ADVISING THE CANDIDATES: In the very first Dead Drop, published almost four and a half years ago in August 2016, we had an item about who was advising and endorsing the various presidential candidates on matters of national security. Well, we have the first installment for the 2020 election. The website The Grayzone (which is a new one to us) ominously writes that Pete Buttigieg is the choice of a lot of intelligence veterans. They don’t know why – but it appears they think that is a bad thing. Among those reportedly endorsing Mayor Pete is David S. Cohen, former deputy director of the CIA, Charlie Gilbert who is identified as a former deputy director of the National Clandestine Service, John Blair former chief of staff of the CIA’s Middle East Task Force, CIA veterans Dennis Bowden, Sue Mi Terry, Martijn Rasser, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Ned Price and more.
PENTAGON SPITS ON IDEA OF HOME DNA TESTS: The Department of Defense has advised service members not to use “consumer DNA kits.” Outfits like 23andMe and Ancestry.com are getting millions of people around the world to send them saliva samples and (for a fee) they will tell them all about their parentage. But DOD’s Under Secretary for Intelligence, James N. Stewart, said in a memo that “Exposing sensitive genetic information to outside parties poses personal and operational risks to Service members.” Stewart was unclear on exactly how the tests would put troops at risk. Yahoo News, which first reported on the DOD memo, quotes a law professor as speculating that the data could be used to track down covert operatives involved in missions like the killing of Osama bin Laden. “It’s not hard to imagine a world where people are blithely sharing information online without realizing their third cousin is a Navy SEAL, or an operative of the CIA.”
SIGN OF THE TIMES: Remember when having an advertisement on during the Super Bowl was the ultimate in brand awareness? Those days are apparently gone. The U.S. Navy had planned on launching a new ad campaign during the upcoming Super Bowl – but upon further review – they decided not to do so. Instead, the money the Navy had planned to spend on a TV spot during America’s most watched game – will be shifted to buy advertisements on online platforms. The Vice Chief of Naval Operations told reporters that the Navy’s target audience isn’t watching the game. Starting in February, the service will roll out ads on “esports” – where contestants compete for money playing online games. The Navy is also planning to sponsor its own esports team selected out of its cadre of recruiters.
TIK TOK TIMES UP: While the Navy may be going digital for its advertising – the Army and the Navy are trying to stem the use of the popular Chinese social media app “Tik Tok.” According to Military.com, those two services have issued guidance telling their members not to use the app on government phones because it is a security risk. The Air Force and Marine Corps did not answer questions about whether they have plans to issue similar bans. They are probably too busy playing with their phones to respond.
MARVEL(OUS) TRADE PARTNERS: In late December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture posted online a list of America’s free-trade partners. Among the chosen few was the Kingdom of Wakanda. Readers of Marvel Comics and viewers of certain movies will know that Wakanda is a fictional East African country that is home to the superhero Black Panther. USDA later said that the listing was part of a test file and someone mistakenly posted it for all the reality-based universe to see. Oops.
I (DON’T) HAVE A PLAN FOR THAT: The 25-year-old headquarters building for the U.K.’s Secret Intelligence Service (popularly known as “MI-6”) was due for a refurbishment. So, a contractor was hired for the spruce up. Unfortunately, according the BBC, the contractor misplaced sensitive floor plans for the building which is located in London’s Vauxhall area. The plans included information on the place’s layout and entry and exit points. Speaking of exits – the contractor is reportedly no longer working on the project. Most of the plans (but not all) were subsequently recovered inside the building. Optimistic Brits are said to believe that the incident was the result of “carelessness” and not the work of a rival spy service.
MOVIE REVIEWS: Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, (D-MI) is a former CIA analyst. So when the celebrity news outfit TMZ caught up with her on Capitol Hill recently, they asked what her favorite Agency-based movie might be. “I appreciated ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ because it attempted to be factually accurate and showed the importance of the CIA working together with the Pentagon to major effect, catching bin Laden” Slotkin said adding that she thought it was “…a good portrayal.” Slotkin also stressed that CIA had an office dedicated to making sure Hollywood film and TV projects portray the men and women of the Agency accurately. It is pretty clear that the producers of the currently streaming flick called “The Report” about the CIA’s interrogation practices, did not consult with that office. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted recently that he had watched “The Report” and he gave it a big thumbs down, calling it “fiction.” In his tweet, the former CIA Director said: "To be clear: the bad guys are not our intelligence warriors. The bad guys are the terrorists," Pompeo added "To my former colleagues and all of the patriots at @CIA who have kept us safe since 9/11: America supports you, defends you and has your back. So do I."
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
SEMPER PAINFUL: The U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon is an elite unit famous for conducting complex close order drill routines with no voice commands. We suspect they wish no one had heard about a routine that some of them practice in the barracks either. According to Marine Times, a four-month-long investigation by the NCIS resulted in at least five Marines being punished for hazing new members. The mistreatment included “ritual” beatings and – “applying Icy Hot” to the genitals of the newbies. Ouch. That probably ensures that making the team is memorable. As far as the beatings go – one Marine told investigators that they occurred after all major “life events” like birthdays and marriages.
WARREN PIECE: There was a very lengthy article in Rolling Stone recently about presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren. Buried in it, was a short answer from her on what she does to unwind. She said she listens to audio books while walking and was currently listening to the John Rain series which she described as a “good sort of mystery adventure.” The Forward newspaper, which is aimed at a Jewish-American audience, seized on that nugget and told its readers that the series is the work of Barry Eisler, a Jewish former CIA case officer and black belt in judo. Bad news for Warren – Eisler apparently prefers Senator Bernie Sanders for president. But in light of her endorsement – Eisler is reportedly giving her a second look. Readers of The Cipher Brief’s UnderCover book section may recall we ran a review of Eisler’s latest book The Killer Collective in March.
CAMPAIGN CHUTZPAH? Former CIA officer Valerie Plame (best known for the way she became a former operative – having been unceremoniously outed during the Bush 43’ administration) has been in the news a lot. She is currently running for Congress in New Mexico. In 2017, she made headlines for retweeting an antisemitic article saying that “America’s Jews are driving America’s wars.” Plame later apologized for that but lest it become an issue in her campaign, she has recently let it be known that one of her great grandfathers was a Rabbi who fled Ukraine and that she has started to frequent the Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe.
CIA BARES WATCHING LIKE A HAWK: Just before the start of the new year, The Wall Street Journal reported that a red-tailed hawk has been spying on the folks assembling the President’s Daily Brief for some time. On a regular basis, right around dawn, the bird took up a post on a seventh-floor railing and cast a watchful eye on the analysts producing the sensitive intelligence compendium intended to be seen by just the president and a select group of others. They nicknamed the bird “Hudson Hawk” after a bad 1991 Bruce Willis movie. Agency analysts are confident that Hudson is a real bird – and not some robo-spy device. In any case – Hudson has been missing for several weeks now. Where he has gone is a mystery. Perhaps he is being debriefed by his handler.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING: Here is a New Year’s resolution you might make. Send tips on interesting national security and intelligence gossip to us at TheDeadDrop@thecipherbrief.com. Hey, it would be an easier resolution to keep than vowing to work out more or curse less.
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