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<span class="vcard">Douglas London</span>

Douglas London

Guest Author

Douglas London (@douglaslondon5) is the author of “The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence.” He teaches intelligence studies at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and is a nonresident scholar at the Middle East Institute. London served in the CIA’s Clandestine Service for more than 34 years, mostly in the Middle East, South and Central Asia and Africa, including three assignments as a Chief of Station and as the CIA’s Counterterrorism Chief for South and Southwest Asia. He is also on LinkedIn.

Articles by this author:

The Value and Costs of Intelligence Diplomacy: CIA Director Burns in the Spotlight

Jul. 12, 2024 Douglas London

In this pool photograph distributed by Russia's state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin gives an interview to TV host and Director General of Rossiya Segodnya (RIA Novosti) news agency Dmitry Kiselyov at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 12, 2024. His comments included that Russia was "ready" to use nuclear weapons if it felt necessary, but “there has never been such a need." the scene shows Putin sitting in front of a Russian flag, facing the interviewer, whose back is to the camera. (Photo by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Beating Putin’s Game of Nuclear Chicken

Mar. 21, 2024 Douglas London

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech in Moscow on June 27, 2023, to hundreds of officers of the Russian military and secret services whom he said prevented a larger crisis when the Wagner Group was marching toward the Russian capital on June 24. Behind him, two soldiers conduct a sword ceremony. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)

How Does Putin’s Response to Prigozhin’s Mutiny Change the Threat from Russia?

Jul. 5, 2023 Douglas London

Rep. Jordan’s Dangerous New Panel is Nothing Like the Church Committee

Jan. 27, 2023 Douglas London

Russian President Vladimir Putin seen during the plenary session of the Commonwealth of the Independent States (CIS) Summit, on October 14, 2022 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The close-up shows his brows slightly furrowed and his left hand to his mouth in a serious thinking pose. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)

Addressing Putin’s Nuclear Threat: Thinking Like the Cold War KGB Officer That He Was

Oct. 18, 2022 Douglas London

Taliban fighters, in the backs of trucks, hold weapons in a celebratory convoy on a road. The cars carry white Taliban flags with a black Shahada.

Terrorism Might Be the Least of Our Problems a Year After America’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan

Aug. 29, 2022 Douglas London

Acting US Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell whispers in US Vice President Mike Pence's ear as US President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 4, 2020. (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

US Democracy’s Survival Requires a More Powerful Response to January 6th

Jul. 15, 2022 Douglas London

Taxi drivers stand by their cars while waiting for passengers in front of the headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Services (FSB) in central Moscow on May 12, 2022. Russia's government has put forward a law to force ride-hailing apps to give the FSB domestic intelligence agency real-time access to their data. (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)

Defectors Provide Immediate Gratification, But Spies Change History

Jun. 7, 2022 Douglas London

A relative of Ezmarai Ahmadi on September 18, 2021, inspecting the debris of a destroyed vehicle that was damaged in a US drone strike in the Kwaja Burga neighbourhood of Kabul.

The Overhyping of Over the Horizon

Oct. 13, 2021 Douglas London

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (on screen) hold a video conference with the national security team (on screen) to discuss the ongoing efforts to draw down our civilian footprint in Afghanistan August 16, 2021 at Camp David in Frederick County, Maryland. Biden sits at a large conference table alone with the video screen on the opposite wall.

CIA’s Former Counterterrorism Chief for the Region: Afghanistan, Not An Intelligence Failure — Something Much Worse

Aug. 18, 2021 Douglas London

A busy market area in Kandahar. People ride motorized bikes, in small vehicles or walk in the street. Umbrellas and tarps cover market stalls.

What We Can Expect in Afghanistan from US Intelligence Once US Troops Are Gone

Jul. 1, 2021 Douglas London

U.S. soldiers with an artillery supply infantry unit patrol April 24, 2004 in Morgan Keckeh, Afghanistan.

9/11’s Long Shadow: What’s at Stake in Afghanistan

Sep. 11, 2020 Douglas London

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