SHAMELESS (Self-promotion) A look behind-the-scenes at what's happening at The Cipher Brief:
WHERE’S JACK WHEN YOU NEED HIM: The Cipher Brief hosted it’s very first D.C.-based event last week, with The Cipher Brief HONORS Dinner. Apparently, honoring one recipient with a prestigious award at a D.C. dinner is no longer enough, so The Cipher Brief decided to honor five people, including CIA Director Bill Burns, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, former PDDNI The Hon. Susan Gordon, veteran national security columnist Walter Pincus and Hollywood Executive Producer and Showrunner (of shows like ‘24’ and ‘Homeland’) Howard Gordon. Apparently, it was a pretty impressive event judging by the guest list, which included; former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Dr. Michael Vickers, former director of the CIA George Tenet, the man who held the directorship of both the CIA and the NSA, General Michael Hayden (Ret.), former Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin, former Member of Congress and Presidential candidate Will Hurd, former PDDNI The Hon, Stephanie O’Sullivan, and about a gazillion Cipher Brief Experts (yes, we made that number up). Still, it was (in the words of Will Hurd) the greatest ‘Spy Prom’ ever. It’s hard to disagree. Though co-host Suzanne Kelly asked what we thought was the most pressing question of the evening: ‘When is Jack Bauer coming back?’ Guess you’ll have to tune in to The Cipher Brief for more on that one, (we have it on good authority that people want him back).
FORMER GREEN BERETS GET THEIR ‘FIX’: Cipher Brief COO Brad Christian, former Green Beret turned media executive (cause he clearly loves a challenge) joined Black Rifle Coffee CEO (and former Green Beret) Evan Hafer on a recent episode of the Black Rifle Coffee Podcast titled, “Former Green Berets Discuss National Security and Journalism”. Bet those are two things you never thought you’d see together in a sentence. But with some 10K views in about a week, someone’s paying attention.
And Back to our Regular Programming….
RUSSIAN SOLDIERS TAKING SHOTGUN APPROACH: By all accounts, the Russian military is having a tough time defending themselves against swarms of Ukrainian drones that are targeting their facilities. According to Forbes, since Russian jammers are not working very well, Vlad’s troops are begging folks on the home front to resort to pump-action shotguns. Since many drones are the size of birds – the thinking is that some birdshot may be worth a stab. But for those without a Remington 870, there may be other tactics. A video in the Forbes piece appears to show Russian soldiers practicing running around in circles in an attempt to avoid incoming drones.
UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS PICK AND CHOOSE: A story in the Financial Times says that Ukraine is trying to fill their depleted ranks of soldiers by giving recruits an option to “choose your own adventure.” Potential enlistees have reportedly been dissuaded from signing up by reports of “shortages of ammunition, claims of corruption, incompetent commanders and inadequate training” in some units. So, the Defense Ministry is now allowing some candidates to choose what unit they will be assigned to - and what their job would be within that outfit. Not everyone will get their choice – we imagine most recruits will opt for units with plenty of ammo, no corruption and competent commanders.
INTELLIGENCE CAN PAY OFF: The United States Marine Corps is looking for a few good intelligence specialists. Well, more than a few. Apparently, there is a shortage of counterintelligence and human intelligence specialists in the service, so the Leathernecks are offering a bunch of bucks to people willing to change their military occupational specialty (MOS) to that field. According to Military.com the USMC describes that MOS as “high-demand, low-density” which is Marine-speak for ‘short-handed’. There is a sliding scale of bonuses a Marine might earn by going into the HUMINT field based on rank and length of service. But the numbers add up. According to Military.com “an active-duty sergeant who transfers into the CI/HUMINT role and agrees to serve the Corps for an additional six years will get a $65,000 MOS-specific bonus and a $40,000 "kicker," for a total of $105,000.”
ONE FOR THE BOOKS: Our spies tell us that esteemed intelligence historian H. Keith Melton is teaming up with well-known British espionage writer Nigel West to publish a book titled, “The Death of Trotsky.” A key figure in the Russian Revolution and the early Soviet Union, Trotsky eventually ran afoul of Joseph Stalin and was living in exile in Mexico where, in 1940, a Soviet secret police officer tracked him down and killed him with an ice axe. Apparently, this was before the Russians had perfected throwing dissidents out of windows. Years ago, by the way, Melton obtained the actual weapon and donated it to the International Spy Museum where it is currently on display. No word on when the book will come out.
ONE FOR THE TV SET: Universal Television has acquired the rights to a book by Jana Monroe called “Hearts of Darkness: Serial Killers, The Behavioral Science Unit, And My Life As a Woman In the FBI.” Universal hopes to turn it into a TV series. Monroe was reportedly the inspiration behind Jodie Foster’s role in The Silence of the Lambs and, according to Deadline, she has “consulted on more that 850 homicide cases, including serial killers Ted Bundy (and) Jeffrey Dahmer.”
THE TUCKER FILES: We hadn’t heard much recently about former Fox News provocateur Tucker Carlson but The Daily Mail reminds us that he is still around and continuing to crank out or repeat wacky conspiracy theories. The latest reports say that Carlson claimed on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo plotted to assassinate Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Carlson is also frosted that during the Trump administration, Pompeo is said to have convinced the President to keep classified some documents relating to the John F. Kennedy assassination. As we recall – some documents relating to that assassination have been kept secret since — well, the LBJ administration – but why Carlson thinks Pompeo is worthy of particular opprobrium is unclear. Carlson claims Pompeo “fully expects to become the secretary of defense in a Trump Administration which is like completely insane. Why would you take a criminal and give him nuclear weapons?” Carlson asked. Ummmmmmm……
POLES APART: We are accustomed to seeing occasional stories about rogue soldiers running off to North Korea or heading to Russia to see their girlfriends. And there have been all too many instances of low-level officials in NATO countries selling sensitive data to the West’s adversaries. But this was a new one on us. In Warsaw, Polish officials say that a Polish judge who had “constant and direct access to classified information” has defected to Belarus. Once in Minsk, the Judge cloaked his action as necessary because he says Poland has been ‘mean’ to Belarus and the Russian Federation. Judges defecting? We guess Szmydt happens.
THEY DID WHAT NOW? Covert Action Magazine which, under a couple different names going back nearly half a century, has a long history of saying bad stuff about U.S. foreign policy and intelligence agencies that would make Tucker Carlson proud, is out with a new claim. At least it is new to us. They reported on May 1, that U.S. intelligence operatives “appear to have” groomed mass murderer Charles Manson. Students of history (and those old enough to remember the 1960s) will recall that a team of people (mostly young women) under Manson’s Svengali-like control, murdered a bunch of people in California including actress Sharon Tate in 1969. Covert Action’s source seems to be a book that came out in 2019, called “Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties.” We’re not exactly sure WHY the CIA would have recruited Manson. If they could have gotten him out of jail – they might have sent him after Julian Assange.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
GI JOHN: Paul Mangum is a retired Marine and has come up with an invention that may be the butt of some jokes – but seems to answer an urgent need. He has created a seven-pound, portable toilet kit in a backpack. He calls it “Insta-Privy.” The luggable loo includes a privacy tent, a folding stool (stool as in: a chair), waste bags and more. Check out this video. The device sets up in seconds and then, Mangum says, “You are ready to go.”
ARE YOU PRIVY TO SOME INTERESTING NEWS? IF SO, SEND YOUR BEST NEWS TIPS TO: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com
Read more expert-driven national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief because National Security is Everyone’s Business.
