Dead Drop: February 8

MOVING ON: NGA Director Robert Cardillo is retiring and handing over controls of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to Navy Vice Adm. Robert Sharp.  We’re told that the 6th NGA Director is not giving up his GEOINT Intelligence Officer badge of honor, however, telling those at his retirement ceremony that he “will always be a GEOINT Intelligence Officer.  So, while I depart a position – and turnover a title – I will never leave this profession – or this Agency.  And this profession and this Agency will never leave me – both will flow through my veins, as long as I live.”  Now that’s dedication.

AND THE NOMINEES FOR THE WORST SPY MOVIES ARE…. In last week’s episode of The Dead Drop, we reported that a writer named Sophie Matthews had published a piece on Women.com listing “8 of the Best and Most Accurate Spy Movies Ever Made.” Sophie’s choices were inspired by her Mom & Dad, both former members of the CIA’s clandestine service.  While Sophie did not blow their cover in her piece, our sources told us her parents might be Jason and Suzanne Matthews. (Jason being the author of theRed Sparrow” trilogy of highly successful novels.)  We were right.  We know that now because Jason and Suzanne saw the item in The Dead Drop and reached out to us confirming that Sophie is indeed their youngest daughter.  What’s more, they took us up on our challenge to readers: “Give us your list of ten worst and most inaccurate spy films.” (Actually, we were wondering why she picked 8 instead of 10, so we asked and low and behold, we got 10).  Here are the Matthews’ picks: 1. Salt, 2. All of The Bourne series, 3. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, 4. All of the Mission Impossible series, 5. Casino Royale (1967), 6. The Recruit, 7. The November Man and 8. Three Days of the Condor 9. Body of Lies 10. The Defector (1968).

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

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