“Where have you been?” I hear you say. Well, yeah, I haven’t posted recently. But it does get busy in the news biz these days. It’s Egypt… Wait, no, it’s Bahrain… Wait, no, it’s Yemen… Wait, no, it’s Saudi Arabia… Wait, no, it’s Libya… And speaking of Libya… Director of National Intelligence James Clapper got […]
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Diplomat, Spy, Contractor
Posted February 22nd, 2011 at 8:19 pm (UTC+0)
In the murky world of intelligence and diplomacy – the two often intertwine – it’s not always easy to know the truth. The Raymond Davis case is a prime example. It has now emerged that Raymond Davis, the American held by Pakistan for shooting two alleged robbers, is a CIA contractor. Many news organizations had […]
Iraq Inside Baseball
Posted February 16th, 2011 at 3:34 pm (UTC+0)
At the CIA, they have the best little gift shop at which you cannot shop. It sells all kinds of trinkets with the agency logo like pens, t-shirts, glassware. (I love the sign that says that “if you are in covert status do not use a credit card” – although why anybody who was in […]
The Spies Have It
Posted February 1st, 2011 at 4:34 pm (UTC+0)
The appointment of Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as vice-president underscores both the power of the country’s intelligence services in keeping the government in power and the deep influence the military has on policymaking in Cairo. Egypt has three intelligence services: a foreign intelligence service, called the General Intelligence Service, often called the Mukhabarat; a […]
What Do We Know About Iran and When Do We Know It?
Posted January 14th, 2011 at 6:37 pm (UTC+0)
Donald Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense under former President George W. Bush, once had a lot of people in Washington scratching their heads in puzzlement when he described how the U.S. sizes up a potential military adversary: “As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there […]
Plugging the Leaks
Posted January 7th, 2011 at 7:38 pm (UTC+0)
There is a famous legend about the little Dutch boy who saves his town from flooding by plugging a leak in a dike with his finger. Fortunately for him (and the town), there was only one leak because, well, a boy has only so many fingers. But multiple leaks of information keep on coming out […]
WikiLeaks: one week down, ???? to go
Posted December 10th, 2010 at 8:15 pm (UTC+0)
There is little doubt the WikiLeaks cables have been a headache for U.S. officials in general, and diplomats in particular. To have private and very candid assessments of foreign leaders and reports on their activities aired in public is embarrassing. It’s like knowing someone is talking about you behind your back, and then finding out […]
Partying Down at the CIA
Posted December 6th, 2010 at 8:51 pm (UTC+0)
The CIA held its annual holiday reception Friday. Who would have thought that they were a bunch of party animals? OK, it’s not exactly “Spies Gone Wild.” But the annual party is always a first-class event with lots of excellent food, good wine, and fascinating company – although some of the guests may be understandably […]
