ENEMIES LIST: Last Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a new list of 200 Americans who have received the Kremlin’s seal of disapproval. As far as we can tell, the penalty for being placed on the sanctions list, is to be banned from future travel to Russia. (Just as well. Visit Moscow now and walking down the street you stand a good chance of being hit by some oligarch “accidentally” falling out of a window.) Among the honorees – err – sanction-ees – were several members of the Biden family, a dozen or so senators, some administration officials and several Cipher Brief experts including: General David Petraeus, Admiral Jim Stavridis, and David Shedd. Guess they’ll just have to find other places to vacation.
FRIENDS LIST: On Veterans Day, NBC News ran a story about David Tyson, who fought alongside fellow CIA officer Mike Spann when Spann became the first American killed in Afghanistan after 9/11, on November 25, 2001. Now, Tyson, along with Spann’s widow Shannon and others associated with the first team into Afghanistan, have formed a non-profit organization to help former Afghan allies find their way out of that country. Spann and Tyson’s heroism are featured in the newly-renovated museum at CIA headquarters. While you likely cannot get into Langley to see it (unless you work there) you can learn more about it in this Cipher Brief State Secrets podcast with the curator of secrets.
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62
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