BEST YEAR EVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY GOSSIP: We have to keep reminding ourselves that it’s only March because the flurry of activity in Washington over the past few weeks has led to a bumper crop of national security gossip. We’re predicting with high-confidence that will continue in 2025, so get ready.
WORST OFF-SITE MEETING EVER:The New York Times reports that a number of CIA officers who joined the ranks within the last two years, were invited to an off-site location without being told why and instead of being offered coffee and teamwork exercises, were instead asked to turn in their credentials. The newspaper reported that a spokeswoman for the Agency said CIA officers handle fast-paced and stressful situations and that not everyone is cut out for that kind of work. The ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner called the move “crazy” and wants to know what was driving it, part of an overall government downsizing effort or performance issues. Either way, we recommend staying away from CIA offsites for a while.
WHAT, ME WORRY? Last week, we mentioned that CNN had a story suggesting some senior intelligence officials were concerned about foreign intelligence agencies possibly targeting recently fired intelligence officers – and DNI Tulsi Gabbard pooh poohing the notion. Fox News reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe is “unconcerned” about the matter. "Any individual who would be willing to sell the Nation’s secrets to a foreign adversary has no place working at the Agency that plays an incredible role in keeping Americans safe every day," Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital in a statement. Not that we’re one to argue but of course, if you’ve just fired someone, you have actually told them they have no place at the Agency. CNN doubled down on the line of reporting with another story saying that both Russia and China are going after recently laid off folks – or people worried about being next on the chopping block. CNN says they saw a “partially redacted” copy of a document produced by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service which says the intelligence community assesses with “high confidence” that foreign intelligence outfits are trying to “capitalize” on the unhappiness stemming from some of the recent firings.
THE GREAT ERASER: Government agencies are continuing to root out and remove content from their public facing websites and social media that might offend MAGA-world. A recent example comes from the U.S. Army which says it’s looking for 59 key words in their content to help find verboten verbiage. According to Military.com the verboten verbiages include “culture,” “racism,” “justice,” dignity,” “diversity,” “sexuality,” tolerance,” and “respect.” We can see why some of those words would trigger some readers. Whole pages of past postings have disappeared – for example, a story about the first woman to graduate from the Army’s Ranger School has been scrubbed. There once was an article on Army.mil titled, “Through Struggle and Strife, Women of West Post Carve out a Military Legacy.” But now the link takes you to a “404 Page Not Found” message. You can still see the original, however, thanks to the Internet Archive’s “Wayback Machine.”
Are you Subscribed to The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel on YouTube? There is no better place to get clear perspectives from deeply-experienced national security experts.
#2 NOMINEE FOR NAVY DEPARTMENT: Last week, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he was nominating retired Navy Captain Hung Cao to be the Under Secretary of the Navy. Dead Drop readers may remember Cao ran for the U.S. Senate in 2024 but lost to Senator Tim Kaine (D, VA.) Unlike the current nominee to be Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, Cao has plenty of military experience, having served 25 years on active duty. A Naval Academy graduate, he was an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) expert. He also seems to specialize in occasional explosive rhetoric – as we reported last year, Cao said in a campaign debate that DEI was the problem in military recruiting saying: “When you’re using a, you know, drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want. What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them, and ask for seconds. Those are young men and women that are gonna win wars.” If Cao is confirmed – look for some new menu options in Navy messes.
I SPY, WITH MY LITTLE EYE: According to an article in the South China Morning Post, captured here, Chinese scientists claim to have built land-based optical imaging technology that from a distance of over 100 KM, was able to spot details “measuring as small as 1.7mm across (1/16 inch) and tell the distance to objects with an accuracy of 15.6mm – a level of detail 100 times better than what can be seen with the leading spy cameras and telescopes that use lenses.” If you are looking for itty, bitty things from way far away – they may be able to help you out.
THE GUYS ARE FALLING, THE GUYS ARE FALLING: Yet another prominent Russian man departed his apartment – and this life – by “falling” out of a window. Buvaisar Saitiev, 49, who was a member of the Russian Duma – and a 3-time Olympic wrestling gold medalist, reportedly fell to his death from his third-floor Moscow apartment window. The third floor doesn’t sound that high – but apparently, Boris did not stick the landing.
PENTAGON MASS CASUALTIES CONTINUE TO MOUNT: While they have yet to be thrown out of windows – senior women military officers continue to fall at the Department of Defense. Reuters reported recently that U.S. Army Lieutenant General Telita Crosland, who was head of the military’s health agency and “one of the most senior Black female officers in the Army, was forced to retire.” Reuters quoted a current and former officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, saying that Crosland was told she had to retire but was not given a reason why. Crosland was a West Point graduate and an MD. She had been in her current job for about two years and was not planning on retiring but that Russian wrestler was probably not planning on exiting via the window either.
BOOK REPORT: Two CBS 60 Minutes producers who have been behind the program’s extensive reporting on what the federal government has taken to calling “Anomalous Health Incidents” have landed a book deal. Michael Rey and Oriana Zill de Granados plan to call the book “The Havana Syndrome” (perhaps because that title rolls of the tongue much better.) We hear the book, which will be published by Crown at some unspecified future date, will have new details about the nature of the unseen weapons that have impacted dozens of U.S. officials in locales from Havana to Hanoi, and will offer evidence that, according to some folks, Russia is behind some of the attacks.
WHO LET THE DOGE OUT? Some of those taxpayer savings reportedly amassed by Elon Musk and friends will have to be spent on re-re-naming more military bases. We told you previously about SECDEF Pete Hegseth taking Fort Liberty (nee Fort Bragg) and rebranding it Fort Bragg – this time after another guy that also had the name Bragg, but one who was not a Confederate general. Now Fort Moore, which was renamed in 2023 for decorated Vietnam Army commander Hal Moore and his wife Julia – after years of honoring Confederate General Henry Benning will once again be called Fort Benning – just this time honoring a World War I Corporal by the name of Fred Benning. What installation is getting a new old name next? We are betting on Fort Johnson in Louisiana – formerly known as Fort Polk. We checked and found a four-star Army General James Polk who served in World War II and Korea. He might substitute for the previous rebel, General Leonidas Polk. Fort Polk/Johnson as you may know, is in west-central Louisiana about 100 miles north of the Gulf of America (nee Mexico).
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
DIDJA HEAR THE SHOUTING CONTEST? No, not the one in the Oval Office last Friday. The day before that, the new chief spokesman for the DOD, Sean Parnell, is said to have had an off-the-record get-to-know you session with a few dozen journalists in the Pentagon. According to Oliver Darcy writing in his Status newsletter – the session did not go well. As repeated by Mediaite, the session quickly went off the rails. Reporters asked why DOD was slow to respond to their questions – but quick to post stuff on a “rapid response” account on X criticizing individual reporters. Parnell, who proudly says he is not a “comms guy,” asked the reporters why he shouldn’t expect them to cheer on President Trump. When reporters explained that it was not their job to cheer on politicians things reportedly went even further south. From Darcy’s account – it seems the session had all the warmth of Volodymyr Zelensky’s last visit to the White House. Despite some harsh words – each side learned some things about the other. For example, Parnell and company learned not to trash reporters to their faces in an off-the-record session and expect everyone in the room to keep it quiet.
PRO-TIP FOR FED EMPLOYEES. WHEN RESPONDING TO “TELL US FIVE THINGS YOU DID LAST WEEK” REQUESTS –DO NOT LIST GIVING NEWS TIPS TO THE CIPHER BRIEF AS ONE OF THEM. WE ARE NOT SUGGESTING YOU DON’T SEND THEM…. WE’LL JUST KEEP IT OUR LITTLE SECRET: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com
Read more expert-driven national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief because National Security is Everyone’s Business.
