THIS WEEK: SURPRISES, SECRETS AND SPY COCKTAILS: This week’s best collection of national security gossip is filled with surprises, secrets and a strong showing in the whiskey category at Amazon. From two spies who walked into a bar to the fallout from Washington’s surprise attack on Iran’s nuclear sites to a whole bunch of questions about who’s making the decisions at the National Security Agency. Let’s get to it.
PRESIDENT TRUMP DROPS ANOTHER BOMB: The president has had a week of surprise bombings, but the F-bomb he dropped on the White House lawn on his way to the NATO summit was one that garnered its own special kind of response. Showing what most people would consider understandable frustration over what looked like violations of a ceasefire agreement by both Iran and Israel, the president let one rip, "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.” The funny thing here is the response by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (who most experts agree, did a masterful job at welcoming the president to this year’s NATO summit). When a reporter asked about Trump’s undiplomatic F-bomb, Rutte laughed it off. “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language,” he said.
TIME TO SUIT UP: It wasn’t just NATO leaders on a charm offensive with the U.S. president this week. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, in an effort to persuade Washington to continue to provide much-needed support to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s aggression, abandoned his usual military-style fatigues – the casual outfit that seemed to annoy Trump and Vice President JD Vance back in February – and donned more formal garb – a black jacket, black undershirt, black slacks, and black combat boots. It must have worked because later, when a reporter asked the president if the U.S. would supply more Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, he replied, "We're going to see if we can make some available." The president also shared some intel on his chats with the Russian president lately. "He called the other day, and he said, 'Can I help you with Iran?' I said, 'No, you can help me with Russia.”
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?: According to The Jewish Chronicle, on June 13th, Israeli intelligence services placed a bogus phone call that summoned the top commanders of Iran’s air force to assemble at a single location for an emergency meeting which was then physically targeted by Israel. Citing comments made to the (ironically named) “Call Me Back” podcast, it was alleged that, “What Israel did was create a fake phone call for 20 members of the air force senior staff and calling them to a specific bunker in Tehran.” The goal was said to be to eliminate those who either would or could authorize ballistic missile strikes on Israel. Fox News quoted a senior Israeli security official confirming that they had eliminated most of the IRGC’s air force leadership. “We carried out specific activities to help us learn more about them, and then used that information to influence their behavior,” the official said. “We knew this would lead them to meet, but more importantly, we knew how to keep them there.” Lesson for the IRGC: don’t believe everything you hear on your phone.
DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE: Both Israel and Iran have been busy creating AI-generated fake images being pushed on social media. While there are plenty of legitimate dramatic images that reflect recent attacks on Iran, not everything you see is real. The digital media company 404 Media posted some examples of fake stuff including images that claim to be three downed Israeli F-35s. Apparently, the pics weren’t too hard to debunk as one showed a giant wrecked F-35 surrounded by Lilliputian villagers. Another showed a crashed jet in a field without any wings but with a functioning afterburner. Seriously.
MORE UNCERTAINTY AT NSA: In last week’s Dead Drop, we told you about continuing brain drain at NSA with news of the quiet retirement of the Agency’s Cybersecurity Director. Add to that, a new report that says the White House recently put the kibosh on DOD’s pick to lead the Agency. According to Politico, the Pentagon wanted Army Lt. Gen. Richard Angle to take on the dual-hatted role of NSA chief and head of U.S. Cyber Command. Angle also had the backing of DNI Tulsi Gabbard. But for unknown reasons, the White House was not buying the notion that Angle should replace Gen. Timothy Haugh, who was mysteriously fired in April. So, the slot(s) remain filled with an acting leader. Now, most would agree that the NSA is one of the most consequential spy agencies in the world and when the leadership is moving around like a game of musical chairs, it seems to warrant some explanation but who is driving all of these decisions at the top seems to be Washington’s best kept secret. We just hope it isn’t some media influencer heavy on opinion but super light on actual substance. America, of course, would deserve a little better than that. Right??
WHAT GOES DOWN, MUST COME UP: It was just a few weeks ago that we were reporting that the National Security Council staff was being thinned out under interim (we think) National Security Advisor Marco Rubio. Bloomberg News is now reporting that the White House has begun hiring more staff for the NSC. A person “familiar with the matter” said the White House pushed out scores of NSC staffers in May on the heels of Mike Waltz’s departure. But in June, more staff was added – probably to keep track of all of that “12-day war” stuff. Either that or the ousted staffers were deemed too close to Waltz - and the new hires have no such allegiances.
HERE’S ONE WAY TO SPEED UP HIRING: According to the New York Post and other news outlets, Sergio Gor, the Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, the guy in charge of vetting potential hires, may not have gotten around to filling out the Standard Form 86 that is required for anyone who wants a security clearance. Gor says he was born in Malta, though some folks say he’s Russian. The now not-so-chummy Elon Musk claimed, “He deliberately lied about where he was born on Federal forms. That’s a serious crime.” But maybe it’s not a crime if you never fill out the forms in the first place.
AN INNOVATIVE USE FOR CHIPS: Defense News says that Ukrainian warfighters found themselves in a crunch not long ago, by running out of the metal containers that carry the explosives that are dropped by drones on Russian targets. Being the MacGyver’s that they are – apparently one innovative operative stuffed Pringles cans with sulfate and plastic explosives. Just another example of cheap but effective adaptation born from both need and a bad case of the munchies.
EYE SPY WITNESS NEWS: Why are so many details of seemingly ‘secret missions’ suddenly made so public? The Wall Street Journal recently took a look at “Why Countries Are Suddenly Broadcasting Their Spies’ Exploits.” Barely hours after attacks conducted by countries like Ukraine and Israel – details that often include imagery seem to pop up on social media. Cipher Brief expert Norm Roule was quoted saying “A major goal of covert operations is often to show an adversary’s leadership that we have identified and can damage elements involved in lethal activity,” adding “Demonstrating this capability is hoped to act as a deterrent and even to encourage an adversary to seek diplomatic solutions.”
YOU SAY THAT, LIKE IT’S A BAD THING: We couldn’t help but notice this headline in Mediaite, “’He Is a Propagandist’: Nick Fuentes Roasts Tucker Carlson Over ‘Ambush’ on Ted Cruz, Accusing Him of Working for CIA.” Now, Fuentes is a far-right commentator who has been accused of being a white supremacist, homophobic, misogynist with antisemitic views. But perhaps he is just misunderstood. In any case – his comment was about a combative interview between Tucker Carlson and Senator Cruz in which Cruz spoke favorably about Israel’s attack on Iran and Carlson spoke unfavorably about the Senator. Fuentes called Carlson “extremely intelligent” but said he played “a dumb person” on his show and speculated that “Tucker Carlson is most likely some form of intelligence asset,” who is “playing a role as a propagandist.” So here is the offensive part: Mediaite assumed that if Carlson was being accused of being an intelligence asset he must have meant “working for the CIA.” But based on Carlson’s pro-Russia comments, we’re not so sure Mediaite chose the right intelligence agency here.
DRINK DEEPLY: Back during World War II, the Brits built a secret tunnel facility beneath London for senior officials to seek refuge during the Blitz. But by the time the site was ready – the bulk of the blitz was over – so it was repurposed as a communications hub for outfits like the Special Operations Executive (SOE) which conducted covert sabotage against the Nazis in Europe. Ian Fleming spent some time in the tunnel – and it probably influenced his James Bond fiction. Associated Press says that a private organization is now turning it into a home for the British Military Intelligence Museum, and interactive World War II memorial, and will feature what organizers claim to be one of the world’s deepest underground licensed bars. It’s not scheduled to open until around 2028. Now, loyal readers of The Dead Drop may remember, we told you about the tunnel project back in October 2023. At that time, officials were predicting a 2027 opening. Looks like the opening has been delayed at least a year but since the early reports they have added the bar – so it should be worth waiting for.
SHOOTING STRAIGHT TO THE TOP: The new book, A Spy Walked Into A Bar: A Practitioner’s Guide to Cocktail Tradecraftby former senior CIA officer Rob Dannenberg – in collaboration with former spy (turned Certified Wine Specialist) Joseph P. Mullin – has shot to the top of the charts on Amazon during its first week of publication. Amazon ranked the new spy story-cocktail thriller as #1 in Whiskey and #1 in Alcoholic spirits (we resemble that remark). We’re not really sure what the competition is like in the Whiskey category but seems like a good category to lead in – if you gotta lead one. The two former spies did a podcast with The Cipher Brief to explain how cocktails were used part of the mission at the Agency – especially in Russia. You can find the State Secrets podcast wherever you listen to podcasts - or pour yourself a stiff one and check out the video version on The Cipher Brief’s YouTube channel.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
DOWN UNDER SPY GEAR: Mike Pritchard, a 59-year-old Australian espionage afficionado, says he aspires to build a spy museum in Sydney, and he’s amassed over 1,500 items, many of which are kept in his home. According to The Guardian, the collection includes CIA and KGB spy cameras, Enigma machines, and a tiny Stasi infrared transmitter once used to send messages across the Berlin Wall. Pritchard’s dream is for the museum to be a post for “educational espionage.” He says while visitors might be amused by Get Smart shoe phones “as they walk through the galleries, they learn about cryptography, or they learn about the security aspects of climate change and they go, ‘OK, I never really thought about that before.’ “It’s learning by stealth.” Oh, and one of Pritchard’s prized possessions is an American rectal concealment escape toolkit. Talk about the butt of the joke…
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