TOLD YA SO: On December 7th, a variety of major news organizations reported that the CIA has selected Beth Kimber, a 34-year Agency veteran, to become Deputy Director of Operations – the first woman to lead its clandestine arm. Dead Drop readers got an early heads up on that nugget of intel before any of the networks reported it as confirmed. Hopefully, you picked up your November 16th Dead Drop, sharing that Kimber was the frontrunner for the job. On news of the official appointment, Agency spokesperson Brittany Bramell issued a statement saying Kimber will lead the CIA's efforts to "strengthen national security and foreign policy objectives through the clandestine collection of human intelligence and by conducting Covert Action as directed by the President." The reaction to Kimber’s appointment was almost unanimous in its praise. Including very positive comments from Cipher Brief experts like John McLaughlin on NBC.com and John Sipher on CBS.com. CBS did find two unnamed former intelligence officials who cast some shade, though. One opined that (Kimber) "is going to have to work to win the loyalty of all of those officers who have done the hard stuff," (implying that she had not spent sufficient time in war zones and other difficult areas.) CBS granted that naysayer anonymity because they were “not authorized to speak on the record.” Of course, no such authorization for former officials is required. But attaching your name to your kvetching is the kind of “hard stuff” some former officials avoid. The anonymous officials were not the only ones to criticize the appointment. Sputnik News also took some shots at Kimber in an article headlined “Ex-Head of CIA’s ‘Russia Group’ Promoted Amid Russiagate Frenzy.”
ARMY’S GOOD DAY: The U.S. Army had a good day on Saturday. The Black Knights of the Military Academy won their third Army/Navy game in a row. The lads from West Point beat the Navy midshipmen by a score of 17-10. The cadets win was no surprise. They have played well all season and the Mids have been disappointing. Earlier in the day, President Trump announced his intention to nominate Army Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. JCS Chairmen typically are appointed to two two-year terms and the change of command almost always happens around October 1st. Announcing the replacement for the current Chief, General Joe Dunford, this early is somewhat odd. Presidents typically name their nominee in May or June. To make matters odder – Trump tweeted that the timing of the turnover was “to be determined,” hinting that Dunford might get the heave ho ahead of his expected departure date. We have no idea what “Fightin’ Joe” Dunford might have done (if anything) to annoy the Commander in Chief.
CENTRAL CASTING: So how did General Milley get the nod for the top job? By all accounts, he has had a distinguished career, but one general officer watcher pointed out to us that Milley was an obvious choice since he looks the part. President Trump is noted for making personnel choices based, in part, on whether the candidate might be cast in the role if government was a reality TV show. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis reportedly had urged the selection of Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein for the Chairman gig – and another candidate was Navy Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson. But neither carry the look of Milley – who, to our eye, looks like a slimmed down version of actor John Goodman. So, the general had that going for him.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: In the first item in the very first edition of The Dead Drop (published on July 31, 2015) we noted that General Dunford, (who had just been nominated for CJCS) reportedly did not want to be replaced as Commandant of the Marine Corps by a popular and charismatic leader – and therefore might nix the selection of such a man. The loser in that game of musical chairs? General John Kelly. What ever happened to him? If Kelly weren’t also on the way out of his current job (somewhat earlier than expected) as White House chief of staff – we might speculate that he is playing a role in Dunford’s possible early departure. But we are guessing that Kelly (like Mattis) may not have a lot of sway in selection of the new CJCS.
CLEARLY BLURRY: Sometimes hiding just makes you stand out. The Federation of American Scientists blog illustrated that point this week with an article about how some countries try to get satellite imagery companies to blur overhead views of their most sensitive facilities. Companies, including Google Earth, occasionally comply with such requests. The result? It is like a blinking arrow. We're not scientists or anything, but we don't really understand the logic. Curious observers only have to find another imagery provider who has not agreed to obscure the site…and they know exactly where to look.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? The Guardian ran an OPED on December 8 that struck us as odd. The piece, clumsily titled: “I was a CIA spy in Russia – and now my family is in danger. But Trump can help” was reportedly written by a fellow named Yevgeny Chistov. The author says he was working as a police officer in the Russian interior ministry but became fed up with Vladimir Putin plundering his country – so he began passing secret information to the CIA. And then he was caught. But here is the odd part. Chistov says he initially was locked up in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison and is now in a Russian “correctional colony.” From this precarious perch, he now complains about his food, living conditions, and his parent’s pensions. He writes about how “corruption and extortion is all around. Russians feel intimidated and fear repression by the state.” What are the chances of someone in one of Putin’s prisons being courageous and dumb enough to publish such a letter? If he thought the rotten cabbage soup was bad before – wait till Putin’s copy of The Guardian is delivered.
GREAT PLACES TO WORK AND NOT: The annual survey of federal employees gauging job and workplace satisfaction is out and nearly 60 percent of federal organizations surveyed appear to be heading in the wrong direction.. Among the large agencies – NASA’s rating was out of this world – they came in #1. The Intelligence Community came in 5th. The Department of the Navy was #7, Army #11, State #13, Air Force #15 and DHS came in last at #17. You can drill down within each agency to see how their subcomponents ranked. The worst ranking within the Department of State, for example, comes from the Office of the Secretary which ranks 381st out of 415 government subcomponents governmentwide. And we are not certain what to make of this – but according to the survey – the unhappiest place to work in the U.S. government is the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office in the Department of Homeland Security. They come in 415th out of 415 Agency subcomponents with an “engagement score” of 13.7. (Engagement score is derived from survey questions about whether you recommend your organization as a good place to work, how satisfied you are with your job and how satisfied you are with your organization.) Note to DHS – we’d feel better if the people in the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office were happy campers.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
- “Go Float Me” We get it. Naval vessels can be costly. The government of Greece has recently come up with an innovative way to get their Navy some “new frigates and a flagship.” They have created sort of a “Go Fund Me” account where citizens can donate money to upgrade the Greek fleet. Not surprisingly, AP says that one of the talking points that Greek officials are using to motivate their countrymen to contribute is fear of their neighbor and fellow NATO ally, Turkey.
- Have a Beef with Blackwater? Some people find Erik Prince’s private security efforts hard to swallow. While others find that the man who created Blackwater their cup of tea. Yahoo News tells us that Prince has another venture you might not know about – “Blackwater Beef.” The former Navy SEAL and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is selling meat. Yahoo says a “Howdy Y’All Starter Beef Box” goes for $79 plus shipping, or at the high-end, for $1,995. subscribers can get quarterly deliveries of a “Rancher ½ Beef.” Just in case you thought Prince had gone all domestic on us – he has also started an ammunition company called “Blackwater Ammunition.”
- Secret Signals? The Washington Post reported this week that the gap between the president and the intelligence community continues to widen – but we’ve found one top Trump advisor who symbolically holds the CIA close to his heart. We’ve noticed in recent days that Fox News host Sean Hannity has taken to wearing a CIA lapel pin. Hannity has long sported an American flag lapel pin with a Secret Service star emblazoned on it. But now, on most nights, he has added a second pin – the CIA logo. Anyone know why?
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING: Got any tips for your friendly neighborhood Dead Drop? Shoot us a note at TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
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