Intelligence activities
161 Articles
Trump’s DNI Pick Would Brief Dem Nominee Ahead of 2020
The question of who Trump names acting DNI is as important as who he ultimately nominates for the job—because whoever steps in may turn out to oversee the Intelligence Community…
How Secrecy Undermines Mueller and the Defense of Democracy
Official secrecy can diminish democratic discourse, limit debate, and blind the Congress and the public to the nature of the most imminent threats to democracy, all in the name…
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,…
Iraq ‘Dirty Tricks’ Tale Gets Star Treatment, But Big Questions Remain
The dramatic but little-told story of a British intelligence whistleblower who tried to raise the alarm over a questionable spying campaign to bolster the cause for the Iraq War…
The Snowden Effect, Six Years On
Six years ago, the world was introduced to a previously unknown government contractor who revealed the National Security Agency (NSA) was conducting an unparalleled level of warrantless…
Cooking the WMD Books: Politicizing the 2019 State Department Compliance Report
"I know. I used to work in State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance and then in the Office of the Under Secretary responsible for this report.…
Bill Barr’s Dangerous New Powers
Former Justice Dept and National Security Council officials explain their concerns about unprecedented powers President Trump handed his A.G.
Canada Considers Most Far-Reaching Intell Reforms in Decades
The proposed bill strikes a healthy balance between facing up to new cyber-threats and ensuring accountability and oversight.
Norms Watch: Damage to Democracy and Rule of Law in March 2019
Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of those norms in reactions…
Western Covert Action and Russian Active Measures: Hypocrisy or Divergent Values?
Most Americans now realize the Kremlin has attempted to influence, interfere, and subvert our democratic system. Recent reports even suggest the Russian intelligence services may…
George H.W. Bush’s Persian Gulf War: Victory, With Tragedy
Most tributes on the passing of George H.W. Bush from across the American political spectrum have used some variation of the word “honorable” or “decent” to describe the…
Psy-Ops, Meet Cyber-Ops: U.S. Takes on Russian Trolls
A Russian troll sits down at his desktop and logs into one of the social media accounts he uses to impersonate and radicalize Americans. Suddenly, a direct message appears: “Hello,…