AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #18-12 dated 8 May 2012

[Editors' Note: 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. We welcome comments from the WIN readers on any and all articles and commentary.]
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CONTENTS

Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

Section III - COMMENTARY

Section IV -   Books and Documentaries, Obituaries, Call for Applicants and Coming Events

Books and Documentaries

Obituaries

Call for Applicants

Coming Educational Events

Current Calendar New and/or Next Two Months ONLY

HARD MEASURES:
How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11
Saved American Lives

Register Now for this special event to hear this dedicated intelligence official
who made the needed, real-time decisions while others stalled, waffled, obfuscated, bobbed-and-weaved -- and now is judged by those who have forgotten the realities of 9/11 when they claim inaction and/or weak-kneed, hand-holding "tell-me-all, I'm your friend" interview sessions with terrorist detainees would have been a better response to the death of thousands of fellow citizens, while the nation sought to head-off unknown future plots.

Friday, June 1, Tysons Corner, VA
AFIO Summer Luncheon
featuring former CIA National Clandestine Service Director
Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr.

on his long-anticipated -- and, to a few, controversial -- book:

HARD MEASURES:
How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11
Saved American Lives

co-authored with Bill Harlow
[author, former Director of the Office of Public Affairs, CIA]

All speakers at this event are ON THE RECORD.

and

Distinguished former CIA Latin America/Caribbean expert, author of -
Castro's Secrets: The CIA and Cuba's Intelligence Machine

Brian Latell, Ph.D.

speaks at 11 a.m.


Seating limited. Register NOW.

60 Minutes recently featured Jose Rodriguez and clearly got their unbalanced 'script' directly (and only) from the critics of EIT, including some grandstanding politicians passing themselves off as "experts," and unnamed others who stood on the sidelines to lob stones at officials -- like Jose -- on the front lines [the pointy end of the spear] who had to make the tough decisions real-time, devoid of the luxury nor inclination of waiting for pollsters to measure voter sentiment. If this appeals, view both parts of the program starting at this link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7406950n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox


College Costs Giving You Sticker-Shock?

An intelligence education can be costly,
but it's an important investment in your -- and your country's -- future.

And do not ruin yours - or their - chances of Intelligence Community employment with large, unpaid student loans hanging over a budding career. Too much a security risk. Use AFIO and other scholarships, and choose the most reasonably-priced educational facility teaching in this field, for your education.

Let AFIO help you -- or your children -- with the fees
of an intelligence career-oriented field of study.
We have generous scholarships for undergraduate or graduate school students. Applicants can do the entire, brief application online - once - to be considered for all available AFIO scholarships.
Do not delay.
The deadline is midnight, Sunday, July 1, 2012.

Explore scholarship options here and apply.

Note: Deadline is midnight SUNDAY, July 1.

 

Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Secret U.S. Program Releases High-Level Insurgents in Exchange for Pledges of Peace. The United States has for several years been secretly releasing high-level detainees from a military prison in Afghanistan as part of negotiations with insurgent groups, a bold effort to quell violence but one that U.S. officials acknowledge poses substantial risks.

As the United States has unsuccessfully pursued a peace deal with the Taliban, the "strategic release" program has quietly served as a live diplomatic channel, allowing American officials to use prisoners as bargaining chips in restive provinces where military power has reached its limits.

But the releases are an inherent gamble: The freed detainees are often notorious fighters who would not be released under the traditional legal system for military prisoners in Afghanistan. They must promise to give up violence - and U.S. officials warn them that if they are caught attacking American troops, they will be detained once again. [Read more: Seiff/WashingtonPost/6May2012]

Intelligence, Military at Odds on Afghanistan: Congressman. U.S. military and intelligence officials are at odds about how the 11-year war in Afghanistan is faring as President Barack Obama presses ahead with a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops out of the country, a leading Republican lawmaker said Friday.

The U.S. military is more optimistic about the state of the battle against Taliban insurgents than are intelligence officials on the ground in Afghanistan, said House intelligence committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who returned this week from a visit to the country.

"My biggest take away from the trip was the huge difference between what the military says ... they believe the state of affairs is or our intelligence community believes the state of affairs is," said Rogers, referring to officials he met during his visit to Afghanistan.

His comments came days after Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to sign a strategic pact with Kabul and deliver an election-year message to Americans on the anniversary of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's death.

The partnership pact sets out a long-term role for the United States in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when most NATO combat troops are scheduled to leave. The war started in the month after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

But Rogers said Afghanistan's fate after 2014 is far from clear.

"There is still a lot of uncertainty. There is no certain plan yet about what it looks like when the drawdown happens," he said.

"Nobody knows ... the military didn't know, the intelligence folks didn't know, nobody had a good feeling about what happens next," he added. [Read more: Reuters/4May2012]

U.S. Special Forces Commander Seeks to Expand Operations. A top U.S. commander is seeking authority to expand clandestine operations against militants and insurgencies around the globe, a sign of shifting Pentagon tactics and priorities after a grueling decade of large-scale wars.

Adm. William H. McRaven, a Navy SEAL and commander of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, has developed plans that would provide far-reaching new powers to make special operations units "the force of choice" against "emerging threats" over the next decade, internal Defense Department documents show.

America's secret military forces have grown dramatically over the last decade as the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community have increasingly merged missions, including drone strikes and counter-terrorism operations.

But some Pentagon officials and outside experts warn that giving secret soldiers too much additional authority outside the normal chain of command might lead to abuses.

The little-known Special Operations Command, which McRaven heads from his headquarters in Tampa, Fla., oversees more than 60,000 military personnel and civilians. [Read more: Cloud/LosAngelesTimes/4May2012]

Boxes of Top Secret Documents Go Missing. The Justice Department has been increasingly eager to prosecute officials for leaks of classified information, charging six individuals with disclosures that violate the Espionage Act just since the start of 2009. But at the same time, the government itself has lost track of hundreds of boxes filled with classified documents at its main records storage site, the Washington National Records Center.

According to a new report from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Office of Inspector General, more than 1,500 boxes of classified documents have gone missing at the site, located in Suitland, Maryland. While some are "still occasionally being located," the Archives' office of records services has stopped its internal searching, the report said, and the affected agencies have been notified.

Among the missing records are 81 boxes with documents labeled Top Secret, Secret, and Restricted Data, among the highest classification categories. They were from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Navy, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the Energy Department and other agencies. [Read more: Mehta&Smith/iWatchNews/4May2012]

Jordan's Spy Chiefs Have Political Clout. King Abdullah II of Jordan has sworn in a new government in a long-running political drama in which the Hashemite kingdom's vaunted intelligence service, a close U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida, plays a critical role.

Indeed, the Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah, or General Intelligence Directorate, often seems to be at odds with the monarch's avowed intent to introduce political reforms.

That's a policy that has taken on greater urgency for the monarch who has seen four longtime Arab dictators swept from power in the pro-democracy uprisings that erupted across the Middle East in January 2011.

The GID has long been a pillar of the monarchy, as intelligence services have been for other Arab regimes, and as such it is widely seen as a powerful arm of the regime that is used to stifle, or crush, dissent.

Over the years, heads of the GID have often seemed interchangeable with prime ministers.

So one of the main demands of the growing body of protesters, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, seeking sweeping reforms, is the curbing of GID's powers. [Read more: UPI/3May2012]

CIA Chief Petraeus Will Lead Chicago's Memorial Day Parade. CIA Director David Petraeus will lead Chicago's Memorial Day Parade on May 26 as its Grand Marshal and participate in a wreath-laying ceremony with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Gen. Petraeus, who is retired from the U.S. Army, and Mr. Emanuel will have a breakfast downtown with Illinois Gold Star Families, survivors of military personnel who have lost their lives. The wreath-laying will follow at 11 a.m. at Daley Plaza. The parade steps off at noon at State and Lake streets, and will proceed south on State to Van Buren.

The events - all on the Saturday before Memorial Day - also will honor post-9/11 veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of those veterans will be marching in the parade. [Read more: Crain's/2May2012}

Defense Bill Lets Feds in National Security Jobs Rotate Between Agencies. Federal employees who work in national security positions would be able to rotate their jobs from agency to agency under legislation lawmakers will begin considering this week.

The language is included in the huge 2013 Defense authorization bill that the House Armed Services Committee will begin marking up on Wednesday. It is essentially a reintroduction of the Interagency Personnel Rotation Act, a bill that was introduced in both houses of Congress last year but has yet to receive a floor vote in either chamber.

The legislation is intended to better integrate the national security functions that span across multiple agencies and reduce duplication. It would create a new board overseen by the Office of Management and Budget and assisted by the Chief Human Capital Officers' Council that would define "national security interagency communities of interest" that span across multiple departments and agencies. Feds who work in those positions would then be able to rotate from their current jobs into another agency within their particular community, and they could also be ordered to another agency involuntarily.

"Our government needs to constantly look for ways to increase its efficiency and effectiveness," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the original bill's cosponsors, said shortly after its introduction. " Based on the experience of the Department of Defense in promoting 'jointness,' I believe a key way to strengthen our capabilities across the government is for personnel to do rotational assignments in different agencies to share expertise and best practices so that we capitalize on the knowledge of the best and brightest minds."

The personnel rotation language is one of several workforce elements of the more than 500-page defense bill, which the House Armed Services committee released Monday ahead of this week's deliberations. [Read more: Serbu/FederalNewsRadio/7May2012]

Security Unchanged Over 'Undetectable' Plane Bomb. Despite the discovery of a sophisticated new al-Qaida airline bomb plot, congressional and security officials suggested no immediate need Tuesday to change to airport security procedures, which already subject shoeless passengers to intrusive pat-downs and body scans.

The CIA, with help from a well-placed informant and foreign intelligence services, conducted a covert operation in Yemen in recent weeks that disrupted a nascent suicide plot and recovered a new bomb, U.S. officials said.

Officials said the bomb represents an upgrade over the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time al-Qaida developed a more refined detonation system.

FBI experts are picking apart that non-metallic device to see if it could have slipped through security and taken down an airplane. [Dozier&Sullivan/AP/8May2012]

FBI: We Need Wiretap-Ready Web Sites - Now. The FBI is asking Internet companies not to oppose a controversial proposal that would require firms, including Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google, to build in backdoors for government surveillance.

In meetings with industry representatives, the White House, and U.S. senators, senior FBI officials argue the dramatic shift in communication from the telephone system to the Internet has made it far more difficult for agents to wiretap Americans suspected of illegal activities, CNET has learned.

The FBI general counsel's office has drafted a proposed law that the bureau claims is the best solution: requiring that social-networking Web sites and providers of VoIP, instant messaging, and Web e-mail alter their code to ensure their products are wiretap-friendly.

"If you create a service, product, or app that allows a user to communicate, you get the privilege of adding that extra coding," an industry representative who has reviewed the FBI's draft legislation told CNET. The requirements apply only if a threshold of a certain number of users is exceeded, according to a second industry representative briefed on it.

The FBI's proposal would amend a 1994 law, called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, that currently applies only to telecommunications providers, not Web companies. The Federal Communications Commission extended CALEA in 2004 to apply to broadband networks. [Read more: McCullagh/CNET/4May2012]

Clear Path to High-Paying Federal Jobs. The message delivered during Tuesday's Intelligence and Homeland Security summit at Germanna Community College's Daniel Technology Center was crystal clear: The federal government is hiring folks to work in high-paying jobs in various agencies.

But before you submit your resume and application, there are a few requirements: You must have at least an associate's degree or certificate, but a bachelor's degree is preferred; at least a 3.0 GPA or better; U.S. citizenship, clean background (most positions require security clearance), and expect a nine- to 18-month wait for a top-secret clearance.

Of the numerous government programs, some of the available positions include jobs in the following departments: Army/Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard/Air Force Intelligence, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Drug Enforcement Administration, Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and plenty more.

About 120 area students and local business leaders attended the informative event featuring representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Secret Service, National Reconnaissance Office, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency and contractors who serve these agencies.

Moderator Rob Zitz, who shared the stage with three other panelists, started off with why DHS continues to receive funding and hasn't endured financial cuts like other agencies.

"People get tired of fighting for 10 years in Iraq and Afghanistan, but there's one thing you never get tired of and that's being safe at home," said Zitz, a former deputy undersecretary of national programs and protection at the Department of Homeland Security. "So Homeland Security is here and we need new talent to keep the bad guys out."

Utilizing several oversized screens, Zitz displayed some of the characteristics DHS is looking for in potential candidates.

He said the department urgently needs folks skilled in languages, chemical, biological, nuclear, information technology, cyber security, law enforcement, geospatial information services, engineering and regional studies. [Read more: Simmons/StarExponent/2May2012]

Spy School Teaches the Basics of Intelligence Gathering to Kids, Teens. Spy School - a Tampa Bay History Center program specially designed for teens - will instruct youngsters about surveillance, information gathering and disguise.

Agents and experts will teach children ages 12 to 18, offering tips on how to enter the espionage career field.

The two-part spy series is part of the history center's traveling exhibition, "Spies, Traitors, Saboteurs: Fear and Freedom in America." Spy School begins Saturday and offers a guided tour with curator Rodney Kite-Powell.

The program costs $60 per student but history center members get a $5 discount.

The Tampa Bay area might not seem like an obvious spy hub. But many retired FBI, CIA and military members live in the area, and one of the nation's more high-profile spy court cases unfolded in 2001 in a U.S. District Court in Tampa. Also, United States Special Operations Command is based in Tampa. [Read more: Poltilove/TBO/2May2012]

Western Authorities Fear Militants will Carry Implanted Bombs. U.S. and allied officials said they are increasingly concerned that doctors working with al Qaeda's Yemen-based affiliate will implant bombs inside living militants in order to try to circumvent airport security measures and bring down aircraft.

Earlier this year, a missile fired by a CIA-operated drone killed a Yemeni doctor who had devised medical procedures which could be used to surgically plant explosive devices in humans, several U.S. officials told Reuters.

However, another individual, the expert bomb-maker who came up with this tactic survived a similar missile attack last year. Counterterrorism agencies believe he is still engaged in active plotting against U.S. and other Western targets.

Moreover, three U.S. officials said counter-terrorism agencies report that other doctors in Yemen are prepared to surgically load bombs into the organs of militants. [Read more: Hosenball/Reuters/2May2012]


Section II - CONTEXT & PRECEDENCE

Barbara Robbins: A Slain CIA Secretary's Life and Death. The CIA director revealed only a few details about the 21-year-old woman, a secretary among spies. In the agency's annual memorial service for employees killed on the job, then-Director Leon E. Panetta announced that a new name had been inscribed with calligraphy inside the CIA's Book of Honor: Barbara Annette Robbins, who had volunteered to go to Saigon during the Vietnam War and died in a 1965 car bombing at the U.S. Embassy.

The private ceremony inside the agency's main lobby last year marked the first time the CIA publicly acknowledged Robbins as one of their own. But the slain secretary holds enough historic titles to make her an object of curiosity within the CIA. Robbins was the first woman at the male-dominated CIA killed in the line of duty. She is the youngest CIA employee ever killed. And, according to Panetta, she was also the first American woman to die in the Vietnam War.

The bombing and her death generated front-page headlines in U.S. newspapers. Yet Robbins remains one of the CIA's more phantom-like figures, her mystery fueled by the agency's decades-long refusal to publicly recognize her employment, despite her family's pleadings and books that briefly described her CIA stint. Warren Robbins, her brother and only immediate family member still alive, was elated when the CIA finally inscribed his sister's name in the Book of Honor.

It is Warren who inherited from his dead parents the one thing that most illuminates his sister's time in Vietnam: a trove of 30 letters she wrote home, dating from her arrival in Saigon to the week before her death.

The letters offer a glimpse into the life of a young woman supposedly working for the State Department as she launched her career and looked for love amid Vietnam's escalating violence.

"Reading these letters," said Warren, 65, a retired airline mechanic, who hadn't looked at them since he was a kid, "it's like I got to know her all over again."

Before her arrival in Vietnam, Robbins had never been out of the country. She had been born in South Dakota, spent her early childhood in Iowa and California and grew up mostly in Colorado, where her father, Buford, was a butcher and Navy veteran, and her mother, Ruth, was a homemaker.

In high school, she belonged to the bowling club. On Sundays, she attended a Lutheran church all day.

In 1961, Robbins headed off to a secretary's school at Colorado State University and, after two years, somehow got recruited by the CIA. She wanted to combat the rise of communism. When she went to Washington in 1963, Warren said the family knew she was working for the agency. But they thought her Vietnam posting was with the State Department.

Three weeks into her assignment in Saigon, Robbins made it clear to her parents that they shouldn't fret about the headlines back home. [Read more: Shapira/WashingtonPost/6May2012]

Spy-High: Amateur Astronomers Scour the Sky for Government Secrets. As consumer telescopes and techniques improve, will there be implications for national security?

Earlier this year Iran's defense minister put the world on notice: His nation had developed the ability to "easily" watch spacewalking astronauts from the ground. The announcement was largely ignored, in part because it made the minister sound like a James Bond villain. The boast was also a bit anticlimactic, given that even amateur astronomers are already recording in detail what happens in low Earth orbit. Both the technology involved and the techniques used to observe satellites and even the occasional astronaut perched outside the International Space Station (ISS) are improving, much to the presumed chagrin of governments looking to keep certain on orbital activity confidential.

In a development harkening back to the earliest days of desktop computing, highly skilled stargazers are hacking together optics, electronics and software to create sophisticated observatories of their own. In fact, one French astrophotographer, Emmanuel Rietsch, has begun selling software and hardware that make it possible for backyard astronomers to track and record satellites.

High-end consumer telescopes resting on motorized, programmable mounts that match Earth's rotational speed to keep the scope pointed at stars and planets as they cross the sky have long been standard equipment. Rietsch's innovation, developed at the request of Thierry Legault, a friend and fellow French astrophotographer, is hardware and software that pushes the mount to operate many times faster in order to keep up with comparatively speedy satellites. Legault and Rietsch use Prism and Adobe Premiere to improve the clarity of the images they capture and VirtualDub to convert the images for use online.

With the hacked-together system, Legault produced "the first useful images I have seen" of last year's doomed Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt as well as spy satellites, veteran backyard astronomer Ted Molczan says. Together, Reitsch and Legault "have advanced the amateur state of the art by combining high-quality optics and cameras with an automated tracking system built by Rietsch," adds Molczan, himself well-known for observing man-made satellites in orbit and posting information about them to the Web. This includes the American military satellite USA 193, which malfunctioned after little more than a year and was shot down by a U.S. warship in 2008.

In fact, amateur astronomers were the first to report publicly, late last year, that as Russia's Phobos-Grunt sat helplessly inert in Earth orbit - the spacecraft initially was in a fixed orientation relative to the sun. The news gave some space science boosters (short-lived) hope that the mission could be salvaged. It wasn't the first time stargazers had successfully tracked objects in space, but it was the first time they were able to report in such detail.

And the number of objects being cataloged is increasing: A backyard spotter in Ontario, Kevin Fetter, won notoriety for sighting among other things an errant NASA tool bag and, last fall, China's Tiangong 1 space station test vehicle. Fetter captured the spacecraft on video with a static, comparatively low-powered telescope, yielding little more detail than could be seen with the unaided eye.

Other experienced backyard trackers have also gained notoriety for spotting spy satellites, in particular the National Reconnaissance Agency's (NRO) highly secret Lacrosse 5. [Read more: Nash/ScientificAmerican/1May2012]

Government Psychic Spies and Extraterrestrials. In April, SRI International announced it will be taking over the management of the Allen Telescope Array, whose primary purpose is listening for signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. The array was built by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI) and the University of California, with the majority of funding coming from its namesake, computer magnate, Paul Allen. SRI is no stranger to controversial projects. In the late '70s SRI developed a method of psychic spying called "Remote Viewing," which quickly caught the attention of the CIA, and eventually culminated into a formal project ran by U.S. Army intelligence. Founding members of this clandestine organization claim they even used their skills to remote view UFOs and extraterrestrials.

SRI was originally the Stanford Research Institute, however, in 1970 it severed its ties with Stanford to become an independent non-profit organization and settled on the name SRI International in 1977. Founded in 1946, SRI is a research institute responsible for many important inventions including the computer mouse you are using to scroll through this story right now.

In the early '70s, SRI physicist, Dr. Harold Puthoff, began looking into psychic phenomena. According to the book, Psi Spies, by Jim Marrs, Puthoff's interests were piqued after reading a book on Russian psychic experiments. His colleague, Clive Backster, had been working on psychic experiments and one of the men he worked with, Ingo Swann, seemed to exhibit real psychic abilities. One of these skills being what Swann called "Remote Viewing," which was visualizing objects or places at a distance.

The same book that had piqued Puthoff's interest in psychic phenomena, Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain, had prompted the CIA to begin monitoring the Russian's psychic research and inspired them to begin their own. They contacted SRI in 1972, and convinced by Swann's ability, the CIA funded Project Scanate. This eventually turned into the Army intelligence project Stargate, in which the remote viewing protocols SRI had developed were taught to a group of soldiers who would use the skill to remote view for various intelligence agencies. Stargate was headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland. [Read more: Rojas/HuffingtonPost/7May2012]

Don Harvey: Naval Career Included Cold War. A native of Geddes, S.D., Donald Harvey enlisted in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps in 1942, at age 18. In 1944, he entered the Naval Academy and became part of the last accelerated wartime class. Post-graduation, he set sea aboard the radar picket destroyer the USS Hawkins, embarking on a Far East tour and a global cruise. By 1950, he had shifted his focus to military intelligence, and from 1952 to 1978, he lived in 27 places around the world. After a 35-year career in the Navy, during which he earned the rank of admiral and became the director of Naval Intelligence, Harvey worked as a senior representative for TRW. Now 88, he lives on Siesta Key's Palm Island with his wife, of 59 years, Debbie. The couple had four children and nine grandchildren.

'I spent four years in the Office of Naval Intelligence and joined the staff of the Commander, Seventh Fleet, in Yokosuka, Japan, in 1955. I was on a destroyer for three years before I went into intelligence. You were allowed to ask what you wanted for your duty, so I asked for a cruiser in the Atlantic and I got a destroyer in the Pacific.

During the Cold War, in Naval Intelligence, we were mainly discussing what the Soviet Union was up to. We wanted to know what their ships were like, how well they operated and who was operating them, and we were analyzing torpedoes. We looked into the submarine covert operations.

It's a clich�, but the idea was 'know thine enemy.' That's what we tried to do. [Read more: Harvey&Weingarten/HeraldTribune/4May2012]


Section III - COMMENTARY

Watergate's Final Mystery. Journalists are obsessing over Watergate again. Debate exploded this week over a new biography of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, excerpted in New York magazine. It suggests the legendary editor privately doubted aspects of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's reporting that helped bring about the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

The story prompted a strong denial from Woodward, a demurral from Bradlee, an online chat at Poynter and a Daily Beast story by independent scholar Max Holland, who argues Woodward and Bernstein's book about the scandal, "All the President's Men," is "a fairly tale, albeit a compelling one." After hyping the story for a couple of days, Politico then dismissed it as "a storm in a Washington teacup."

Not quite. As Reuters columnist and Watergate buff Jack Shafer points out, "Watergate is the Ur-journalism story." It is a true tale that defines the profession's imagination and its relation to Washington power. But this latest round at the Watergate cooler has been stronger on the Ur- than the journalism, focusing more on the implications of Woodward and Bradlee's thinking than on the abuses of power that they sought to uncover.

That's too bad. If Watergate still matters, it is because the story tells us something about the intersection of power and journalism in Washington. The ur-personalities of these veteran newsmen are important but so are new facts, and recent revelations illuminate one aspect of the story that is often overlooked: the role of the CIA.

Woodward acknowledged as much in what is perhaps the single most interesting Watergate revelation of recent years. In June 2007, the CIA released most of the so-called "Family Jewels," a long-suppressed internal report on the agency's abuses of power. The newly declassified documents, Woodward wrote in the Post, showed in "telling detail" how the CIA, under the leadership of director Richard Helms, served as "the perfect Watergate enabler."

The Helms/Nixon relationship lies at the heart of the Watergate story. Nixon, of course, was a paranoid genius, a master of resentment politics at home and geopolitical maneuvering abroad. Helms, his long-serving director of Central Intelligence, was the epitome of a CIA man in the Cold War: correct, discreet and ruthless.

The CIA's involvement in Watergate, Woodward noted, "is one of the murkiest parts of the story." He and Bernstein didn't write about it much in "All the President's Men," not because they didn't have suspicions but because they could not pin the story down. Howard Baker, vice chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee, likened the Agency's role to "animals crashing around in the forest - you can hear them but you can't see them." And Helms' role was especially elusive. Said Baker: "Nixon and Helms had so much on each other that neither one of them could breathe." [Read more: Morley/Salon/5May2012]

Who Would Be Romney's Foreign Policy Team? Governor Romney's campaign team will be busy into late summer vetting Vice Presidential candidates. While the Veepstakes speculation ensues, planning for a presidential transition and a Romney Cabinet will commence. Who might President Romney choose for his foreign policy team?

Past presidential transitions offer some guideposts with which to make predictions. President-elect Obama opted for continuity at the Pentagon, retaining Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. Though long a servant of Republican administrations, Gates cut his teeth at the CIA and was seen as above the partisan fray. The same cannot be said for current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta or for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both of whom would likely leave their posts. Like Obama, President Clinton selected a Republican elder statesman as his Secretary of Defense in the person of retired Maine Senator William Cohen. It is reasonable to suspect that Romney would choose a similar figure with bipartisan credentials and roots in the opposition party for a major cabinet position.

Another emerging precedent has been the inclusion of women in positions of foreign policy leadership since the Clinton administration, when Madeleine Albright served as U.N. Ambassador and as Secretary of State. George W. Bush chose Condoleezza Rice to serve as his National Security Adviser and then as his Secretary of State. And today, President Obama's Secretary of State and U.N. Ambassador are both women. It thus stands to reason that a Romney transition team would look closely at female candidates for a top foreign policy position.

A final precedent is the return of party advisers and officials who have served in previous administrations and gone into exile in the private sector, media, and think tanks, awaiting the call to return to the service of the White House. George W. Bush called upon GOP stalwarts Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld to guide foreign and defense policy in his first term. An intriguing question about a Romney administration is whether any of the neoconservatives charged with leading America astray under Bush would make a comeback.

In looking for a woman, Romney could look as Obama did to the campaign and his early rival, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann. Bachmann, though, has few of the foreign policy credentials needed for the job, and also has been slow to an endorsement. Santorum, Gingrich, and Ron Paul are also doubtful to fit into the foreign policy plans of the Romney team. We take Condoleezza Rice at her word when she says she wants to stay out of politics, and we assume that David Petraeus will remain in his position at the CIA. [Read more: Brown/HuffingtonPost/7May2012]

The Path to bin Laden's Death Didn't Start with Obama. As we mark the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death, President Obama deserves credit for making the right choice on taking out Public Enemy No. 1.

But his administration never would have had the opportunity to do the right thing had it not been for some extraordinary work during the George W. Bush administration. Much of that work has been denigrated by Obama as unproductive and contrary to American principles. 

He is wrong on both counts.

Shortly after bin Laden met his maker last spring, courtesy of U.S. Special Forces and intelligence, the administration proudly announced that when Obama took office, getting bin Laden was made a top priority. Many of us who served in senior counterterrorism positions in the Bush administration were left muttering: "Gee, why didn't we think of that?"

The truth is that getting bin Laden was the top counterterrorism objective for U.S. intelligence since well before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. This administration built on work pain�stakingly pursued for many years before Obama was elected - and without this work, Obama administration officials never would have been in a position to authorize the strike on Abbottabad, Pakistan, that resulted in bin Laden's overdue death.

In 2004, an al-Qaeda terrorist was captured trying to communicate with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the terror organization's operations in Iraq. That captured terrorist was taken to a secret CIA prison - or "black site" - where, initially, he was uncooperative. After being subjected to some "enhanced interrogation techniques" - techniques authorized by officials at the most senior levels of the U.S. government and that the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel confirmed were consistent with U.S. law - the detainee became compliant. He was not one of the three al-Qaeda operatives who underwent waterboarding, the harshest of the hard measures.

Once this terrorist decided that non-cooperation was a non-starter, he told us many things - including that bin Laden had given up communicating via telephone, radio or Internet, and depended solely on a single courier who went by "Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti." At the time, I was chief of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. The fact that bin Laden was relying on a lone courier was a revelation that told me bin Laden had given up day-to-day control of his organization. You can't run an operation as large, complex and ambitious as al-Qaeda by communicating only every few months. It also told me that capturing him would be even harder than we had thought. [Read more: Rodriguez/WashingtonPost/30April2012]


Section IV - Books and Documentaries, Obituaries and Coming Events


Books and Documentaries

Still a Chill in Spy vs. Spy. Which part of the cold war is over? 

In Beijing a Chinese dissident seeks protection in the American Embassy. A Russian general threatens pre-emptive attacks on Western missile-defense sites in Poland. A sleeper cell of Russians posing as ordinary Americans is unmasked one day; on another, British spy equipment is discovered hidden in a fake rock on a Moscow street.

We live in a post-cold-war period that is in many ways as complicated and dangerous as the epoch that followed World War II. And just as it's impossible to start the story of the cold war without delving back into what happened at the Yalta Conference, today's world has to be seen through the prism of the Cuban missile crisis, the Cultural Revolution in China and the Prague Spring.

At least, that is the official reason to welcome on Tuesday the DVD release of "Cold War" (Warner Home Video), a 24-part CNN documentary series first shown on television in 1998. Ted Turner financed the series, which took three years to make. One of the executive producers is Jeremy Isaacs, who was the creative force behind an extraordinary historical series a quarter-century earlier, "The World at War."

There are less lofty reasons to watch "Cold War." The series is a thorough, sober and responsible account of history that is still thrilling to watch. The storytelling is artful enough to ensnare even the more knowledgeable viewers. [Read more: Stanley/NYTimes/7May2012]

Alger Hiss: Why He Chose Treason.  Frontpage Interview's guest today is Christina Shelton, a retired US intelligence analyst; she spent the major part of her thirty-two year career (twenty two years) working as a Soviet analyst and a Counterintelligence Branch Chief at the Defense Intelligence Agency. She is the author of the new book, Alger Hiss: Why He Chose Treason.

FP: Christina Shelton, welcome to Frontpage Interview.

Shelton: Thank you, Mr. Glazov.

FP: Let's begin with you telling us what inspired you to write this book.

Shelton: I have always had an abiding interest in both the Soviet Union and the intriguing world of espionage. For the first major paper I wrote in high school a very long time ago, I chose the subject: "Stalin's Forced Labor Camps." My interest continued at George Washington University where I studied at the Sino-Soviet Institute. This led to a career in the Intelligence Community that covered counterintelligence in general and Soviet military and intelligence services in particular. For a couple of years before I retired from the government in 2009, I thought about writing a book, despite the fact that I had spent thirty-two years writing intelligence assessments. And the subject of Hiss "came to me" in a very natural way. Except for the Rosenbergs, Alger Hiss is probably the most famous American spy of the 20th century. The case has all the trappings of a great story - a struggle between two titans (Hiss and Whittaker Chambers), a fallen idol, a divided nation over Hiss's innocence or guilt, all occurring against the background of the important years in American history during the Great Depression and World War II. This story has drama - unlike the current cases where an individual spies for money.

FP: Share with us some of the evidence that has surfaced over the recent years that confirms Hiss was a spy.

Shelton: The most important evidence in recent years on Hiss's role as a Soviet spy was revealed in KGB files and Hungarian state security records. The KGB archival material represents a significant breakthrough in shedding light on the KGB's extensive penetration of the US government during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1993, former KGB official Alexander Vassiliev was given access to KGB files. After he defected, he had a friend send his notebooks of transcribed KGB documents to him. Based on this material, John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, and Vassiliev wrote Spies: the Rise and Fall of the KGB in America (2009). Even though the material was from KGB files, there was some information on the GRU's asset, Hiss. In some cables, Hiss's cover name was used, in others his name was cited in clear text. (Hiss had several cover names, among them 'Jurist,' 'Leonard,' and 'Ales.') One of the most damning KGB cables included a March 1950 document that noted "the trial of the GRU agent 'Leonard' (Hiss) a division chief at the State Department and member of 'Karl's group' (Chambers), had ended in his conviction at the beginning of 1950." Hiss was convicted in January 1950. It doesn't get clearer than that! [Read more: Glazov/FrontPageMag/3May2012]


Obituaries

Daren J. Flitcroft. Daren J. Flitcroft, who retired from the CIA in 1975 as station chief in Taiwan, died March 26 at his home in Washington. He was 88.

He had metastatic cancer, said his wife, Mary Flitcroft.

Mr. Flitcroft joined the CIA in the early 1950s. As a covert case officer, his wife said, he was deployed to Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam. In retirement, he worked in the construction industry and helped found Chattan Associates, a custom-home construction company.

Daren James Flitcroft was born in Hawthorne, N.J. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II and the Korean War.

His CIA awards included the Intelligence Medal of Merit.

He received a bachelor's degree in international studies from American University in 1958.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Mary Dawson Flitcroft, of Washington; two children, Arn Flitcroft of Great Falls and Sandra Flitcroft of Anna Maria, Fla.; a brother; a sister; and two grandsons. [Read more: Shapiro/WashingtonPost/1May2012]


Call for Applicants
 [IMPORTANT: AFIO does not "vet" or endorse these research inquiries 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 or supplying any information.]

To Think, To Write, To Publish.  The Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes (CSPO) at Arizona State University was recently awarded a generous grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in order to conduct the second iteration of a first of its kind workshop, "To Think, To Write, To Publish," founded on these very ideas.

Writers of all kinds as well as science, innovation and policy scholars are invited to apply to this competitive program where they will learn sought after literary techniques and publish their work in a collection of creative nonfiction essays that makes science, innovation and policy scholarship accessible to a larger audience using creative nonfiction techniques. Completed essays will be published in various venues including a special book published by an imprint of the Creative Nonfiction Foundation. 

The Workshop is an all expenses paid, two-part event, offering participants an honorarium upon completion of the program. The first part of the workshop will take place in Washington, DC in early October 2012 and the second in Tempe, Arizona, mid-May 2013 (nice weather is expected!).

The application deadline is June 15, 2012. More information is available at: www.thinkwritepublish.org or http://cspo.org/projects/think-write-publish/

Please feel free to pass this e-mail on to other scholars, scientists, writers, bloggers, museum curators, researchers, journalists, short filmmakers, colleagues, graduate students, faculty administrators, departments, and other similar professionals.


Coming Educational Events

EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN COMING TWO MONTHS....

MANY Spy Museum Events in May, June, and beyond, with full details are listed on the AFIO Website at www.afio.com. The titles for some of these are in detail below and online.

Wednesday, 9 May 2012, 11:30 am - Scottsdale, AZ - "The FBI's Foreign Intelligence Operations during WWII" - presentation by Arthur Kerns at AFIO Arizona Luncheon

The FBI's Special Intelligence Service (SIS) was authorized by Presidential order in May 1940 to conduct foreign intelligence operations in the western hemisphere. Retired Special Agent Arthur Kerns will discuss the origins and operations of this little known intelligence group that existed from 1940 to 1946.
Arthur Kerns served for 24 years with the FBI, retiring from FBI Headquarters in 1988. He now writes mysteries and thrillers and his short fiction appears in a number of anthologies.
New Location: McCormick Ranch Golf Course, 7505 McCormick Parkway, Scottsdale AZ 85258
WE WILL NEED FOR EVERY MEETING an RSVP no later than 72 hours ahead of time; in the past, not reserving or cancelling without prior notice (72 hours prior to the meeting) created much grief for those of us organizing the meeting and dealing with the personnel!
WE ARE charged for the no-shows and please remember, we are a small organization with a humble coffer!
We would therefore APPRECIATE that you all respond to this email to confirm your presence (or not).
Our meeting fees will be as follows: $20.00 for AFIO members, $22.00 for guests
For reservations or questions, please email Simone at simone@4smartphone.net or simone@afioaz.org or call and leave a message on 602.570.6016

Wednesday, 9 May 2012, 11:15 - Albuquerque, NM - The Tom Smith AFIO New Mexico Chapter hosts luncheon & speaker meeting

Location: Marcello's Chophouse, Albuquerque Uptown. Inquiries to Pete Bostwick at foreigndevil@yahoo.com

Wednesday, 9 May 2012, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m – Washington, DC - "Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - From 9/11 to Abbottabad" at the International Spy Museum

"Tonight, I can report…that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden."—US President Barack Obama, May 1, 2011

When Osama bin Laden declared war against the United States for the first time to a Western audience, Peter Bergen was there. He produced Osama bin Laden's first television interview. His book, The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader, was named one of the best non-fiction books of 2006. Bergen has continued to write and report extensively on bin Laden and the conflict between the US and al Qaeda for publications ranging from The New York Times to Rolling Stone. He's produced award-winning documentaries on the subject matter, and in his latest book he has turned his attention to the hunt and termination of the notorious terrorist. Join us for an inside account of Bergen's professional connection to bin Laden, his perspective on the decade-long hunt to capture or kill him, and his thoughts on the results of Operation Neptune Spear.
WHERE: International Spy Museum: 800 F Street, NW Washington, DC Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail Station
Tickets: $15.00 Register at www.spymuseum.org

10 May 2012, 8:30 am - 5 pm - Stony Brook, LI, NY - "The History of Spying: Espionage In America" Conference at Long Island Spy Museum

An exclusive opportunity to explore the art of spycraft.
9:00-9:30: Coffee/Light Refreshments; 9:30-9:45: Introduction by Master of Ceremonies; Actor Peter Firth from the critically acclaimed television series MI-5.; 9:45-10:45: Michael Sulick | Former Director of the US National Clandestine Service and 28-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency: "Revolutionary War Espionage & George Washington's Spies."; 10:45-11:45: Bill Birnes | New York Times bestselling author, TV personality, espionage historian and New York University School of Law graduate: "WWII-Office of Strategic Services (OSS): The Birth of an Intelligence Agency; Patriots, Buccaneers & Movie Stars."; 11:45-12:45: LUNCH BREAK; 12:45-1:45: General Michael Hayden | Former Director of both the Central Intelligence Agency & National Security Agency: "CIA, the War on Terror, and the Killing of Bin Laden."; 1:45- 2:00: Coffee Break.; 2.00-3:00: Cindy Webb | Former Chief of Counter Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency: "Counterintelligence in the Cold War and Beyond."; 3:00-4:00: Tom Betro | Former Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS): "Counterintelligence 2.0; CI Challenges and Opportunities in the Internet Era."; 4:00-4:30: Q&A session;
4.30-4:40: Closing Remarks.
Admission $25.00 Doors open: 8:30 AM. Limited seating available. To purchase tickets visit: www.LongIslandSpyMuseum.org
Long Island Spy Museum, 275 Christian Ave, Stony Brook, NY 11790
Call 631-371-1473 for additional information.

11-13 May 2012 - North Conway, NH - The New England Chapter of the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA-NE) holds Spring Mini-Reunion

Location: North Conway Grand Hotel, North Conway, New Hampshire. The registration cut-off date for the event is 27 April 2012. For additional information, local members and prospective members may call (518) 664-8032 or visit http://ncva-ne.org

Saturday, 12 May 2012 - Orange Park/Gainesville, FL - AFIO North Florida Chapter hosts meeting.

Just a head's up that the next meeting of the North Florida Chapter is right around the corner on Saturday, May 12th, so if you have not yet RSVP'd to Quiel please do so right away at qbegonia@comcast.net so he can provide a correct head count to the country club. Remember, we need to have 20 members and guests in attendance to meet the club's requirements, and we definitely do NOT want to cancel a second meeting in a row for lack of a quorum. Also please bring a potential member if you can, and hope to see you in two weeks. Contact Quiel Begonia, Secretary/Treasurer or call 904-545-9549

Thursday, 17 May 2012, 11:30 - Englewood, CO - The AFIO Rocky Mountain Chapter presents Ray Levesque - the new DIA Representative to NORAD

The AFIO Rocky Mountain Chapter presents Ray Levesque - the new DIA Representative to NORADNorthCom, J2's SIO in Iraq and recently back from work in Mexico. This is a joint meeting of AFIO and Denver INFRAGARD. will be held at Centennial Airport. There are seating limitations of 45 seats so we will accept reservations on a first come first serve basis. You will receive directions when you RSVP to Tom VanWormer at robsmom@pcisys.net. The lunch will cost $12.00. You can pay at the door.

Friday, 18 May 2012, 6:30 – 9:30 pm – Washington, DC - "Surveillance 101 with Eric O'Neill" at the International Spy Museum

Test your surveillance skills on the mean streets of DC!

What if you were assigned to watch the most damaging spy in US history? As a young operative in the FBI, Eric O'Neill was put into position as Robert Hanssen's assistant with the secret task of spying on his boss, who was under suspicion of working for Russia.$7 O'Neill's background with the FBI was in surveillance, so he was up to the challenge. But how would you measure up? It's your chance to find out. O'Neill is prepared to share his hard-earned expertise with you. This intense small group introduction to surveillance will include learning the basics and conducting surveillance in the streets of DC. Will you be able to track the "Rabbit" without being "made?" You'll learn how to snap clandestine shots and keep your target in view so you won't miss operational acts or secret meetings. O'Neill will lead the exercise and help you learn how to blend into the shadows for the best spy results!
WHERE: International Spy Museum: 800 F Street, NW Washington, DC Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail Station
Tickets $94.00. Space is limited to only 10 participants – advance registration required. Call 202 654-0932 to register.

Sunday, 20 May 2012, 6 pm - McLean, VA - NMIA/NMIF Hosts 38th Awards Banquet

Please join this worthwhile sister association's Officers and Directors of The National Military Intelligence Association and The National Military Intelligence Foundation for their Annual Intelligence Awards Banquet where they recognize the Outstanding Achievement of Intelligence Professionals from DoD Components, National Intelligence Agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security. Event is on May 20, 2012 at the McLean Hilton Hotel. Cocktails start at 1800 hrs. Mess Dress/Black Tie Preferred.
Purchase a Corporate Sponsorship, or RSVP for self, spouse, friends and colleagues at https://nmia.site-ym.com/donations/donate.asp?id=5730
This is an important event by a fine group and you are urged to consider attending. Details as well as reservation forms available at http://bit.ly/HHxZ7z

Thursday, 24 May 2012, 6 pm - New York, NY - AFIO NY Metro meets to hear Dr. Vadim Birstein on Stalin's SMERSH

Dr. Vadim Birstein - Russian American who arrived in the US in 1991, is a historian, a molecular geneticist and author of over 150 scientific papers, three
scientific books and one history book. www.vadimbirstein.com/bio.htm
Dr. Birstein's new book "SMERSH" an acronym of the Russian phrase "Death to Spies." "SMERSH" was Stalin's secret weapon, Soviet Military Counterintelligence during WWll. Dr. Birstein
reveals for the first time the structure of this super secret organization, its torture and execution of countless Soviet officers and servicemen and its brazen arrest of foreign civilians, the recovery of Hitler's body and its completely unknown involvement in the Nuremberg trials and much, much more.
RSVP: Strongly suggested, not required. Email afiometro@yahoo.com
Location: 3 West Club, 3 West 51st St, NYC
Cost: $45/person including buffet dinner & cash bar.

Friday, 1 June 2012 - Tysons Corner, VA - AFIO Summer Luncheon featuring former Director, CIA NCS Jose A Rodriguez plus a morning author.

Register now for this special and, for some, controversial, AFIO Summer Luncheon which features former CIA National Clandestine Service Director Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr. on his long-anticipated book: HARD MEASURES: How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved American Lives, co-authored with Bill Harlow [author, former Director of the Office of Public Affairs, CIA], and Morning speaker: Distinguished former CIA Latin America/Caribbean expert, author of - Castro's Secrets: The CIA and Cuba's Intelligence Machine, Brian Latell, Ph.D.. Register NOW for this Special Event.

2 June 2012 - Monterey, CA - 70th Anniversary of Battle of Midway, Naval Postgraduate School

Reservations are now being accepted for the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway Dining-Out at the Naval Postgraduate School on Saturday 2 June. This annual event is led by the NPS Student Council in coordination with the Monterey Bay Commander of the Naval Order of the United States, the Monterey Peninsula Council of the Navy League. The honoree President of the Mess is Vice Admiral Dan Oliver, USN (Ret), President of the Naval Postgraduate School, the President of the Mess is Captain Gerral David, USN, Commanding Officer, Naval Support Activity Monterey, and LT Ryan Birkelbach, USN is Mr. Vice. The guest speaker will be Admiral Gary Roughead, the 29th Chief of Naval Operations.

The 2012 Midway theme is the "Priceless Advantage: Winning the Battles of Coral Sea, Midway and the Aleutians with Communications Intelligence" and will focus on past, present, and future issues in communications intelligence, cryptanalytics, lingusitics, and information analysis to support decision making.
Admiral Roughead is currently the Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He was an early leader establishing social media tools in the Navy, creating the Information Dominance and Assurance programs, the Navy Cyber Command, and standing up the Navy's 10th Fleet at Fort George G. Meade.
You might find it useful to read the history of winning Midway by a National Security Agency historian, Dr. Frederick D. Parker " A Priceless Advantage." The NSA Midway communications intelligence history download address is: http://www.nsa.gov/about/_files/cryptologic_heritage/publications/wwii/priceless_advantage.pdf
A principal figure who led the OP20G team at Pearl Harbor 14th Naval District breaking the Imperial Japanese Navy code JN-25 and assembling sufficient intelligence to reveal the plans of the Japanese fleet was LCDR Joe Rochefort - he was the direct interface to the Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Nimitz at the Combat Intelligence Center aka Station H or "HYPO". Supporting Rochefort was a young Navy Ensign, Donald "Mac" Showers who arrived in February 1942. Admiral Showers retired in 1971 as Director of Naval Intelligence, then spent another 12 years at the CIA on special assignments to the director. Our access to an eye-witness of this caliber, the only one still alive, is well beyond our expectations.
A special DVD will be produced which features Adm Mac Showers, now 92, who retired in 1971 as Director of Naval Intelligence, then spent 12 yrs at CIA. He will give his personal account of what happened during Midway. Dr. Summers has worked with most of the key parties involved in the code breaking operations at Pearl Harbor in 1942 to produce an outstanding documentary.
To register: http://www.nps.edu/midway/
Reservations are now being taken and know you will want to reserve a place at this historic event!
Upon making your reservations, your names will be added to the gate security access list.
Contact Captain Ken Johnson, USN (Ret.), 2012 Battle of Midway Team Coordinator nousmtyken@sbcglobal.net and 831-657-9793 for further details.

Tuesday, 12 June 2012, noon – 1:00 pm – Washington, DC - "The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service" at the International Spy Museum

In the days after 9/11, the CIA directed Henry Crumpton to organize and lead its covert action campaign in Afghanistan. Even at the height of combat against the Taliban in late 2001, there were fewer than five hundred Americans on the ground in Afghanistan. This group, a dynamic blend of CIA and Special Forces operators, assisted by only a few allied troops, managed to rout al Qaeda and the Taliban in less than 90 days after the Twin Towers fell. The Art of Intelligence draws from the full arc of Crumpton's espionage and covert action exploits to explain what America's spies do and why their service is more valuable than ever. Crumpton's enthralling story, covering his early years in Africa, to his liaison assignment at the FBI, his work at the CIA's Counterterrorism Center where he was involved in the development of the Predator UAV program, and his later work running all CIA clandestine operations inside the United States, has much to teach us about national security and love of country.
WHERE: International Spy Museum: 800 F Street, NW Washington, DC Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail Station
Free! No registration required! Directions at www.spymuseum.org

Tuesday, 19 June 2012, 6:30 – 9:30 pm – Washington, DC - SURVEILLANCE 101 WITH O'NEILL WORKSHOP 2 at the International Spy Museum

Test your surveillance skills on the mean streets of DC!
What if you were assigned to watch the most damaging spy in US history? As a young operative in the FBI, Eric O'Neill was put into position as Robert Hanssen's assistant with the secret task of spying on his boss, who was under suspicion of working for Russia. O'Neill's background with the FBI was in surveillance, so he was up to the challenge. But how would you measure up? It's your chance to find out. O'Neill is prepared to share his hard-earned expertise with you. This intense small group introduction to surveillance will include learning the basics and conducting surveillance in the streets of DC. Will you be able to track the "Rabbit" without being "made?" You'll learn how to snap clandestine shots and keep your target in view so you won't miss operational acts or secret meetings. O'Neill will lead the exercise and help you learn how to blend into the shadows for the best spy results!

Wednesday, 27 June 2012, 6:30 – 8:30 pm – Washington, DC - "The Russian Illegals Two Years Later: What Did It Mean?" at the International Spy Museum

It's been two years since Americans were stunned to learn of the arrest of ten Russian "deep-cover" spies who had lived among us for decades. What's become of these one-time neighbors and Facebook friends and what have we learned about the success or failure of their mission to meet influential Americans and exploit them for their knowledge of government policy? "Illegals," like these spies, have been a Moscow specialty for years, but traditionally are used sparingly—for only the most sensitive of operations. What did we learn from these arrests? Seldom has the US government been able to find and arrest "illegals," so did this rare occurrence offer us important new information on Russian intelligence collection practices? H. Keith Melton, renowned intelligence historian, technical advisor to American intelligence agencies, author of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda, and International Spy Museum board member, will revisit the murky world of these "illegals:" who they were, how they operated, the threat they posed, and where they are now. With access to exclusive materials and images, he'll bring us up-to-date on the case. Retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin will also provide commentary based on his years of running agents in the United States.
WHERE: International Spy Museum: 800 F Street, NW Washington, DC Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail Station
Tickets: $12.50 Register at www.spymuseum.org

Tickets:  $94.  Space is limited to only 10 participants.  Advance registration required.  Call 202-654-0932 to register

For Additional Events two+ months or greater....view our online Calendar of Events


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