TIME FLIES: Five years ago this week, the very first Dead Drop appeared in The Cipher Brief. Those were (much) simpler days. At the time, we talked about surprise jockeying for the position of Commandant of the Marine Corps and speculation about why General John Kelly didn’t get the gig. (Just a few years later, Kelly got the consolation prize of being named Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump Administration – and then White House Chief of Staff – and then he got the heave ho.) We also talked about a forthcoming Showtime documentary about CIA directors called The Spymasters. Now, the TV show has been turned into a book (which seems backwards.) The book version comes out this fall. Look for an Undercover book review in The Cipher Brief in September. We also reported that the Secretary of the Navy at the time, Ray Mabus, was on a mission to throw out the first pitch at as many baseball parks as possible. Mabus hung up his spikes when President Obama left office. The Trump administration seems more intent on throwing out Navy Secretaries. There have been five confirmed or acting Navy Secretaries (so far) in this administration. There have been plenty of twists in turns in the past 260 editions of The Dead Drop – and no doubt more to come.
SPEAKING OF OLD NEWS: The story of the mysterious sculpture known as “Kryptos” at CIA headquarters is one that seems to get re-discovered every year or so. The stories are always the same: There is a secret code embedded in the piece of art at Langley – and it has still not been decoded. CNN reported on the uncracked message yet again last week. Even Sputnik News picked up on the story (again). We were getting tired of this story and wouldn’t even bring it up – but then former CIA and DIA officer (and Cipher Brief expert) Doug Wise piped up on Twitter to reveal: “A couple of us case officers broke the code about 2 months after Kryptos was erected. However, at the time we didn’t know what the decryption meant: “person, woman, man, camera, TV.”
WE ARE NOT ALONE – UNLESS WE ARE: The New York Times had a blockbuster story on July 23rd which quoted former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) as saying “he believed that crashes of vehicles from other worlds had occurred and that retrieved materials had been secretly studied for decades, often by aerospace companies under government contracts.” Holy smokes, Batman! At any other time when the world was not already turned upside down – this would have been huge news. Turns out it is just as well because the next day, The Times published a correction saying that they had “inaccurately rendered” Reid’s comments. Now, the Gray Lady says that: “Mr. Reid said he believed that crashes of objects of unknown origin may have occurred and that retrieved materials should be studied.” The Times added “He did not say that crashes had occurred and that retrieved materials had been studied secretly for decades.” Sure – someone probably got to Reid, conducted a Vulcan mind-meld and forced him to change his story.
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER: The website ClearanceJobs.com recently offered its readers a handy explanation of why FBI Agents and CIA Officers are different breeds of cats. It even comes with an animated video. This might be useful to the uninitiated – except they titled the video “CIA Agent vs. FBI Analyst.” How many times do we have to tell folks who should know better…it is: CIA OFFICER? There are a few other misleading items in the short video as well. See if you can spot em.
SKIN IN THE GAME: Being a U.S. Ambassador in a hot spot can be dangerous. And one American envoy wants to pack heat to protect himself from the bad guys. Surprisingly, that person is Jeffrey Ross Gunter, the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland. Yeah, Iceland. A political appointee who has been in his post since 2018, Gunter’s previous gig was as a dermatologist in Los Angeles. CBS News reports that for some reason, Gunter thinks evil doers are gunning for him and he has been lobbying the Icelandic government for permission to carry a personal weapon. It could be the threat he fears is not from terrorists but from his own staff. CBS says Gunter has gone through seven Deputy Chiefs of Missions (firing one because he reportedly “didn’t like the look of him.”) He has also sought to wear a “stab-proof vest” and hire local bodyguards to beef up the embassy’s typical security team. When the global pandemic broke out in early 2020, Gunter happened to be in the U.S. attending a conference. CBS says he then refused to return to Iceland preferring to work remotely from California. Trying to avoid Reykjavik in February for a stay in LA seems reasonable…unless you are the U.S. ambassador to Iceland.
THERE’S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM: Sure, we may be 90-some days from the election but that hasn’t stopped the administration from nominating new ambassadors. This week, the White House announced the nomination of Douglas Macgregor, a retired US Army colonel, to be ambassador to Germany. He would replace the departed former ambassador, Ric Grenell. The State Department watchers at Diplopundit.net figure that there are 51 nominations pending with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They say the Senate calendar “indicates that the Senate will be in session August 3-7; Sept 8-25,30; Oct 1-9, then 2 weeks in November after the elections, and three weeks in December with December 18 as its target date of adjournment.” That means there aren’t a lot of days for the Senate to confirm folks. Not all of the pending nominees are political appointees (as opposed to careerists from the State Department who might carry over into a new administration.) But those who are political (should they be fortunate enough to be confirmed) might not bother to unpack until they find out the results of the November 3rd election.
BOOK ‘EM JOHN O: Word came out on Wednesday that former CIA Director John O. Brennan has a book coming out on October 6 titled: Undaunted: My Fight Against America’s Enemies, at Home and Abroad, The Washington Post was first to report the book’s title and publication date. They said that the Agency refused to allow Brennan access to documents from his files, his calendars and other material – a courtesy routinely afforded to other past directors writing books. The New York Times (which also obtained an excerpt from the book) says Brennan writes about the briefing given to then President-elect Trump just prior to the start of the administration. As will come as a surprise to no one, Brennan is not a fan of Trump. The Times cites a tweet by Brennan confidant Nick Shapiro which says: “Leave it to the former Director of the CIA to write a book, get it reviewed for classified info, and then get it approved for publication—all without Trump or his White House ever knowing.”
STAMP OUT COMMUNISM, 1960’S STYLE: The CIA got involved in lots of unusual schemes to lick the commies back in the heat of the Cold War. We’ve seen stories about them shipping literature to the Soviet Union, possibly helping write rock anthems, and now reports about how the Agency got involved in designing and promoting postage stamps. A story in WarontheRocks.com describes how the CIA pushed the idea of issuing U.S. postage stamps honoring “Champions of Liberty.” Foreigners who stood up against Soviet oppressors like Tomáš Masaryk, the leader of Czechoslovak independence were honored with their image on American stamps. Often letters sent by Czech expats living in the U.S. to relatives back home sported these stamps and conveyed a message to everyone handling the mail. Before long, the Czech government returned letters unopened if they carried the offensive stamps. Similar efforts were carried out for other countries including Hungary, Poland, and elsewhere.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
MAVERICK FEELS THE NEED – FOR LESS SPEED: You will have to wait a good deal longer for the long-delayed Top Gun sequel. Military Times reports that Paramount Pictures has grounded Top Gun: Maverick until July 2, 2021. Tom Cruise was already going to be the oldest fighter pilot on the planet if the film had debuted on time. Let’s hope by the time the flick finally premieres, he can make it down the red carpet without the aid of a walker.
GROWING CONCERN: The Dead Drop’s agricultural correspondent advises that officials in at least 27 states are telling residents to watch out for packages of seeds that might show up in their mail – unsolicited. The seeds come from China. Sometimes the packages say they contain jewelry. Even the most unsophisticated recipient can probably tell that these gems are just plant seeds. According to The New York Times, officials are warning recipients not to plant the seeds. However, they also don’t want you to throw them out. Just call the authorities and they will come pick them up. Exactly WHY is China sending them? We dunno. We think Senator Harry Reid and the UFOs might have something to do with it.
WE KNOW YOU KNOW STUFF, YA KNOW? Why keep it to yourself? Plant a seed by sending news to The Dead Drop. Weed appreciate it if you would send us your tips. Our address: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
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