Dead Drop: January 11

Noun.

  1. A location to secretly pass information without a face-to-face meeting.

Each week we hope to give our readers tidbits of gossip from the world of national security and intelligence. The Dead Drop is a source of fun or intriguing news you can't get anywhere else.

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Below is our recent intelligence collection:

CHICKS IN CHARGE:  Last week, The Cipher Brief was first to reveal that the CIA had named Cynthia ‘DiDi’ Rapp to be their new Deputy Director of Analysis. Other news organizations were quick to follow – some adding their own analysis.  For example, NBC News initially reported that “all three directorates” of the CIA would be led by women. They later modified that after readers pointed out that the Agency currently has FIVE directorates. Other news organizations reported that the “Top 3 Positions at the CIA Are Now Filled by Women” except that the number two position, the Deputy Director, is a guy named Vaughn Bishop and the number three position, the Chief Operating Officer, is Andrew Makridis.  But we get it – everyone is excited about the evidence that women are increasingly represented in the top ranks of the Agency, which is led by Gina Haspel. Well, almost everyone. Vladimir Putin’s RT(repeating the “all three directorates” error) searched the internet for Twitter users saying things like: “Now women can be recognized as war criminals too! Yay feminism?”  Lectures from Putin & pals on human rights.  Yeah, that’s the ticket. And if anyone knows how many women are at the top of the SVR, let us know.

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