In the wake of the WMD intelligence failure, what is the ground truth of the U.S.’s current intelligence capability? Has intelligence reform worked? Is American intelligence up to the task of tackling today’s turbulent world? This series brings together a distinguished group of former senior intelligence officers who have wrestled with unique and varied high-level intelligence challenges at home and abroad. Their insights and opinions will inform this exploration of the U.S. intelligence community and its current challenges.
In the first of this series, Peter Earnest, the executive director of the International Spy Museum and 35-year-veteran of the CIA, will demystify today’s intelligence community. He’ll share the threats that keep him awake at night, the issues that 21st century intelligence professionals must grapple with, and he’ll provide deeper insight into the role of espionage in protecting our national security.
Thirty-nine year CIA veteran Burton Gerber was the chief of station in three Communist nations and head of the Agency’s Soviet and European operations for eight years. Gerber, co-editor of Transforming U.S. Intelligence, will explain how today’s threats differ from those of the past, share his opinion of what intelligence reform is needed to enable the intelligence community to face these threats, and describe the issues facing those who would rise to the challenge of reform.
The FBI has grown from a small Justice Department staff into America’s top federal law enforcement agency responsible for domestic counterespionage and counterintelligence. Raymond J. Batvinis, author of The Origins of FBI Counterintelligence, experienced this growth firsthand in his twenty-five years as an FBI special agent and supervisory special agent. Drawing on this experience and his in-depth research, Batvinis will explore how the FBI is adapting to 21st century challenges.
As the CIA’s top-ranking female Arabist, Melissa Boyle Mahle engaged in operations targeted against Al Qaeda terrorists and to disrupt illicit networks trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. Mahle, author of Denial and Deception: An Insider’s View of the CIA, will reflect on current counterterrorism operations, today’s top challenges in the Middle East, and her experiences as a female intelligence officer in that region.
In collaboration with the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program.
Tickets: $100 (must be purchased through the Smithsonian) • Members of The Spy Ring® (Join Today!) and Smithsonian Resident Members: $72 • Smithsonian Resident Senior Members: $64
To register: (in person) The Smithsonian Associates, Ripley Center, Room 3077, 1100 Jefferson Dr., SW; (via phone) 202.633.3030. The Program Registration Code is 1M2-419.
