Dead Drop: October 20

MISSION POSSIBLE?  CIA Director Mike Pompeo told an audience in Texas last week: “At this very moment, there’s a CIA team preparing for a mission in a very dangerous part of the world.” Pompeo added: “There’s not much of a U.S. footprint there, nor is it a place where our brothers and sisters in the military can operate.” Speaking at the Texas National Security Forum at the University of Texas, Austin, he said, “If President Trump is to make the right policy choices there, he needs to understand the facts on the ground in the grittiest back alleys, densest jungles—in the hard places.” We’re going to assume that when the Director said, “At this very moment…” he meant “and at any given moment” – rather than displaying some sloppy OPSEC.

FILM FLAM: According to The Times newspaper in the U.K, a Russian film director recently apologized for making a TV series that depicts opposition figures as puppets of U.S. intelligence. Yury Bykov’s program, called “Sleepers,” depicts CIA undercover agents trying to foment a revolution in Moscow by working with journalists and anti-government activists. The eight-part series also shows U.S. security services working hand-in-hand with Islamic terrorists. Bykov apparently now regrets his role in sliming Russian opposition figures by associating them with American spies.

FOR WHOM THE REDS TROLL: Speaking of TV series, Yahoo News reported this week that Russians working in Putin’s “troll factory,” which attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election, were required to watch the Netflix TV series House of Cards to gain an understanding of how American politics work. You may recall that Kevin Spacey’s character in the series, “Frank Underwood,” handled media relations by pushing a troublesome reporter in front of an oncoming metro train.

MOSCOW’S MAP QUEST: The latest edition of National Geographic carries a story on “The Soviet Military Program that Secretly Mapped the Entire World.” The article is inspired by a new book called The Red Atlas, which describes how, long before there was easy access to satellite imagery, the Soviets secretly compiled highly detailed maps of towns and targets, big and small. The maps include notes “on the construction materials and load-bearing capacity of bridges—things that would be near-impossible to know without people on the ground.”  The article says that “for anyone who lived through the Cold War, there may be something chilling about seeing a familiar landscape mapped through the eyes of the enemy, with familiar landmarks labeled in unfamiliar Cyrillic script.”  One map shown depicts a detailed overhead of the Pentagon – but seems to miss a chance to identify the center court concession stand, affectionately known to DoD employees as “Ground Zero.”

SIGN ON OF THE TIMES? Bloomberg News is reporting that Facebook is looking to hire employees with national security clearances in an effort to thwart foreign powers from using the social media site to influence future elections.  Facebook would not comment on the report – which probably means it is true. Current federal employees might be tempted to bail out of their government gigs in exchange for Facebook perks, which include the proverbial free lunch – and a Zuckerberg-like dress code.

POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:

• Hospitality: Who knew the Department of Veterans Affairs had something in common with the President?  The VA is a hotel owner – and not just any hotel – but the ritzy Pershing Hall in downtown Paris.  But maybe not for long. The Military Times reports that some lawmakers are trying to get the VA to sell the property and use the cash for “more relevant needs.”  According to the Times, Pershing Hall, which sits less than a mile from the Arc de Triomphe in the heart of Paris, has been managed by VA since 1991 and owned by the federal government since 1935.” The facility “is also supposed to serve as a meeting place for American veterans’ groups traveling abroad,” but vets complain that it is hard to get into the place – just like some VA hospitals, we guess.
• Inspector Clouseau Lives: Speaking of France – if recent press accounts are to be believed (and we must admit this sounds like something from “Le Onion”), an operative for the French central territorial intelligence services (SCRT) accidentally texted information about a suspected Islamic extremist – TO the suspect. Don’t you hate it when you do stuff like that? According to the reports, the French investigator was trying to pass information to one of his colleagues – but got his numbers mixed up and sent his note to the target. French media described the gaffe as a “monumental blunder.”
• Leaky ship of state: This week, NPR’s intelligence reporter, Mary Louise Kelly, aired an interview with Ursula Wilder, a CIA psychologist, on why government officials leak. The interview is based on an unclassified version of a paper published by Wilder in Studies in Intelligence. According to Wilder, among the warning signs that a person might become a leaker are the personality traits of “psychopathy, narcissism and immaturity.”

NETWORK NEWS: Not a day goes by when members of The Cipher Brief Network aren’t making news.  Here are just a few examples from this week:

• Shredded Credibility: Former Deputy CIA Director John’s McLaughlin’s Twitter comments on the President’s actions on the Iran nuclear deal – saying it was one of Trump’s “worst decisions” and would “shred” America’s credibility. The tweet was picked up by The Independent newspaper in the UK and many other outlets. McLaughlin was also on MSNBC’s “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” Wednesday talking about the controversy regarding the President’s calls (or lack thereof) to grieving families.
• Refuge for a Scoundrel: The Diplomat wrote late last week about whether China or Russia would support a North Korean insurgency if the U.S. and its allies tried to oust Kim Jong-un.  Admiral Jim Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, told the publication Beijing or Moscow “would probably provide” sanctuary to Kim from where he could coordinate a military campaign against U.S. and ROK. occupiers.
• China Helping Pyongyang: Gordon Chang, appearing on Fox Business News’s “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday, said that China has been “transferring very important weapons and equipment and technology to the North Koreans, especially their ballistic missile program… They are weaponizing the North.”
• Paying Respects: In a New York Times story about the flap regarding the President calling the families of fallen military personnel, retired General Jack Keane was quoted saying, “It’s been my observation in all the years I’ve been in the military that all presidents, as commander in chief, feel an enormous sense of loss and compassion and pain about those who are killed under their command,” adding, “How they express that is entirely up to them, and I think we should respect that.”

WHAT’S ON THEIR NIGHTSTAND?

Leslie Ireland, CIA veteran and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Intelligence and Analysis:

“I’m reading No One Would Listen by Harry Markopolos. Markopolos is a “quant” or a quantitative analyst. Quants specialize in applying mathematical and statistical methods to financial and risk management problems. In 1999, Markopolos’ boss asked him to use his skills to analyze why Bernie Madoff was able to get amazing returns despite the performance of the rest of the market. His boss hoped his firm could use Madoff’s approach to improve their earnings. Markopolos quickly realized—he says within 5 minutes—that Madoff’s returns were impossible. Between 2000 and 2005, he submitted his findings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) five times. Each time the SEC ignored him. The book details how Markopolos determined that Bernie Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme and what happened when he tried to blow the whistle. As a passionate believer in “follow the money,” I find this story intriguing.”

SECURITY QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Although the president has been clear that he opposes the deal despite the public endorsement by members of his cabinet, Iran’s reckless regional adventurism, belligerent rhetoric, and expansion of its vast missile program certainly made non-certification easier.  Tehran’s behavior justifies the need for a fresh approach to Iran policy, but we should retain the JCPOA and develop our new policy in concert with our friends in Europe and the Middle East.”

–Norman T. Roule, who recently retired after serving for eight years as the National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and 34 years in the U.S. Intelligence Community.

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING:  Got any tips for your friendly neighborhood Dead Drop?  Shoot us a note at [email protected].