Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

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William Colby points at a map using a pointer stick.

How Late DCI William Colby Saved the CIA, and What That Can Teach Us Today

His willingness to tell truth to power and the challenges he faced in overseeing previously unimagined institutional reforms offer important lessons at this momentous juncture…
Trump speaks from the White House on January 08, 2020 in Washington, DC. Pence, Esper and others stand around him.

The President, His Relationship with Intelligence, and the Soleimani Strike

When it comes to intelligence, like with so much else, President Donald Trump likes big names. It’s this focus on celebrity, headlines, and immediate gratification -- versus …
Exterior View of new International Criminal Court building in The Hague on July 30, 2016.

ICC Holds Historic Hearing on U.S. Torture and Other Grave Crimes in Afghanistan

While “high crimes and misdemeanors” dominated the news cycle in Washington this month, the focus in The Hague was on grave crimes and mistreatment. Just days before the International…
Silhouettes of Trump and Putin as they arrive for a group photo at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019.

A Call to Arms: Taking the Russia Threat Seriously

A look at the problem posed by President Donald Trump's affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin from a recently retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service officer.
Trump and Barr

Clear Goal of Barr/Durham Probe is to Scare Off Intelligence Community

In order for their counter-narrative to stick, President Trump and his associates need to destroy all trust in the Intelligence Community.
Will Hurd, Elissa Slotkin, Andy Kim, and Lisa Monaco speak at the Reiss Center on Law and Security event “From the Executive Branch to Congress: National Security Leaders Who Crossed the Divide.”

Event Roundup: From the Executive Branch to Congress – National Security Leaders Who Crossed the Divide

What is it like to go from working in the executive branch – whether it’s in the White House, the Pentagon, or the CIA – to being a lawmaker on Capitol Hill? That was the…
Pedestrians walk along a road in Kabul on October 17, 2019.

CIA-Backed Afghan Paramilitaries Behind Unlawful Killing Surge

In incidents across Afghanistan, these strike forces have unlawfully killed civilians, forcibly disappeared detainees, and attacked healthcare facilities for allegedly treating…
Six former directors of the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) testify before the House Select Intelligence Committee on restructuring the intelligence community 22 May on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Seated (L to R) is Richard Helms, William Colby, James Schlesinger, William Webster, Stansfield Turner, and James Woolsey.

A Program on Intelligence Operations in Liberal Democracies: Ethics, Efficacy, and Accountability

Just Security readers in the D.C. area might be interested in a terrific program we’re convening here at the Georgetown University Law Center this Thursday afternoon at 5:30,…
Side by side photographs of Declan Walsh, Iyad El-Baghdadi, Jamal Khashoggi, and Omar Abdulaziz.

Duty to Warn: Has the Trump Administration Learned from the Khashoggi Failure?

This attitude shift alone, if it has indeed taken place, is commendable, but should not reduce scrutiny of what happened in the Declan Walsh case.
Air Force Reserve Capt. Matthew Lee Stanley prepares to have a blood sample taken by Air Force Sgt. Tracey Harris on June 3, 2003 at Barksdale Air Force Base.

Whistleblowing in Washington: Lessons Learned and Unlearned

A compelling first-hand account illustrates the institutional headwinds facing whistleblowers. To create the space they need to help increase accountability in government will…
A sign at the new International Spy Museum during a media preview ahead of its opening in Washington, DC, May 7, 2019 reads, “Are you prepared to enter the shadow world?”

New Spy Museum’s Torture Exhibit Glosses Over Depravity

If any visitor to the new International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. leaves the exhibit without a clear understanding that the CIA torture program was immoral, illegal, and counterproductive…
People stand on the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency at the lobby of the Original Headquarters Building at the CIA headquarters.

Expanding the Covert Agent Secrecy Law Threatens to Chill Reporting

Covert intelligence operatives on overseas postings face unique dangers: arrest, torture and possible execution. These dangers were embodied in the name of James Bond’s nemesis,…
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