dictator vulnerable?
Is Vladimir Putin sick or even dying?
The tabloid press, bolstered by a sudden efflorescence of Twitter diagnosticians, certainly seems to think so. Since his Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine got underway, the 69-year-old Russian president's deteriorating health has been a subject of frenzied speculation — speculation that press secretary Dmitry Peskov has downplayed, citing Putin's "excellent" health.
Boris Karpichkov, a KGB defector to Britain (and formerly an officer of the Second Chief Directorate, specializing in counterintelligence) thinks his fellow sexagenarian ex-spy suffers from Parkinson's disease, along with "numerous" other maladies including dementia. "He is — or at least acts — insane and obsessed by paranoia ideas," Karpichkov told Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper, comparing Putin in this respect to Stalin, who was the victim of at least one stroke.
Article here

Intelligence and the War in Ukraine: Part 1 - War on the Rocks, 11 May 2022
Almost every descent into war comes with speculation, accusations, and counter-accusations of intelligence failure.
And, indeed, it is obvious to note that intelligence agencies are most often criticized when things apparently go wrong. Politicians especially enjoy the deflective properties of the term "intelligence failure." It redirects attention from poor political decisions toward the usually anonymous technocrats of the intelligence world, a community as consistently doubted and demonized in the public discussions as it is lauded and lionized. Since the Bush administration's dissembling over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, intelligence communities derided the public use of intelligence products. Once bitten, twice shy. The role of intelligence during the run-up to, and since, the invasion of Ukraine represents an entirely new chapter in the political and diplomatic use of intelligence in international affairs. This is for two distinct but related reasons. First, the year preceding the Russian invasion represents a resounding and instructive success in a branch of intelligence more notorious for its miscalls: strategic warning intelligence. Second, decades of growing public transparency about intelligence, paired with unprecedented transformations in the capabilities and availability of open-source intelligence, made it possible for politicians, diplomats, and defense communities to reveal, challenge and warn of Russia's warlike preparations and intentions.
Article here

Vladimir Putin's Pyrrhic Choices in Ukraine - Khalilzad in The National Interest, 15 May 2022
If current trends continue, it seems likely that Putin will soon face three stark choices in Ukraine.
Having failed in his initial plan to conquer Ukraine, Vladimir Putin decided to go for half a loaf: control of Eastern Ukraine. However, he is now also failing there as well. The burning questions before us are what will Putin do next and what must we do?
Putin's failure in Eastern Ukraine is manifesting itself on the battlefield. The continued stiff Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol has become a source of embarrassment for Russia: the sinking of the Russian flagship Moskva; the killing of a dozen or more Russian generals; and the successful Ukrainian push to liberate Kharkiv … all speak for themselves.
Article here

In Rare Move, Israel Identifies Special Operations Officer Killed in Gaza Strip Raid - IntelNews, 17 May 2022
In a rare move, Israel released the identity last weekend of a special operations officer who was killed by Islamic Hamas during a 2018 covert mission in the Gaza Strip. As intelNews reported at the time, an undercover team of Israeli operatives was exfiltrated by helicopter from Gaza on November 11, 2018. The exfiltration took place after the Israelis were spotted by members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which is part of Hamas' armed wing.
Article here

U.S. Accuses Casino Tycoon Wynn of Acting as Chinese Agent - Ayyub in Reuters, 17 May 2022
The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday sued Steve Wynn, the former CEO of Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O), to compel him to register as an agent of China and accused him of lobbying then-President Donald Trump at Beijing's behest in 2017.
Wynn's lawyers denied the allegations, saying he had never acted as an agent of the Chinese government and "had no obligation to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act" (FARA).
From at least June through August 2017, Wynn contacted Trump and members of his administration to convey a Chinese request that Trump cancel the visa of a Chinese businessperson who had sought asylum in the United States, the department said.
Article here

IntelBrief: Sri Lanka Protests Turn Violent - Soufan, 11 May 2022
A severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka has led to weeks of protests and demonstrations, most of which remained peaceful until earlier this week. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned while his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was clinging to power and defying calls for his resignation. The Prime Minister's resignation has not been enough to assuage protestors' demands. The family's ancestral home in Hambantota was set on fire, and early reports suggest that at least eight people were killed in the violence, including a member of Sri Lanka's parliament, while hundreds were injured. The Rajapaksa brothers called for their supporters to offer a show of force in the country's capital, Colombo, as hordes of pro-government mobs, many armed with makeshift weapons, wooden clubs, and metal bars, took to the streets and engaged in clashes with anti-government protesters. The European Union offered a statement condemning "the recent vicious attacks against peaceful protesters in Colombo."
Article here

Ukraine's Information War Is Winning Hearts and Minds in the West - The Conversation, 12 May 2022
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has dominated headlines since late February 2022. The war struck a nerve among Western audiences, evoking a high degree of support for Ukraine.
The reasons for the prominence of the war in the West are many and varied.
A ground war in Europe launched by a major military power evokes the ghosts of World War II. This is especially true when the attacking country has designs on territory it considers integral to its nation, and is led by a personalist authoritarian regime where all power is concentrated in a single leader. The deep involvement of the U.S. and European countries, both individually and collectively through NATO and the European Union, also inspires Cold War comparisons. Topics: Weaponizing information; Learning from the Enemy; Getting by with a Little Help; The Limits of Framing.
Article here

Putin's Only Friend: Belarus Is Russia's Last Remaining Post-Soviet Ally - Whitmore in Atlantic Council, 17 May 2022
Alyaksandr Lukashenka just may be Vladimir Putin's last remaining ally in the former Soviet space.
At a May 16 summit meeting in Moscow to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Belarusian autocrat was the only leader to call on the military bloc to unite its forces in defense of Russia and against the West.
"Without a united front, the collective West will build up pressure on the post-Soviet space," Lukashenka said in a speech to leaders of the Russian-dominated alliance that also includes Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
But apparently there were no takers. Other than Putin and Lukashenka, no other leaders raised the war in Ukraine during their public remarks.
Article here

Section II - IC PODCASTS, COMMENTARY, BLOG UPDATES

Counterterrorism Chief Christy Abizaid on Top Terror Threats to the U.S. — interviews by Former Acting D/CIA Mike Morell

Intelligence Matters: A CBS News original national security podcast is hosted by former CIA acting director and CBS News national security contributor Michael Morell. The most recent podcasts/interview is:

May 11 | Counterterrorism Chief Christy Abizaid on Top Terror Threats to the U.S.

In this episode, Michael Morell speaks with Christine "Christy" Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center within the ODNI. Abizaid explains how the center's mission has evolved in the two decades following 9/11 and where its current areas of focus are. She details the existing external attack capabilities of terror networks including ISIS, al-Qaeda, and al-Shabaab, and explains how their ideologies have spread worldwide. Abizaid also offers her perspective on the threat within the U.S. of domestic violent extremists, explaining how NCTC supports domestic law enforcement agencies in tracking and disrupting potential attacks.

Other recent "Intelligence Matters" podcasts to stream or download:
May 4 | Israel's Security Challenges: Former Senior Mossad Officer Zohar Palti
Apr 27 | Former CIA Officer and Congressman Will Hurd on Immigration, Political Division, and Adapting to Advanced Technologies
Apr 20 | Former CIA DDir John McLaughlin on Russia's World-Changing War
Apr 13 | Top State Department Intelligence Official Brett Holmgren

More about Intelligence Matters by Michael Morell here. Podcasts also available here.

An End to End-to-End Encryption? - Stewart Baker, Others at Steptoe Cyberblog

Cyberblog by Steptoe & Johnson LLP — By Stewart Baker [Chairman, AFIO]

Episode 407: An End to End-to-End Encryption? released 16 May 2022
Topics include: Will the EU rescue FBI from Going Dark? A new directive aimed at preventing child sex abuse might do that, backed by people who fought bureau on encryption in years past. US to impose tough sanction on Chinese camera maker Hikvision. Should we spend all that ammo on company that isn't a great national security threat? Will Xi Jinping's power be loosened by plight of Chinese tech platforms, harsh pandemic lockdowns, or the Putin's ability to move without check from tactical error to strategic blunder to historic disaster? Why the effort to get Kaspersky software out of U.S. infrastructure is still stalled? The wave of laws attacking face recognition finally receding as lawmakers accept the obvious: The claim that face recognition is "racist" is false. Virginia's revamped law on face recognition now makes sense. Why did Clearview AI accept a settlement of the ACLU's lawsuit under Illinois's biometric law? How much authority Cyber Command should have to launch actions and intrude on third country machines without going through the interagency process? The EU's regulation of cybersecurity is overambitious and questionable expansion of U.S. approach. The unpersuasive and cursory opinion that struck down Texas' social media law. The Fifth Circuit overturned the injunction, so the bill will take effect. Some provisions are constitutional, others a stretch. "Geofenced search warrants" and the reasons why companies like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo want them restricted. The real impact of the meltdown in tech stocks and cryptocurrency values. ... More topics covered. Article and podcast here

Some Prior Conversations:
Episode 406: Who Needs Cyberlaw When We Can Have Unicorns and Fairy Dust?
Episode 405: Google's Spamgate
Episode 404: Why Does Google Hate Mothers?
Episode 403: Confirmation Bias Meets Ukraine War and Elon Musk
Episode 402: Rupert Murdochizing the Internet
Episode 401: All at Sea: Maritime Cybersecurity
Episode 400: Transatlantic Privacy Threepeat

Another Russian Mole at CIA?; Operation Mincemeat on Netflix... from Jeff Stein's "SpyTalk" series on Substack...

May 14: "SpyTalk at the Movies: Operation Mincemeat" - Peter Eisner
An astounding World War Two spy caper with a fabulous cast is sunk by a love-story digression

May 13: "Another Russian Mole at CIA?" - Mark Stout
Secret mole-hunting unit fingered top CIA official as a Kremlin spy, new book alleges

May 12: "CIA Medical Office Gets a Congressional Colonoscopy" - Jeff Stein
Intelligence committees mandate outside review board to monitor troubled medical office's standards and practices

May 10: "The Dark Side of a CIA 'Black Ops' Memoir" - John Dinges
Enrique Prado is long on tough talk and short on reflection about his 24 years as a CIA 'meateater'

May 8: "Spy Subs Hunt Cable Traffic in the Deep" - Jeff Stein
Undersea cables remain juicy targets for espionage-quipped U.S. and Russian subs, says author Christopher Drew

May 8: "Getting Inside Bin Laden's Head" - Jeff Stein
Nelly Lahoud tells us how she pored through his captured papers with some surprising results

May 4: "A Gathering of Spies in the Desert" - Jeff Stein
A Tucson resort hosted a conference of top former CIA officers

Putin Has Given No Indication of Escalation or End - Latest Insights from Jack Devine of Arkin Group

The Arkin Group's May 12 "In Other News" letter to private clients by former CIA Deputy Director, Operations... Officer Jack Devine features...

  1. Putin's Victory Day speech carefully avoided any indication of escalation, but also didn't mention any end to the fighting.

Follow link here to read analyses and predictions given to their private clients on the topics from last week. There sometimes is a delay of seven days before the above topics will appear at this link.

Section III - BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION BY MEMBERS

DEA Investigating Breach of Law Enforcement Data Portal - Taps into 16 Federal Databases - Krebs on Security, 12 May 2022
The DEA says it is investigating reports that hackers gained unauthorized access to an agency portal that taps into 16 different federal law enforcement databases. KrebsOnSecurity has learned the alleged compromise is tied to a cybercrime and online harassment community that routinely impersonates police and government officials to harvest personal information on their targets.
...hackers obtained a username and password for an authorized user of esp.usdoj.gov, which is the Law Enforcement Inquiry and Alerts (LEIA) system managed by the DEA. "The EPIC System Portal (ESP) enables vetted users to remotely and securely share intelligence, access the National Seizure System, conduct data analytics, and obtain information in support of criminal investigations or law enforcement operations," the 2016 White House document reads. "Law Enforcement Inquiry and Alerts (LEIA) allows for a federated search of 16 Federal law enforcement databases."
Article here

Spy Agencies Look to Standardize Use of Open Source Intelligence - Federal News Network, 12 May 2022
Intelligence agencies are starting to coalesce around a set of common standards and data for using open source intelligence, but challenges remain in boosting the use of OSINT throughout the intelligence community.
Patrice Tibbs, chief of community open source at the CIA, said open source has "proven itself over and over," especially given current events like Russia's invasion of Ukraine. OSINT is generally defined as unclassified information, often publicly available, like data gleaned from social media feeds. ...
Spy agencies have traditionally been organized around other forms of intelligence, like geospatial intelligence or signals intelligence. Agencies have struggled to define how OSINT fits into its broader tradecraft, but the array of public information about the Ukraine conflict has started to shift the conversation about OSINT intelligence circles.
Article here

Sigint Liaison with Finland - Sigint Historian (UK), 15 May 2022
The UK now has a Defence Agreement with Finland and Sweden, and will soon be formally allied to both countries in NATO. It is not well known that for a short period in the Second World War the UK and Finland found themselves on the same side: our enemy's enemy was our friend and in spite of the alliance between Nazi Germany and the USSR, German occupation of Poland, Denmark and Norway, the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States and the part of Poland the Germans had agreed to let them have, and Swedish neutrality, the UK and Finland enjoyed a Sigint partnership for just over a year.
British Sigint had had relationships with the French, Italians and Americans during the First World War.
Article here

'The New York Times' Can't Shake the Cloud over a 90-Year-Old Pulitzer Prize - 8 May 2022
The New York Times is looking to add to its list of 132 Pulitzer Prizes — by far the most of any news organization — when the 2022 recipients for journalism are announced on Monday.
Yet the war in Ukraine has renewed questions of whether the Times should return a Pulitzer awarded 90 years ago for work by Walter Duranty, its charismatic chief correspondent in the Soviet Union.
"He is the personification of evil in journalism," says Oksana Piaseckyj, a Ukrainian-American activist who came to the U.S. as a child refugee in 1950. She is among the advocates for the return of the award. "We think he was like the originator of fake news."
A new voice now adds himself to the cause: former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller — himself a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1989 for his own reporting for the Times on the Soviet Union.
Article here

Three Big Questions That the American Establishment Got Wrong - Lind in Tablet, 16 May 2022
Who benefited from the obvious nonsense that became post-Cold War America's trade, foreign, and federal deficit policies?
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something," Upton Sinclair observed, "when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
Globalization? Mexico is now one of the major auto parts producers of the world, while Detroit is a wasteland, in which some abandoned neighborhoods are literally reverting to wilderness. ...
In the case of the global hegemony strategy eagerly adopted by both major parties after 9/11, there is no need for conspiracy theories: Ordinary bureaucratic politics explains the result. Involving the United States in foreign civil wars and regional conflicts that have no direct bearing on American national security means bigger budgets for the Pentagon, State Department, CIA, and other agencies; more funding for defense contractors and NGOs with government contracts; more resources for academic security studies programs; more importance for members of Congress on military and foreign affairs committees and subcommittees; more celebrity and more book contracts for foreign affairs correspondents, and so on. Because the general public tends to defer to politicians on national security policy, it is inherently vulnerable to bureaucratic capture, in the same way that agriculture policy and infrastructure policymaking tend to be. ... While offshoring has scuttled whole industrial sectors in the United States, many CEOs—and shareholders—have bought lovely vacation homes with the proceeds. Hundreds of billions of dollars earmarked to fund social transformation in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya in fact went to paying for McMansions and luxury cars in the D.C. suburbs, along with pricey private school tuitions.
Article here

Doomsayers Are Everywhere, But Is Our Democracy Truly on the Skids? - Ard in Discourse, 12 May 2022
Critics see a U.S. in deep trouble, even headed toward civil war, but their analysis appears highly flawed
Is America headed for a democratic breakdown? Last year in a special report, Freedom House's president declared, "Our democracy is in trouble," citing our legacy of slavery, Jim Crow laws and racial disparities in our justice system. Taking another tack, former President Barack Obama claimed at Stanford last month that the Russian invasion of Ukraine represents a global wave of authoritarianism that we barely avoided here, insinuating a comparison between former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some see America as slipping into some kind of quasi-authoritarian system, while others see it sliding dangerously into civil war. Spenglerian pessimism is a conditioned reflex in the Age of Trump.
Still, thoughtful introspection about our political status is prudent. Is our democratic system really eroding? Are we heading for political instability or worse? [Topics include] Shifting Standards; The Coming Civil War; Ignored in Washington; A False Alarm; Are We Really More Divided?; Three Signs to Look For: Rising Political Violence, Anti-system movements gaining traction; The curtailing of basic liberties in the name of security
Article here

Trial of Clinton Lawyer Michael Sussmann Puts Spotlight on a Veteran Tech Security Executive - WSJ, 16 May 2022
Special counsel John Durham is probing Rodney Joffe's role in 2016 research that pointed to unsubstantiated ties between Donald Trump's company and a Russian bank
Mr. Joffe's former lawyer, Michael Sussmann, faces trial in federal court in Washington this week, accused of one count of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about why he brought the FBI research derived from data Mr. Joffe helped compile.
The probe has exposed how the world's internet traffic is being monitored by network researchers and security experts inside and outside the government.
It is the first trial brought by special counsel John Durham, who was appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr to examine the early stages of the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign and whether it had any links to Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election.
The Durham probe shows how researchers and security experts monitor the internet and gather intelligence. Mr. Joffe, who hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing, has been a central figure in that network for years.
Article here

The NSA Says that There are No Known Flaws in NIST's Quantum-Resistant Algorithms - Schneier on Security, 16 May 2022
Rob Joyce, the director of cybersecurity at the NSA, said so in an interview: The NSA already has classified quantum-resistant algorithms of its own that it developed over many years, said Joyce. But it didn't enter any of its own in the contest. The agency's mathematicians, however, worked with NIST to support the process, trying to crack the algorithms in order to test their merit. ..."
I still worry about the long-term security of the submissions, though. In 2018, in an essay titled "Cryptography After the Aliens Land," I wrote: …there is always the possibility that those algorithms will fall to aliens with better quantum techniques.
Article here
Also see: "Cryptography After the Aliens Land" - Sept/Oct 2018 ... "Against these godlike aliens, cryptography will be the only technology we can be sure of. Our nukes might refuse to detonate and our fighter jets might fall out of the sky, but we will still be able to communicate securely using one-time pads."
Or download it as PDF

Will The Russian Army Revolt? - Faddis in AND Magazine, 17 May 2022
The Russians have lost the war in Ukraine. They are no more capable of successfully carrying out the current offensive than they were in the initial failed blitzkrieg attack on Kyiv. At this point, the Ukrainians are the ones going on offense in many places. Vladimir Putin seems determined to pretend all of that is not true and cling to his fantasies of victory. One wonders at what point the men doing the dying in this debacle may take matters into their own hands and simply mutiny.
According to recent British military intelligence reports, the Russians have likely lost one-third of the men they put into Ukraine. For any army losses on that scale are catastrophic. It means functionally...
Article here
Also see: "'Eat The Rich' May Soon Be Much More Than A Saying -- As Protests and Riots Erupt in Sri Lanka and Iran..." - Faddis/AND

What Did the Steele Dossier Hoax Cost America? - Jenkins in WSJ, 13 May 2022
Along with the press, what about the Russia 'experts' who played along or failed to oppose the collusion lie?
A Wall Street Journal investigative report this week underlines just how frivolous were the claims in the Steele dossier, and how nonexistent was the attempt by Christopher Steele, the vaunted British ex-spy, to verify or even vet them.
The sources for many of the Steele allegations consisted of three people "brought together over a minor corporate-publicity contract," not one of whom had any inside knowledge of Kremlin politics or the Trump campaign: the itinerant Washington-based, Russia-born researcher Igor Danchenko ; a childhood friend, Olga Galina, who was employed by a Cyprus-based internet company; and Charles Dolan, a U.S. public-relations executive from whom the Cyprus company was seeking unrelated advice.
As Ms. Galina and Mr. Dolan would later tell investigators, they were shocked to learn Mr. Danchenko had recorded their idle chitchat and speculation about the upcoming 2016 election and passed it along as "intelligence." To be emphasized with extreme prejudice is Mr. Steele's studious incuriosity about the sourcing of the garbage he passed on to the Clinton campaign, with the only interesting question being how cognizant was the Clinton campaign or did it also not care.
Because, unless you're a coward like 90% of the media and 100% of the foreign-policy class in Washington, you realize now the furor that consumed the country for three years did not originate with Donald Trump or even Russia, but with a Clinton-sponsored hoax.
Article here
Also see: "Three Friends Chatting: How the Steele Dossier Was Created" - WSJ, 9 May 2022

Iranian Oberlin Professor Urged Murder of Author Salman Rushdie - JPost, 16 May 2022
Iran's former ambassador to the UN Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, now of Oberlin College, has now been confronted with an additional allegation about his role in a plot to assassinate Rushdie.
The Islamic Republic of Iran's former ambassador to the UN Mohammad Jafar Mahallati advocated the 1989 fatwa (decree) to assassinate the US and British writer Salman Rushdie for the author's novel showing the Muslim prophet Muhammad irreverently.
Oberlin College's embattled professor of Islamic studies is now confronted with an additional allegation about his role in a plot to assassinate one of the world's most distinguished and famous writers. "...I am puzzled, however, how Mahallati can teach at a prestigious school in the US such as Oberlin College, where freedom of expression should be indispensable." ...[Norman] Mailer accused Khomeini and other Iranian clerics of issuing "the largest hit [murder] contract in history."
Article here

OPSEC Nightmare: Tracking Cell Phone Data in the U.S. and Abroad - ClearanceJobs, 16 May 2022
Operational Security, OPSEC, is a part of the lexicon of every Facility Security Officer, every Counterintelligence Officer, and every member of the uniformed services from day one. Actions and words can and will be used by an adversary as they conduct analysis to put together not only their analytic situational understanding but also their targeting matrix.
The recent article in The Intercept on the alleged marriage of capabilities of Anomaly Six and Zignal Labs to track and collate mobile phone location data and social media purchased directly from Twitter drives home the importance of OPSEC with a sledgehammer.
Article here

"Two Spies" - A Literary View - Wiener, NewEnglishReview, July 2021
I've known two spies in my life; I think they're both gone now—this was years ago. To be accurate, I guess they weren't "spies" but "Intelligence Officers." I read somewhere that the officers are the ones who recruit the spies and that's what they did, in addition to a lot of other stuff. I could be remembering this wrong, but I think John le Carré summed up that kind of work by saying, "We did bad things."
I met these men after they were both unhappily retired. ... They both seemed very different but for their retirement funk and I wondered if it had something to do with losing all that secret privilege. ... He retired to the sunbelt and was absolutely appalled at how trivial life was and how shallow people were. ... [I corrected him...] "...they see it the other way around—to them politics is shallow and silly and corrupt and trivial; they see politics as an unhealthy fetish, the way an atheist sees religion."
...during the Cuban missile crisis, he called his wife ... and told her to find the shotgun and the shells in the upstairs bedroom and keep them handy. "Jesus," she said, "are the Russians going to invade us?" "No," he said, "but you'll need it if the neighbors come after your food and water."
Article here

VIDEOS, EXHIBITS, DOCUMENT RELEASES

Database of 235 Videos Exposes the Horrors of War in Ukraine - WPost, 9 May 2022
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is one of the most documented wars ever. Citizens, public officials and soldiers have posted videos every day that show the dead bodies in neighborhoods, the trails of missiles streaking through the skies and the smoldering ruins of entire towns.
Locator map showing locations of Ukraine videos
The Washington Post's visual forensics team started to verify and catalogue videos from the war the day Russia's invasion began. This work is now searchable in a database that will be updated. The videos have been uploaded in raw format; graphic content is clearly marked.
Videos and Article here

Open C3 Subcommittee Hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - 17 May 2022
Earlier hearing today by House Intelligence Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee, on unidentified aerial phenomena. Following this recorded open portion of the hearing, the subcommittee went into a closed, classified briefing.
90-minute Video here. Speaking starts at minute 8.
Also see article and nine photos from the hearing: "Congress dives into UFOs, but no signs of extraterrestrials" - AP News

NCSC Unveils New Digital Exhibit on American Civil War Espionage - NCSC, 16 May 2022
The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) today unveiled a new digital exhibit on espionage during the American Civil War as part of its "Evolution of Espionage in America" project designed to inform the broader public about the critical role of espionage throughout our nation's history. Confederate Espionage: Spies, Scouts & Sympathizers.
The new Civil War exhibit can be found here.

The Secret War for Germany: CIA's Covert Role in Cold War Berlin Explored through Recently Declassified Documents - National Security Archive, 11 May 2022
The Central Intelligence Agency aggressively pursued clandestine efforts to undermine East German morale at the height of the Cold War, recently declassified CIA records confirm. Exploring one of the core chapters of post-war European history, the materials posted today by the National Security Archive detail key facets of the intelligence agency's still meagerly documented activities in East Germany.
Those activities included supporting and advising certain anti-communist activist groups, particularly in Berlin – a fact long denied in public – which were effective enough to prompt the Soviets to make them a subject of diplomacy with Washington, in addition to implementing their own propaganda and security measures.
This e-book consists of several documents culled from the recently published Digital National Security Archive collection CIA Covert Operations IV: The Eisenhower Years, 1953-1961 (ProQuest, 2021), available by subscription through many libraries. They provide a concise look into some of the intelligence agency's previously classified ties to covert organizations in Cold War Germany.
Article and Documents here

Gerald Hamilton, Former CIA DO Interview with Spy Museum Exec Dir, Chris Costa - 4 May 2022
Spy Museum Executive Director, Chris Costa, is joined by Gerald P. Hamilton, former Senior Intelligence Service Officer with the Directorate of Operations of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in one of the Museum's "Virtual Spy Chats."
Hamilton served with the CIA for 35 years in numerous senior management positions. The majority of his career was devoted to overseas duty, primarily in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, South Asia and Europe. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the National Clandestine Service Career Medal, and two Donovan Awards for Exceptional Performance.
Hamilton held assignments at CIA Headquarters at the Office Director and Division Chief level and was appointed by former CIA Director Leon E. Panetta as the first Director of the Employee Resource Center which was created to combine, focus, and increase the capabilities of existing offices responsible for promoting diversity and equal opportunity within the agency.
60-minute Video here

Section IV - Books, Research Requests, Jobs, Obituaries

Books — Newly Released, Overlooked, Forthcoming

The Fourth Man: The Hunt for a KGB Spy at the Top of the CIA and the Rise of Putin's Russia
by Robert B. Baer
(Hachette Books, May 2022)

Spies and moles may seem like bygone cold war history, but with Russia again a belligerent power, the skeletons America would rather keep hidden are emerging, according to former CIA Operations Officer Robert Baer. He shows that these spies matter as much now as ever. Baer provides a story of the hunt for a KGB spy -- a mole -- in the top ranks of the CIA, who might have blinded the US to the rise of Putin and Russia's dangerous future. Rumors have long swirled of another mole in American intelligence, one more damaging than the others combined. If so, this might be the greatest traitor in U.S. history. Perhaps a Russian ruse to tear the CIA apart. Or nothing more than a bogeyman. This elusive creature is often referred to as the Fourth Man.

Baer provides a story that starts after the arrest of KGB spy Aldrich Ames, when the CIA launched another investigation to make sure there wasn't another double agent in its ranks. Led by three of the CIA's best spy hunters -- women who devoted their lives to counterintelligence -- its existence was known only to a few. They began methodically investigating their own bosses and colleagues, turning up loose threads, suspicious activity, and shocking intelligence from the CIA's best Russian asset. In the end, they came to a startling conclusion: whether true or not, their findings would shake American intelligence to its core, setting the stage for a cat-and-mouse game with significant geopolitical stakes.

See the SpyTalk review of this book by Mark Stout which is cited and linked above in this issue of the WINs.

Book may be ordered here


Atoms and Ashes: A Global History of Nuclear Disasters
by Serhii Plokhy
(W.W. Norton Company, May 2022)

A chilling account of more than half a century of nuclear catastrophes. Almost 145,000 Americans fled their homes in and around Harrisburg, PA, in late March 1979, hoping to save themselves from an invisible enemy: radiation. The reactor at the nearby Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had gone into partial meltdown, and scientists feared an explosion that could spread radiation throughout the eastern U.S. The explosion never took place―but the accident left deep scars in the American psyche, all but ending the nation's love affair with nuclear power. Plokhy recounts the history of Three Mile Island and five more accidents that that have dogged the nuclear industry in its military and civil incarnations: the disastrous fallout caused by the testing of the hydrogen bomb in the Bikini Atoll in 1954; the Kyshtym nuclear disaster in the USSR, which polluted a good part of the Urals; the Windscale fire, the worst nuclear accident in the UK's history; back to the USSR with Chernobyl, the result of a flawed reactor design leading to the exodus of 350,000 people; and, most recently, Fukushima in Japan, triggered by an earthquake and a tsunami, a disaster on par with Chernobyl whose clean-up will not take place in our lifetime. Through the stories of these six terrifying incidents, he explores the risks of nuclear power, both for military and peaceful purposes, while offering a vivid account of how individuals and governments make decisions under extraordinary circumstances. Today, there are 440 nuclear reactors operating throughout the world, with nuclear power providing 10 percent of global electricity. Yet as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions to combat rapidly escalating climate change, the question arises: Just how safe is nuclear energy which, given present options, is the closest and most robust replacement for fossil fuels?

Book may be ordered here


Gods of Deception [novel]
by David Adams Cleveland
(Greenleaf Book Group Press, May 2022)

A tale of espionage, a family saga, a love story, and a meditation on time and memory, astrophysics, and art.

This novel tells the story of the Alger Hiss spy case through the eyes of three generations.
At age ninety-five, Judge Edward Dimock, patriarch of his family and the man who defended accused Soviet spy Alger Hiss in the famous 1950 Cold War "trial of the century," is writing his memoir. Dimock is consumed with doubts about the troubling secrets he's kept to himself for over fifty years—secrets that might change both American history and the lives of his family. Was his client guilty of spying for Stalin? And if guilty, did Hiss's crimes go beyond his perjury conviction—a verdict that divided the country for a generation? He enlists his grandson, a Princeton astrophysicist, in the quest for truth, and the grandson finds himself in a web of deceit that has ravaged his family. He discovers that other suspected spies died from ambiguous falls (a KGB specialty) or disappeared behind the Iron Curtain—and were conveniently unable to testify in the Hiss trial. The physicist begins to grasp the immensity of what is at stake: deceptive entanglements that will indeed alter the accepted history of the Cold War—and how he understands his own unhappy childhood, growing up in the shadow of a rumored suicide and the infidelities of an alcoholic father.
More about the book and author available here.

Book may be ordered here

Research Requests

UK Historian Seeking Former Officer Knowledge of 1956 Lionel Crabb Case (went missing diving under Russian vessel in UK waters)

AFIO Members: I have a quick question. I am a UK historian trying to trace any former intelligence officer who might have been involved in the 1956 Lionel Crabb case: this was the case of a British spy who went missing whilst diving under Khrushchev's vessel during his visit to the UK.
I am making a podcast series about this and would like to know more about the CIA's reported involvement.
If you can help, I would be very grateful. Please reply to Giles Milton gilesmilton@hotmail.com
More about Giles Milton here www.gilesmilton.com

Do Any AFIO Members Have Any Intel on former CIA Officer René E. DuBois?

AFIO Members - A loyal and reminiscing Grandson of René DuBois has reached out asking if anyone can provide some background about his beloved Grandfather. The young man is the keeper of all these awards and medals, and has a thirst for his Grandfather's association with our Alma Mater (CIA).
Do any members have any intel to contribute? [See image above] His face looks familiar (assuming it is the man on the left), and his name even resonates. However, I know I never served with him. Grandson Tray read about a Ray (referring to Ray Doty) and wondered if that was about his Grandfather. I assured him it was not, but promised to ask around. Any help would be appreciated. Click image to see a much larger version, if that might help your IDing. Thanks all. Ric
Send replies to wotlxvii@roninintel.com

Author Asks If You Know Of "Olive Yang" (Imprisoned for CIA Operation in Burma), or Dutch Brongersma, Young Family, Bill Lair, Others in Burma/Laos

I'm Gabrielle Paluch, a journalist who worked for VOA in Burma, and now writing about Olive Yang for a book to be published next year.
Am seeking more details about Olive Yang, beyond what I have previously published here in the obituary.
With my deadline is approaching, I would appreciate assistance from any AFIO members who have information on Olive's past as an intelligence asset and political operative, as well as a businessperson, and member of a noble family.
Brief summary: Olive Yang (Yang Jinxiu, "Hairy Legs," Miss Yang Number Two) was a Sino-Burmese caravan trader who went to prison after transporting CIA-supplied weapons during Operation Paper in 1951. Olive built an opium business empire by working together with KMT networks, recruited anticommunist guerillas into their ranks, and seized power after her chieftain brother abdicated in 1959. Until her arrest in 1963, she continued to cooperate with KMT and other anticommunist guerilla forces supported by the CIA, and was said to control all opium routes from Laos to Burma at one time. Olive was said to have also provided intelligence for the listening posts in WA State, but primarily acted as a critical member of the opium logistics arm for the KMT, and also as a recruiter.
I was wondering if any AFIO participant could tell me more about:
-Olive Yang's cooperation with the Young family (specifically Gordon Young in the 1950s, and then Bill Young after 1958)
-Olive Yang's training through CIA-organized counterinsurgency programs in northern Thailand implemented by Bill Lair and Bill Young
-Olive Yang's cooperation with Vang Pao (Laotian general whose Hmong warriors cooperated with the CIA)
-Olive Yang's recruitment of anti-communist guerillas in 1959 on the heels of the uprising in Tibet
-Anybody who may have known Dutch Brongersma
Please do not hesitate to reach out at gabrielle.paluch@gmail.com or to call me at 310 779 2607

WANTED: Sources for Research Exploring OSINT's Utilities in Counterterrorism

Terrorism analyst and open source intelligence (OSINT) specialist Michael S. Smith II is conducting PhD research focused on OSINT's utilities in counterterrorism initiatives. Supervised by faculty in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, this research aims to improve understandings of how OSINT has and could be utilized to manage threats posed by al-Qa'ida, ISIS and their supporters. If you are a current or retired intelligence, defense, or law enforcement professional, or a policymaking professional who may be able to contribute, Mr. Smith would greatly appreciate an opportunity to share more information about his PhD research project and ways that you might be able to contribute to this research.
Interested parties may contact Mr. Smith via the contact form on his personal bio site, www.terrorismanalyst.com, or at michael.smithii@kcl.ac.uk

Jobs

Seeking Director of Global and National Security Programs - Univ of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico (UNM) invites applications for the part-time (.50 FTE) position of Director of Global and National Security Programs. This position will be for four years with the possibility of renewal and will report to the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.
UNM's Global and National Security Policy Institute (GNSPI) grew out of a perceived need for greater coordination among international security-related STEM, social science, law, and humanities fields. GNSPI developed a Professional Masters of Science Degree in Global and National Security (PMSGNS) based on intensive 8-week modules designed for working professionals seeking interdisciplinary education on security policy questions, broadly defined. The program is of particular interest to technical professionals whose duties or career goals extend to addressing broad policy issues that are inherently interdisciplinary. GNSPI holds an annual symposium and other events that promote dialogue among academics and practitioners on global security issues and emerging challenges.
UNM also developed an undergraduate-focused Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence (IC-CAE), that offers a certificate in National Security and Strategic Analysis, as well as a Global and National Security concentration under UNM's interdisciplinary Bachelors of Integrative Studies and Innovation degree program. The Director of Global and National Security Programs will oversee both the graduate and undergraduate programs, in coordination with the Deans of participating colleges and the Dean of Graduate Studies. Please see the position posting here.

Full-Time Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice (Intelligence Studies) - University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA

Job Summary: Type: Full-Time; Posted: 02/02/2022; Category: Criminal Justice; Job ID: 238891
The Department of Criminal Justice at The University of North Georgia invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at the Dahlonega campus. This position will focus primarily on Intelligence Studies. Special attention will be given to applicants who have four or more years of practitioner experience and the ability to manage applied analytic projects. The workload may require travel across campuses, teaching at off-campus teaching sites, and online teaching.
Responsibilities: Teach four undergraduate courses per semester to include Introduction to Criminal Justice; Maintain an active research agenda in an effort to produce scholarly publications; Assist in the advising of students enrolled in Bachelor of Science Degree Criminal Justice with an Intelligence Studies Concentration; Serve on University, College, and Departmental Committees; Teaching schedule may include assignments on other campuses, evening or on-line classes.
Required Qualifications: Ph.D. in Criminal Justice is required. Intelligence Studies, Homeland Security or a closely related field is preferred; Experience teaching Intelligence Studies at the university or college level; Successful candidates should be able to teach one or more of the following courses: Introduction to Intelligence, Fundamentals of Intelligence Analysis, or Methods of Intelligence; Ability to work collaboratively with all campus constituencies.
To explore this job or to apply, do so here

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Intelligence, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL

Job Description: The Department of Security Studies and International Affairs (SSIA) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL., invites candidates to apply for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Intelligence (GEOINT). The successful candidate should have experience in one or more of the domains related to intelligence and security with skillsets in technologies such as Geospatial Intelligence, Remote Sensing using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), satellite imagery, as well as spatial analyses using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
The successful candidate will contribute to SSIA's interdisciplinary Homeland Security and Intelligence program. In addition, the candidate will support the department and college to help integrate technology into the existing Homeland Security & Intelligence and Global Conflict Studies undergraduate degree programs as well as other programs external to the department. Primary tasks include undergraduate teaching and research, student advising, and relationship building with external organizations and agencies. The position requires teaching flexibility to cover a variety of courses in geospatial intelligence, geographic information systems, and their applications across a broad range of intelligence and security issues. Additional duties include scholarship, professional development, committee participation, and other activities to support the Department. This is a nine-month position with the possibility of summer teaching assignments. Position available August 2022.
Qualifications: An earned doctorate in intelligence-related discipline such as Geospatial Intelligence, Security Studies, Political Science, Remote Sensing, or related field is preferred. Special attention will be given to candidates with Intelligence Community experience and demonstrated success in securing and managing applied analytic projects. Knowledge of technical as well as policy and procedural aspects of geospatial intelligence and its applications is a plus. An exceptional candidate who is ABD (with an expected completion date within six months of the hire date) will be considered.
More info or to apply

Obituaries

No Obituaries to release as we go to press

Section V - Events

AFIO EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN COMING TWO MONTHS....

Virtual = ; In-Person =

Thursday, 19 May 2022, 11:30 AM – Colorado Springs - The AFIO Rocky Mountain Chapter hosts Mark Pfoff, discussing "Forensics."

Topic: Mark Pfoff will present the latest technologies used by law enforcement to locate/track suspects and obtain digital evidence in criminal cases. The use of some of these technologies is currently being challenged in court. BIO: Mark Pfoff is a retired Detective with 17 years of experience in law enforcement. After a 22 year career as a computer engineer he went into law enforcement full time where he became a Detective with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He specialized in computer crimes and computer forensics. He investigated many major crimes including sex assaults and homicides. Mark is a consultant with Rocky Mountain Computer Forensics where he provides consulting for both criminal and civil cases. He is a court qualified expert in computer and cell phone forensics, cellular technology, police procedures and investigations, digital evidence collection, social media, and child exploitation.
For more information on this event or details on how and where to attend, contact steve13507@gmail.com

Saturday, 21 May 2022, noon - Mandarin (Jacksonville), FL - AFIO North Florida Chapter Luncheon features Ric Prado, former CIA Operations Officer, on "Black Ops"

The North Florida Chapter AFIO will be hosting Ric Prado, former CIA Operations Officer, on his book, "Black Ops," released 1 March. He will be discussing the book and other topics. We also will be celebrating the Jacksonville Bicentennial.
Very limited space remains. Our next meeting location will be in the Angler Room at the Bonefish Grill in Mandarin.
Agenda: noon-12:45 Social Hour; 1-1:05 Call to Order, Pledge, Invocation, Intro of Ric Prado and New Members; 1:05-2:00 Ric Prado presentation and Luncheon; 2-2:15 Post-Lunch break; 2:15-3 Lightning Round and Post-Meal Discussions.
RSVP ASAP to Ken Meyer at kmeyer12@bellsouth.net. Fee: $25 pp. Check or Cash Only.

Saturday, 21 May 2022, 2pm - Kennebunk, ME - AFIO Maine hosts Dr. Seth Jones on National Security Issues

The next meeting of AFIO's Maine Chapter will take place at the Brick Store Museum's Program Center at 4 Dane St., Kennebunk, ME.
Guest speaker Dr. Seth Jones, a defense expert with an extensive background in strategic and international studies with special emphasis on national security, will talk about what country rivals are using against the United States to undermine American power while adapting American techniques and having made huge gains without traditional warfare.
Dr. Jones, a Bowdoin graduate, has taught extensively about our national security and has written numerous articles and published books related to irregular warfare, counterterrorism, and covert action. He is the director of the Transitional Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
A question and answer period will follow the presentation. All are welcomed to attend. No registration or fee required...just show up.

Other Upcoming Events from Advertisers, Corporate Sponsors, and Others

Wednesday, 18 May 2022, 5pm - N. VA. location - CIRA 1st Wine Social & Scholarship Fundraising Event

CIRA is hosting its first Wine Social & Scholarship Fundraising Event at a beautiful N. Virginia location (TBA to registrants).
Slow down and enjoy an evening with friends and former colleagues for a relaxing evening of wine, hors d'oeuvres, and music on the deck overlooking Lake XXX. This is a very casual affair, no agenda and no speeches, something of a pot luck happy hour. You bring the wine and the CIRA board members will provide the hors d'oeuvres.
Admission is $20 plus a bottle of wine. All proceeds, after the facility rental fee, will go directly to the CIRA Scholarship Fund which provides scholarships to children of Agency Officers every year.
COVID transmission rates are low in the suburbs surrounding the DC and we will take precautions to keep our CIRA colleagues safe. Hors d'oeuvres will be served on individual covered plates and we request anyone who is not fully vaccinated wear a mask.
To register log into our members-only website https://www.cira.org, go to Online Payments under the main menu on the left, scroll down the page to the 'Payment Wine Social' button and fill in your information. Credit card payment.

19 May 2022, 1750/5:50 PM EDT - GoToMeeting - NIP Virtual Speaker Event features CAPT (Ret.) Steve Maffeo

This Naval Intelligence Professionals May virtual speaker event features CAPT (Ret.) Steve Maffeo, author U.S. Navy Codebreakers, Linguists, and Intelligence Officers against Japan, 1910-1941 , discussing "Intelligence and Cryptology at the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway"
FORMAT: Video Conference – GoToMeeting. Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone, beginning at 1750/5:50 PM EDT:
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://meet.goto.com/486509013
You can also dial in using your phone. United States: +1 (872) 240-3212; Access Code: 486-509-013
Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: https://meet.goto.com/install
As always, please mute your device/phone. Thanks.
AGENDA: (5 min) Ms. B. Lynn Wright, DDNI (Ret.), NIP Chairman, welcoming remarks and NIP Update; (~25 min) Guest Speaker Remarks; (~30 min) Q & A moderated by CAPT (Ret.) Bob Allen
Questions? bob_allen36@hotmail.com

Thursday, 2 June 2022, 5pm CDT - Chicago, IL or Virtual - The Spy Who Came in From the Cold War: Spy Museum Infiltration at the PMML
Join the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, in partnership with the International Spy Museum, for an evening of drinks, intelligence, and espionage.
From 5-6 pm mix and mingle with former members of the intelligence community as well as leadership from the SPY Museum and the PMML. Following the reception, SPY Museum historian and curator, Dr. Andrew Hammond will host a conversation with Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa, and retired senior FBI agent John Quattrocki, to talk Cold War intelligence, espionage, and their experiences in the field.
Costa, a former intelligence officer of 34 years with 25 of those in active duty in hot spots such as Panama, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq is also a past Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council.
Quattrocki retired from the Senior Executive Service (SES - 4) as a Special Agent of the FBI with 19 years of operational experience against the Soviet Union/Russia, the countries of the (former) Warsaw Pact, East Asia, Islamic extremist groups, and domestic terrorism. He also has 14 years of experience in U.S. National Security policy development and implementation at FBI Headquarters (FBIHQ) and in the Intelligence Directorate on the National Security Council (NSC) staff at the White House as the Director of Counterintelligence Programs.
Not able to join us in person? Indicate under "Attendance Options" if you wish to attend in person or virtually to access the free livestream of the program. The livestream will begin at 6:00 PM CDT.
Register here

19-22 June 2022 - Treviso (near Venice), Italy - 2022 IAFIE and IAFIE-EC Conference and CFP

Theme: "Working Wicked Intelligence Challenges: Intelligence Research, Education-Training and Practice"
The 2022 CALL FOR PAPERS addresses engaging themes that combine the different Intelligence domains and disciplines with a look into the future challenges.
Read the Call for Papers to know the main Conference themes, requirements, deadline and the new IAFIE Study Group Initiative.
Those who had planned to attend and present papers at the postponed 2020 or 2021 Italy conference can resubmit their papers--or propose to present new papers--at the June 2022 Treviso-Venice Conference.
Presenters are encouraged to submit papers for publication in the Journal of Security, Intelligence, and Resilience Education (JSIRE). IAFIE announces the requirements for a peer-reviewed paper to be accepted for publication in the Call for Papers.
The Call for Papers includes details about Registration, Fees, Travel, and Accommodations along with additional tour options and partners/spouses' tour.
Conference includes a tour to Venice (free of charge) at the end of the Conference.
Event will be hosted by École Universitaire Internationale - Italy.
The Conference will take place in the territories that have witnessed the rise of the first structured Intelligence service in the world, and have always been the bridge between west and east, forefront observer of their evolution through time;
Be with us to live what freedom and Democracy are. Be with us to be a sign, a design for what freedom and democracy will be in the future.
We will meet in Treviso, near Venice, crossroad city that unites cultures, east-west, north-south for a vision of the global universe.
For more information, to respond to the CFP, or to register, do so here.

DATES VARY. Spy Tours in Washington DC Area: Spring has Sprung! Book a Spy-themed Tour Today

Former intelligence officers deliver tours of Washington D.C. and share unique insights on what it's like to operate in the world of espionage. Alternate dates and times or custom tours available upon request. Tours option include:

  • "The Spies of Georgetown Private Walking Tour" - 2 hour tour through the scenic Georgetown neighborhood with a former CIA officer. Learn about the role the residents here played in the WWII era. These pre- and post- war influencers played friend and foe alike to the Soviets. Learn more about the origins of the CIA, and the life of an operative shared through curated (and unclassified) real-life stories. Group Size: up to 17 people. More info here.
  • "The Spies of Embassy Row Private Walking Tour" - 2 hour tour of Dupont Circle and Embassy Row through the eyes of a spy! Hear contemporary and historical stories of conspiracy, politics, cover-ups and assassinations… We'll start where the battered body of a Kremlin insider was discovered in 2015. Then, we'll walk up Massachusetts Avenue, part of "Embassy Row", an elegant boulevard lined by homes originally belonging to some of the richest and most influential people, now housing Embassies, associations, foundations, and clubs. Visit the spot where a car bomb killed beloved Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and U.S. citizen Ronni Moffitt, and pass the former home of FDR and Jay Pollard. By the end of this tour, you will see the people and neighborhoods around you in a new light… Time: 2 hours. Group size up to 17. More info here.
  • "The Spies of Arlington National Cemetery Private Walking Tour" - Learn about intelligence professionals buried in Arlington National Cemetery. These quiet heroes lived extraordinary lives and in some cases made the ultimate sacrifice. Along the way we'll stop at the Kennedy gravesites and the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. We'll also visit the PanAm Memorial and the Beirut Barracks Memorial, in addition to sections 34 and 59. If visitors want to visit a particular grave we can also adjust to make that possible. Time: 3.5 hours. Group Size: up to 25 people. More info here.
  • "Custom Tours" - We also offer custom, private tours upon request. Not seeing a tour that works in your schedule? Contact us and submit a request for a new date/time.
    We'll work with you and do our best to accommodate your needs. More info at here.

Questions or more information here or email Rosanne at rosanna@spyher.co

Store Items:

ITEMS FOR SALE AT AFIO FOR MEMBERS...including NEW ALL-BLACK SHORT-SLEEVED POLO SHIRT

Now available: Black short-sleeved polo shirts with Embroidered AFIO logo
Show your support for AFIO with our new Black Short-sleeve Polo Shirts. Shirts are shrink and wrinkle resistant of fine cotton with a soft, "well-worn, comfy" yet substantial feel. They feature a detailed embroidered AFIO seal. Get a shirt for yourself and consider as gifts for colleagues, family, and friends. Only $50 each including shipping.
Sizes for (M) men, only; Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL, and XXXL. $50 per shirt.
You may pay by check or credit card. Complete your order online here or mail an order along with payment to: AFIO, 7600 Leesburg Pike, Ste 470 East, Falls Church, VA 22043-2004. Phone orders at 703-790-0320. Questions? Contact Annette at: annettej@afio.com.

PopSocket for cellphones or tablets
Show your support to AFIO while enjoying the convenience offered by our AFIO Logo PopSocket. The PopSocket is most commonly used as a stand and as a grip for your mobile phone or tablet; handy for taking selfies, watching videos, and for texting. The PopSocket looks like a small button or sticker which, when closed, sticks flat to your mobile device. However, its accordion-like design enables it to pop open for use. The benefits of using a PopSocket make it a must-have accessory for your mobile phone or tablet. It also aids in keeping your phone from slipping off your hand during use, falling, or breaking.
Price: $15. Order this and other store items online here.

Caps - Dark Navy with Navy AFIO Logo
 An authentic silhouette with the comfort of an unstructured, adjustable fit. Fabric: 100% cotton. Unstructured. Fabric strap closure with adjustable D-clip. Price: $30. Order this and other store items online here.

Duffel Bags - Royal Blue and Black with Full Color AFIO Logo This duffel has it all when it comes to value, style and organization.
600 denier polyester canvas with polyester double contrast; D-shaped zippered entry for easy access. Front pocket with hook and loop closure. End mesh pocket Easy-access end pockets. Four durable, protective feet and built-in bottom board for added strength. Web handles with padded grip. Detachable, adjustable shoulder strap.
Dimensions: 11"h x 19.75"w x 9.75"d; Approx. 2,118 cubic inches
Price: $50. Order this and other store items online here.

AFIO Mug with color glazed logo. Made in America. Sturdy enough to sit on desk to hold pens, cards, paperclips, and candy.

This handsome large, heavy USA-made ceramic mug is dishwasher-safe with a glazed seal. $35 per mug includes shipping. Order this and other store items online here.

Guide to the Study of Intelligence and When Intelligence Made a Difference

"AFIO's Guide to the Study of Intelligence" has sold out in hard-copy.
However, it is available in digital form in its entirety on the AFIO website here.

Also available on the website here are the individual articles of AFIO's history project "When Intelligence Made a Difference" that have been published to date in The Intelligencer journal. More articles will be forthcoming in future editions.

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