In an obtrusive spot on a winding path through a hilside park above the ancient walls of the Old Jerusalem lies a stone memorial to one of the CIA’s most controversial spies. It a geopolitical monument hidden in plain view. The stone–carved in English, Hebrew and Arabic—honors the memory of James Angleton, the first chief...
Category: Spies
Post
Post
Third Suspect in Skripal Poisoning Identified by Bellingcat
The crowd-sourced investigative site Bellingcat has identified a third suspect in the poisoning of Sergey Skripal, the reneged Russian intelligence officer. The report is credible because Bellingcat and collaborators in the independent Russian media broke the the story that two GRU officers were involved in the poisoning of Skirpal, an allegation the Russian government no...
Post
RIP: Tony Mendez, Hero of ‘Argo’ Movie
The movie “Argo” was CIA propaganda vehicle in the guise of an entertaining Hollywood entertainment. It was base on the real life exploits of Tony Mendez, a CIA officer who mastered the art of disguise. Mendez, who died recently, is being lionized in the press. Appropriately for a man whose career seemed drawn from a...
Post
The Six Worst Spies of 2018
It was a banner year for bad spies. The ideal covert operation, a CIA man once said, remains secret “from conception to eternity.” So too with the ideal spy. The true artists of espionage are those who are never detected or are detected too late to be harmed, humiliated, prosecuted or persecuted. The most famous...
Post
Maria Butina’s Gun Has a Whiff of Smoke
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago–meaning last week–President Trump avowed there was no collusion between his presidential campaign and Russian state agents. And one of his most loyal allies on Capitol Hill agreed. Then came Thursday’s plea agreement from Maria Butina, the Russian graduate student who insinuated herself into Republican circles with...