Dead Drop: December 22

REALLY EVENTFUL:  We learned this week of a new memoir describing the career of 91-year-old retired CIA officer Thomas Ahern who was station chief of the Agency’s operation in Tehran when the U.S. embassy was seized by Islamic radicals in 1979. He and 51 other Americans remained captive for 444 days before being released in 1981.  His book, titled Nothing If Not Eventful,  was published by the Agency’s Center for the Study of Intelligence and is available  online, for free. Ahern spent 35 years as part of the Directorate of Operations and then 30 more as a contractor working on history projects for the Agency.  A piece in The Washington Post gives a window into Ahern’s remarkable story of perseverance and resilience. Look for an Undercover review of the book in The Cipher Brief in the coming weeks.

WHO PUT THE DIP IN THE DIPLOMATIC CONFIRMATIONS?  It seems only fair that since The Dead Drop was among those expressing concern about the hundreds of flag and general officer promotions held hostage by Senator Tommy Tuberville, that we also note that scores of State Department nominees are also in limbo. According to The New York Times, 43 diplomatic nominees, including Kurt Campbell, who is slated to be deputy Secretary of State, were being blocked from confirmation. Some of them who were not confirmed before the Senate adjourned for the holidays, will have to be re-nominated in the new year. We’re not experts, but it seems there must be a better way for the opposition on the Hill to express their concerns about administration foreign policy, than by keeping top diplomatic seats empty. We note that right before adjournment, Senator Tuberville dropped his block on the final eleven four-star promotions he was holding up, ending his Operation ‘Prevent Defense’. Way to go.