My September 11th and Beyond at the CIA
On September 11th, 2001 I was a team chief, leading a small group of analysts at the CIA. My part of the Agency did not work on terrorism. Some of us knew a bit about al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden but as far I know none of my immediate colleagues were aware that the Counterterrorism Center had been issuing dire warnings all summer of a major attack.
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Have We Recreated the OSS?
Osama Bin Laden is dead and that is a very important development that came upon us suddenly but which will reverberate for a long time to come. There was an aspect to the story, however, that came upon us much more gradually but that will also have important long-term implications.
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The Patriot Act, FISA, and Evolving Forms of Armed Struggle
March 15, 2011 - Congress recently passed and President Obama signed a one year extension to three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act. These three sections authorized FISA Court -approved roving wiretaps; allowed court-approved seizures of business records of terrorism suspects without their knowledge; and permitted surveillance against non-US citizen “lone wolves,” individuals engaged in terrorism who are not part of a recognized terrorist group.
Who Deserves the Title of “Whistleblower”?
When the US Government charges someone with espionage, people take notice, as well they should. In this time of war, the Espionage Act of 1917 is back in vogue and whistleblowers are likely to find themselves accused of being spies. However, not all charges of espionage are the same, nor are all claims of whistleblowing. It is interesting to compare the case of Tom Drake, a former senior official at the National Security Agency who is facing charges under the Espionage Act of 1917, for—as he sees it—blowing
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Spying on Bond
As a young lad, I was introduced to the world of espionage in the familiar way of most my generation through Bond. James Bond. Now, I am not old enough for that to have meant the Bond of the original Ian Fleming novels. No, my first James Bond was Roger Moore and my first missions were convincing my parents in the video store of Bond’s appropriateness. Even though I was not likely to care about or understand nuances behind Honey Rider or Mary Goodnight, James Bond to them was the womanizing Sean Connery. My interest was in the larger than life villains, cars, and wonderful gadgets of
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Q&A with Annie Jacobsen, author of "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base"
1. Area 51 has been one of the most highly classified facilities in history. Where is it and how do you begin to write about a facility that does not officially “exist?”
Area 51 is located in the high desert of Southern Nevada, seventy-five miles north of Las Vegas. It sits inside the largest, government-controlled land parcel in America, the Nevada Test and Training Range. Area 51’s facilities have been constructed over the past sixty years around a flat, dry lakebed known as Groom Lake.
