SHHHSH, DON’T TELL WOLF: Reliable sources tell us that former CIA and NSA Director, (and Cipher Brief Expert) General Michael V. Hayden received the William H. Webster Distinguished Service Award on Wednesday night at the International Spy Museum. We’d like to be able to confirm that, but the event was “closed to media.” This must have come as a surprise to the emcee for the evening, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Among those speaking (in addition to Hayden’s remarks accepting the award) were Judge William Webster, former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, former Acting CIA Director Michael Morell, AT&T VP for National Security Jill Singer, and former Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet. Our spies (and believe us we have a lot of them) say it was a “love fest” for Hayden.
OPEN RECORDS: Americans aren’t the only ones who help fill in the historical record by releasing old documents. No, sir. The Russians do it too. A public exhibition in St. Petersburg, Russia recently featured a declassified six-paragraph KGB personnel evaluation from the 1980s of an up-and-coming young man, Vladimir Putin. According to the Daily Mail, the personnel evaluation says “Comrade V.V. Putin constantly improves his ideological and political standards. He’s actively engaged in the party education network” and adds: “He constantly improves his professional skills.” We knew that boy was going to make something of himself.
BOOK REPORT: It was recently reported that the Department of Justice sent a warning letter to the publisher of the forthcoming book titled A Warning (#ad). The book, scheduled to come out November 19 was reportedly written by an unnamed current or former senior Trump administration official who goes by the moniker: “Anonymous.” DOJ told the publisher, Hachette, that “If the author is, in fact, a current or former ‘senior official’ in the Trump Administration, publication of the book may violate that official’s legal obligations under one or more nondisclosure agreements, including nondisclosure agreements that are routinely required with respect to information obtained in the course of one’s official responsibilities or as a condition for access to classified information.” They added: “Such agreements typically require that any written work potentially containing protected information be submitted for pre-publication review.” The strong stance on this forthcoming book made us wonder – what (if anything) has DOJ done about the publication of Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox? Loyal Dead Drop readers will recall several items we’ve run pointing out that Fox apparently failed to obtain clearance for her book which has been getting a lot of ink these days.
CIA AT WAR WITH THE (LAST) ADMINISTRATION? There is yet another new book coming out that may be of interest. This one called Inside Trump’s White House: The Real Story of His Presidency (#ad) by Doug Wead. We don’t know much about what’s in it other than a rather breathless article that appeared on FoxNews.com which said that at the start of this administration, top CIA employees complained about too many meetings at the Obama National Security Council where nothing got done. Amusingly, Fox News highlighted a passage from the book saying CIA officers complained that they “spent a lot of time in the White House doing nonstop PC “political correctness” meetings.” A lot of experienced folks immediately pointed out that “PC” meetings are “Principal Committee” meetings…an NSC entity that includes the heads of various organizations (DOD, State, DNI etc.) Fox News later corrected their story with this: EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story accurately quoted the book as describing "PC" as standing for "politically correct" in characterizing certain Obama administration meetings. The author has since informed Fox News this was due to a misunderstanding between him and his source and that the initials referred to "Principals Committee."
DEEP STATE – OVERSEAS DIVISION: Pro-Beijing activists in Hong Kong recently rallied to show their support for the local police and blamed the massive, continuing demonstrations there (once again) on the Central Intelligence Agency. The violent street demonstrations have been going on for more than five months. Press accounts say that pro-cop protestors carried signs decrying their opponents as “cockroaches” and some claimed that hundreds of CIA officers were on the ground whipping up hate and discontent in the former British colony.
A BOOM IN WORKLOAD FOR EOD: The workload for Explosive Ordnance Demolition technicians has been exploding. This is not a good thing. Task&Purpose.com reports that Army EOD techs are being hit with enormous requirements for stateside work after they return from warzones. According to a recent GAO report, military EOD personnel are having to undertake many new missions to support civilian VIP officials at a time when the number of new recruits in the specialty is plunging.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
THE DEVIL YOU SAY: The day after Halloween, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Naval Academy is providing a room on campus for midshipmen to meet and discuss the Satanic Temple which is described as an IRS-recognized, tax-exempt religion. The Academy stressed that “A group of Midshipmen with beliefs aligned with those practiced by The Satanic Temple…requested a space where they could assemble to discuss and share their common beliefs.” But they clarified that the “… request was for a ‘study group’ space, not for holding ‘satanic services.’” One thing that got our attention was the headline on this story in Navy Times. They titled their piece: “Midshipmen finally get a Satanic Temple room.” Finally? Apparently, they have been waiting for this for a helluva long time.
HIRE A VET: Russian media-watcher, Julia Davis, reports that Maria Butina, who recently returned to Russia after doing time in U.S. custody for failing to register as a foreign agent, may be rewarded for her service. According to Russian media, Butina may soon get a job with the State Duma. That might be a better deal than ending up in her native Siberia. Prior to being sent home, Butina sat down with CBS’ 60 Minutes in an interesting interview where she blamed her treatment in the U.S. on anti-Russian “racism.” She also quoted what she said was a very old American adage (which we had never heard) saying… “wolves have teeth, but not all animals with teeth are wolves.” We’re glad she cleared that up.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR ISIS: Since the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi more than two weeks ago, the group has already lost another leader. In this week’s The Hunt with WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green, terrorism expert Bruce Alexander says the biggest question facing ISIS is not who’s next, but what’s next.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING: Got any tips the wolves at The Dead Drop can sink their teeth into? Shoot us a note at TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
