THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE: Both Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Armed Services Committee think it is time for National Guard members to start packing up and heading home from their mission on Capitol Hill. But Pentagon officials are saying that the nearly 2,300 guardsmen will remain until at least May 23. The Wall Street Journal says that National Guard members are being drawn from eleven states and the District of Columbia. The lengthy deployment famously started on the afternoon of January 6. National Guard members sign up with the understanding that they might have to go in harm’s way – but we doubt any of them anticipated they would be asked to defend our own Hill. During the mission, some of the guardsmen were (temporarily) forced to cool their heels in parking garages – and others may have been sickened by undercooked meals provided by contractors. That got us thinking – shouldn’t someone be designing a special campaign ribbon to honor those who have been guarding the symbol of our democracy? We are thinking something with red, white and blue with a set of Shaman horns for extra color.
APPOINTMENT DISAPPOINTMENT: One way the Biden administration has distinguished itself from its predecessor is in the speed of making appointments (or lack thereof.) At this writing, the administration has nominated a grand total of one person to be an ambassador – and that is Linda Thomas-Greenfield for the UN. Ranging from A (Afghanistan) to Z (Zambia) the American Foreign Service Association lists 89 ambassadorial posts as vacant. Axios is reporting that a list of new appointments is now being finalized by the Biden team. Rumor has it that the Biden plan is to have far fewer political appointees – which should make it easier, not harder to fill the jobs quickly. Over at the Pentagon, the administration has yet to nominate a single service secretary. By this point in the Trump administration – they probably had nominated, confirmed and fired several. Of course, just getting nominated doesn’t get you the job. Just ask Ambassador Bill Burns the Biden pick to run the CIA who was unanimously approved by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence but was blocked from getting a vote by Senator Ted Cruz (R, Cancun.) The Senator had Burns on “Cruz control” as a way to pressure the Biden Administration to issue sanctions in connection with the Russia-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. So, let’s get this straight, Cruz was willing to hold up the appointment of the next CIA Director so he could get his way on a project involving Russia?
SEZ WHO: Former CIA officer and convicted felon John Kiriakou granted an interview to his current employer, Sputnik News, to explain that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could never get a fair trial in the United States. Kiriakou bases this assessment on the fact that he was arrested, convicted and jailed in the U.S., so the system must be unfair. As we have reported before, Leonie Brinkema, the judge in his case, debunked Kiriakou’s assertion that he was a “whistleblower” saying his was “…not a case of a whistleblower. This is a case of a man who betrayed a solemn trust.” The Sputnik article notes that Kiriakou’s interview was edited for “clarity and concision.” No doubt he also opined in the piece about the fair trials offered to folks like Alexei Navalny and Paul Whelan in Russia but that part was probably cut for space.
A SHOT IN THE DARK: The Intercept reports that CIA headquarters personnel got ‘head of the line’ privileges for getting COVID-19 vaccinations and not everyone is happy about it. Specifically – according to the publication, some think Agency officers serving overseas ought to be given priority, but The Intercept quotes an unnamed former CIA officer taking a jab at their former employer saying: “Nobody gives a shit about the overseas workforce.” We're not psychologists or anything but that sounds a little bitter. Since the unnamed sources thing is so popular these days, an unnamed source told us that the Agency actually does care about their workforce and that there are a lot more challenges in getting vaccines out to some of the remote locations where overseas officers are working, sometimes undercover - but coronavirus envy seems to be a real thing. The publication also says that some State Department employees abroad are miffed that their stateside colleagues have a leg (or maybe arm) up in getting shots. One source who did agree to be named was CIA Spokesperson Nicole de Haay, who told The Dead Drop, “From working closely with U.S. government partners to securing the necessary equipment, CIA continues to go to extraordinary lengths to make COVID-19 vaccines available to our global workforce. Make no mistake, there is no higher priority than the health of our officers.”
HPSCI OOPSIE? The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) belatedly got around to naming new members for the 117th Congress. New Democratic members are Congressmen Jason Crow and Jim Cooper. The Republican minority added Congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick, Trent Kelly, Darin Lahood and Markwayne Mullin. But two former CIA officers (and Cipher Brief experts) John Sipher and Marc Polymeropoulos asked via twitter how two experienced former CIA officers and current Members of Congress, Abigail Spanberger and Elissa Slotkin, could be left off the list. Perhaps they didn’t want the assignment (service on intelligence oversight committees can be somewhat thankless) – but it seems like those members would have had a lot to offer the committee.
MEIN GOTT: Last week’s Dead Drop talked about how the State Department was getting unwanted attention with news about some of their employees kind of trying to overthrow the government for which they work. Well, DOD could not let that go unchallenged and has moved back in the lead in the “can you top this?” contest. This week, we learned that Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, an Army reservist who works as a civilian security contractor on a Navy base, was arrested in connection with the January 6 insurrection. Prosecutors say (and Politico reported) that co-workers described Hale-Cusanelli as an “avowed white supremacist.” His lawyer and some other former co-workers denied that he is “a Nazi” and said that although he maintained a “controversial YouTube channel” it was mostly about New Jersey politics. However, a supervisor told the NCIS that she confronted Hale-Cusanelli for sporting a “Hitler” mustache (and prosecutors say they found images of him looking Adolf-like on his cell phone.)
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
RECRUITING TOOL: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) requested proposals earlier this month for a “portable personal air mobility system.” In other words: jet packs. Task and Purpose says the futuristic gizmos could be used for “special operations, search and rescue, urban combat, maritime interdiction and even logistics missions.” That sounds pretty sexy (well, except for the logistics missions, perhaps.) Admit it. If you were an 18-22 year-old person and were offered a jet pack perk, you would virtually fly down to the recruiter’s office. It is unclear when, if ever, the personal zoomie gear might land. The oft-quoted joke is that such devices are “five years away…and always will be.” But it is fun to let your imagination fly.
AIR FORCE BREW CREW: OK, jet packs may be a way off – but you know what high-tech gear is on the near horizon for our warfighters? Military Times says Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is in the process of acquiring “32 self-serve and self-pay draft beer taps.” The base’s Wings Grille & Lounge is looking to install taps that will connect through the bar wall to a walk-in freezer full of beer. Patrons will be able to use pre-paid swipe cards to fire up any tap they walk up to and pour themselves a frosty brew without waiting for one of those slow-moving human bartenders.
GOT ANY NEWS TIPS ON TAP? How about pouring a few out for your local Dead Drop? Great taste? Less filling? Whatever you’ve got send them our way: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
