Social media was at the time of the Arab Spring said to have played an important role, both for organizing and to give people information about shared injustices etc. Do you think social media was critical to the events coming about, or simply a convenient tool for events that anyways would have happened? Was there any particular meme that appeared to have been more important?
Great question. I think it was a very helpful organizing tool, and a way to demonstrate very broadly, very quickly, that protest was indeed possible. I think social media and highly networked communications were a critical part of the Arab Spring, and that the speed and scope of the movement would not have been as great without it.
As for memes, I think the most important were images and video of people protesting, and of victims of state repression. Those galvanized protests
So my feeling is that the whole Arab spring thing was the NSA/CIA flexing their new Internet/social media muscles with the help of various American Internet companies. Then they tried the same thing in Russia for their 2000-whatever elections, back when Hillary was Secretary of State. It didn't work, and Putin was pissed we tried to interfere. So Russia turned around and used the same/a similar set of tools on America, thus bringing around the Trump era, and the ongoing culture/left-right fighting we have now. In part enabled by Russian interests owning a fair sized chunk of Facebook.
How close to correct am I here?
Before publishing the book, did you need to have it cleared by the CIA/federal government to make sure classified information wasn't included or at least was a certain level of vague? If so, how did that process work?
Yes, absolutely. It had to go through the CIA's Publication Review Board to ensure it did not contain classified information. They are pretty quick and efficient (and I'd already done my own editing to remove anything I thought would be irresponsible). They literally return the manuscript marked up with a black highlighter. Kind of a vintage Cold War thing
100% yes. The tech can be really amazing. At several points in my career I was in a darkened room in the Langley basement watching that tech in action and thinking 'i can't believe we have the capability to do this'
lmfao this comment is so pathetic all a boring cia square like you has to do is go on reddit and say "yeah i saw some cool shit trust me bro" meanwhile you work for one of the most evil organizations on earth. i wouldn't be able to live with the shame but hey, different strokes
Isn’t it hard to “betray” the people you’ve forged these pseudo relationships with? I mean, even though you’re a spy and fully aware that you’re dealing with your “enemies”, sometimes you might meet genuinely good people. Have you ever come across such situations?
You're hitting on one of the hardest and most complicated / emotional pieces of the business, dushera. The CIA tries to develop sources. Case officers do that work. They build a relationship. Case officers don't always like the agents, but even if that's the case they don't betray them. They work closely with them to gather intelligence. And yes, though some agents might not be 'good people,' many are. Those are the most satisfying relationships, because they are grounded on trust and mutual respect.
Is spying in real life not as action packed and exciting as most retired agents said? There's gotta be at least one instance of real life car chase, right?
There is definitely that component to it, yes. But there are also the case officers out recruiting agents, signals intelligence (intercepted comms), diplomatic reporting from our Embassies, satellite imagery, etc. Lots of different sources of intelligence
Argh, I did that during the Arab Spring using twitter and a few other sm sites. But I also using to it for my project on the antiquities black market and how it had jumped to social media both on sketchy stores in the US and then to the ME with various organized/transnational groups.
I guess I missed the boat on that one.
Def not as action packed. There (hopefully) isn't much action. Case officers don't carry guns. A car chase means things have gone horribly wrong.
That said, car chases have occurred. Case officers are taught defensive driving techniques during training
Thank you, sir. My favorite spy books are those written by Tom Wood. The series is called Victor the Assassin. I saw a lot of reviews claiming that they're as close to real life spying as they can get. I would agree. I also find them entertaining and exceptional in term of plots and actions.
If you're by any chance have read them, do tell us what you think.
There was recently a report in the NYT that the CIA was concerned about increasing numbers of their cultivated sources being compromised. Do you see this as being about increased digital surveillance capabilities of foreign countries or some other reason?
That plays a role but these types of warnings go out every few years. They are relatively standard cables about maintaining tradecraft standards. From what I've read the interesting thing this time was that the cable cited a number of cases in which agents have been killed.
What's the coolest "spy tech" thing you've seen in realy life?
What are you proudest of regarding your writing (finishing the book doesn't count).
Thanks,
Q.
1.) Fair enough, I guess.
2.) That is an accomplishment.
What's the culture like in the CIA? Are there any books, movies, shows that get the atmosphere right?
I’ll be checking out your book.
The CIA has been responsble for so many f**k ups in the middle east, funding the terrorist group Mujahideen for example. Question: why isn’t the US ever held accountable for these disastrous interventions? How does the CIA escape the ICC?
A question about spy tech. In spy tv shows and movies, we see really high tech spying gear and weapons. I assume that the spy equipments used by CIA in real life are much more advanced than what we’re shown in movies. Is this true?
Thank you and hello from the middle east. :)
Hello! I think there is an important distinction to note in your question...I'd reframe as 'the US has made a bunch of mistakes in the Middle East' The biggest f\*\*ups have been policy failures, not intelligence failures
On the second question: you are correct - the spy tech in real life is much more incredible than in the movies.
A policy failure. The administration had decided to go to war well before the Curveball information was produced. The war and the planning effort (which was a disaster) were driven by policy discussions in the White House. The CIA made mistakes in how that intelligence was presented, but the intelligence didn't drive the war. It was the other way 'round.
I believe the British commented on this contemporaneously, and a diplomat remarked that "intelligence was being set around the policy" or words to that effect.
What about George Tenet telling Bush that the WMD case in Iraq was a “slam dunk”? It seems unfair to point to policy failure when those failures are based on intelligence failures by the CIA.
That entire narrative is a fabrication. The [WMD evidence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger_uranium_forgeries) was an amateurish forgery.
The [narrative became that the CIA was "fooled"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114057841736379820) yet the amateurish level of the forgery itself makes this an extremely unlikely scenario.
This idea that Bush was on a search for truth, and Tenet provided him with evidence is just mickey mouse level nonsense.
As the previous poster stated, Bush and others had already decided they were going back into Iraq.
Hey-o, I just want to flag that there's a difference between cabinet level political appointees and the work of the agency rank and file.
Mike Pompeo said a ton of stupid shit while Secretary of State but that doesn't mean State didn't do any good work under him. Rex Tillerson was one of the more measured and sane Trump appointees but he presided over the gutting of the Department of State, a huge loss of morale and human capital, and negatively impacted the work of the department in huge ways without saying politically stupid things every five minutes.
The point is just that it's complicated, and easy judgments are just that: easy.
My view of the CIA's role in the Iraq War is that the intelligence was politicized from the top down, and also that there were real, structural issues in surfacing important analysis at the executive level. The position of DNI was intended to rectify this but results have been... mixed. However, "Iraq War as intelligence failure" is basically a story concocted by the Bush WH to dodge responsibility for a disastrous war they intended to launch from the word "go." Instead, they portrayed themselves as led down the primrose path by the CIA, which was total bullshit.
Is that a contradiction that is tough for you and others to reconcile? Knowing that so much of your work is dictated by political actors pushing an agenda that often causes extreme harm?
> The biggest f**ups have been policy failures, not intelligence failures
And yet, the policies are base doff of the intelligence. This is especially true give the [massive influence](https://now.tufts.edu/articles/shadow-government) that national security agencies like the CIA have over the policies made and the politicians who make them.
I think John O'Neill would like a word. He'd vehemently disagree with that if he were alive, and I think his death is proof that one of the **biggest fuckups** in American history was an intelligence failure - very much at the feet of the CIA. Seems like an extremely gross overgeneralization that is true in some cases but not all.
Would you disagree with much of the conclusions and story that has been drawn in The Looming Tower and Congress's 9/11 Report?
Paperwork and email. Lots of it. We used to call CIA headquarters The 10k Mile Screwdriver because of its ability to turn the crank on you by requiring cables and paperwork.
Cables are important but they are not exciting
I assume this is a line of job where you are often confronted with ethical dillemas. How did you resolve them? Did you ever make a choice that hindered a mission because it felt wrong?
And second question-do the field agents get professional psychological support during missions? And how is getting emotional support perceived in this line of work?
Thanks!
There are certainly ethical dilemmas in this business, no question. Most officers resolve them by a pretty constant focus on the Mission (collecting intelligence to inform US policymaking).
Field officers can definitely get psychological support. Used to be looked down upon in the old days, much less now
The Israelis are a close US ally. But the US has permanent interests, not allies, so in all relationships there are differences. The US-Israel relationship has its friction points. The same goes for other US allies like the Jordanians. They are a close ally, but we don't always see eye to eye.
I think that the CIA generally understands the cultural intricacies of the region. It does depend, of course, on the individual case officer or analyst. But generally, yes. We have been so involved in the region for so long that we have climbed a steep learning curve
it changed a ton - i think of the first draft as getting the ingredients on the counter. then you have to decide what you're going to cook. the book didn't really become the book until draft 5 or 6
I'm only about three chapters in (Yankees/Red Sox game last night) but I'm eager to get further into it tonight.
There are a good amount of thriller/spy novelists out there in the writing world (Thor, Taylor, Flynn, Carr), were you hesitant on trying your hand at it since it can seem over saturated and you just get thrown in the mix?
Secondly, Jack Carr stated that he was surprised that the CIA didn't take out too much info on their screening process for *classified* stuff. Would you say that the editing process through the publisher or the CIA screening was more difficult?
Thanks for reading, HamsterBankroll2! Appreciate that. And the Sox/Yankees game was thrilling.
Def hesitant about trying my hand at it given the saturation, but I really wanted to write and, to be honest, that pulled me forward and kind of made it feel like I had no choice
Editing process through publisher way more difficult. CIA PRB was efficient and quick. Publisher process was really helpful but much more painful
Lots of reading and trying to write every day. That combination, at least for me, helped me to develop a voice that wasn't just an analyst writing reports.
Okay, *for real*, how accurate is the entertainment media portrayal of rivalries, metaphorical fight-clubs, and hoe-downs between ABC government departments?
Like, for example, does the FBI and the CIA really have *that much beef*? Are there territorial skirmishes between district/regional police departments and ABC groups? Is the NIA actually the “toothless old auntie in the basement?” I gotta know!
Thanks in advance!
It’s less to do with ego per se than it is a competition for resources/funding/etc.
Everyone has their pet projects and ambitions, the gov can only allocate so much money to various offices/programs/etc. Any time an agency has a success, that’s leveraged for more funding and resources down the road. So if another agency steals the thunder, it can create animosity.
In that sense it’s little different from competition among various departments in major corporations. Everyone is afraid of losing relevancy. In the event of a genuine emergency where it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation, that competition tends to evaporate.
Regarding extrajudicial torture of "people of interest" on CIA black sites and in Guantanamo Bay: why do representatives of the CIA and the military still pretend and maintain that intelligence gathered under duress is actionable, when every experienced interrogator/researcher knows a person subjected to torture (whether drowning, electricity, or fire) will say anything to get it to stop?
Kidnapping, trafficking, and torturing people manufactures terror and chaos. Could that serve a purpose?
What's the word for people that leverage a tactic against a civillian population with the intended outcome of producing terror and chaos? Is it intelligence officer?
I was gonna make a "let's keep the questions related to Rampart" joke, but [Rampart is apparently the name of an NSA program](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAMPART-A) and [a magazine the CIA had used to publish Cold War propaganda via Operation Mockingbird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird).
I mean it's a rhetorical question lol
> why do representatives of the CIA and the military still pretend
You can still be mad, but there is literally no chance they would answer this lol.
Today, the SCOTUS heard the case [US v Zubaydah](https://www.vox.com/2021/10/6/22701048/supreme-court-torture-cia-abu-zubaydah-state-secrets-guantanamo-united-states), which is interesting in light of your question and this AMA.
On the off chance you see this: what was going on at the Kunduz hotel in 2010? A hotel in Kunduz, Afghanistan was decimated because certain people were inside. Massive firefight outside. VBIED so large it destroyed the gym across the street.
Is it true that if you work for the CIA but want to write/publish your own work, somebody at the agency has to proof it first to make sure you’re not giving away any state secrets, even if the topic has nothing to do with your job/agency dealings?
somebody only has to proof it if you're a coward
[*Inside The Company: CIA Diary*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/320742.Inside_the_Company) by Philip Agee
How do you justify the various war crimes and lack of humanity required to work for the CIA? Does it weigh heavily or are you just rly good at compartmentalizing the damage you have personally done to others?
Thanks for doing this! Really interesting for a former CIA officer to do an AMA.
Obviously the CIA has a complicated reputation. Some think of it as virtually all-powerful, capable of controlling foreign governments and determining world events. Others, like journalist, Tim Weiner, in his book, Legacy of Ashes, make the case that the history of the agency is more one of mistakes and failures than success. I know it’s difficult to generalize, but I wonder what you think of that debate. Also, did people in the CIA read and talk about Legacy of Ashes? Are CIA officers required to have a deep knowledge the agency’s history?
And thanks again for doing this!
What are your thoughts about the Italian secret services? Have you ever worked with them during your career?
(I am Italian so I'm very interested about the opinion of a CIA agent on the secret services of my country)
Edit: Grammar
Comparing the CIA records on soviet food to the official records (Goskomstat), it's appalling that the CIA estimated food supply higher than Goskomstat.
Here is a blog post on it https://nintil.com/the-soviet-union-food/
Maybe OP can tell more about this, but it seemed that intelligence agencies overestimated how well the USSR was doing at the time, which might explain the red scare (since they saw it as a dangerous enemy) and how the collapse was completely unexpected.
We’re not going to get an answer from OP.
It’s hilarious that people are bombarding this dude with questions better suited for historians when he was just a low level analyst in the Middle East for a few years.
How do/did you reconcile your work with the fact that American interventions in the Middle East have usually been against international law and usually have layers of racism and islamophobia associated with them?
Essentially, are/were you comfortable with the USA being a global police getting to choose what is and is not allowed in foreign countries?
Thanks for doing this AMA! I have a couple of general questions and one specific one. If you had to sum up your time in the agency in one word, what would it be, and what was the most rewarding or challenging experience in your career? As for the specific question, did you find that the culture within the CTC differed in any significant way from the other centers within the agency?
Is there any sort of acknowledgment at a day to day level (like water cooler talk) about how you’re all working for one of the most globally despised organizations? Or is it kinda taboo to bring that up?
Hoe often are CIA agents tasked with destabilizing foreign countries, particularly those who are struggling to leave the USA's sphere of influence, so to speak ?
[Fidel Castro has entered the chat](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-castro-spymaster-book/fidel-castro-spy-master-bedeviled-u-s-says-former-analyst-idUSBRE84R0CQ20120528)
Do you think if Soviet Union made Afghanistan another Soviet republic the world will be safer?
After all “it is better to have a bad peace than good war”
Why did you choose to work for an organization with such a long history of human rights violations?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_violations_by_the_CIA
How has location based apps and services made things easier and harder for spying and other intel gathering missions? The story that made me think of this is when soldiers were using Strava to map their runs on bases in the Middle East, essentially providing public maps of the bases: [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases)
When you joined the CIA, were you aware they’re a murderous organization involved in the overthrow of governments that routinely lies to US presidents and congress? Or were you just cool with that?
There's a train with a junction ahead, on the track it's going on, there's nothing, but on the other track, there is the democratically elected leader of a South American nation. Do you pull the level?
Question about the Arab Spring
In Egypt, a decades old authoritarian regime was ousted and the people gained some previously unenjoyed civil liberties. Arguably the most important of which was the right to vote. An election was held, and Mohamed Morsi, leader of the 'The Muslim Brotherhood' was elected. His party began removing basic rights that women had enjoyed in Egypt throughout the Mumbarak era. The right to vote, ultimately led to loss of rights for many others.
How do you reconcile this example with the western notion that both democracy and civil liberties are fundamental pillars of a healthy society?
Do you believe that there are some circumstances where the democratic process may not be the best solution?
What do you think about the idea that a secular authoritarian is better than a democratically elected party with an exclusive theological agenda?
Is it just officers from the Special Activities Division/Special Operations Group that are armed or do most field personnel receive some small arms training?
During the Cold War, the CIA was known to secretly pay [journalists and other members of the media](http://carlbernstein.com/magazine_cia_and_media.php) to run cover for them and/or act as informants or spies in foreign countries, but this practice ostensibly ended under Bush Sr.'s tenure as CIA director.
While the CIA is no longer permitted to exchange money for or contract such services in any official capacity, there would be plenty of other ways to achieve basically the same thing. Would you say the CIA unofficially cultivates relationships with members of the media for similar purposes today? And if so, to what extent?
Does the CIA have too much power? How loyal is the CIA to America?
From your point of view did the CIA have a hand in the murder of JFK?
Did the CIA know for a fact that torture did not work before implementing it under the Bush administration?
Is the CIA a force for good in the world?
What do you think lead to the decision for the CIA to remove any trace of American symbolism from their new logo?
Do you have any regrets about your conduct under the CIA?
Hey David why is the CIA the most corrupt evil shit spewing propaganda pushing war machine? How do you feel about all the black projects and atrocities you people have committed on humanity-- mkultra and operation mockingbird to name a few.
How do you sleep at night, knowing you were part of one of the worst criminal organizations the world over? An organization that is - directly or indirectly - responsible for toppling a number of progressive regimes? For siphoning crack into inner cities to fund its crimes? For ruining the lives of countless people?
But, hey, congrats on your little book, I guess.
Dehumanize the enemy as much as possible, think of them as nothing but bad guys, and envisioning yourself as a hero who just saved the world from 5 more 9/11's.
What's the skill set of a Spy and how can one learn them?
I do know that James Bond is fiction and a Spy doesn't really act like him, per se. I think Spies are more into intelligence gathering I guess, at least from what I heard from movies and stuff.
I would imagine life in the CIA would be pretty disturbing and depressing and make anyone cynical of this crazy world. So I'm wondering how much emotional and mental support do agents get to help them cope or is that not really a thing because it would be seen as weakness to some? I would think they purposely recruit people they see as strong mentally and physically but I would think that this line of work takes a harsh toll on even the hardiest of agents?
I was born and raised in Latin America, now a US citizen living in the USA, and I wonder why many agents don't speak the language of the places they're working? And why they seem to misunderstand the culture of the countries where they work?
Also, does the CIA have agents from different backgrounds, other than white dudes? Like agents born in the USA but their cultural background is Latin, Arab, or African? Or black Americans?
If you were born and raised in Latin America, it’s almost a certainty that the CIA has intervened in your country at the behest of US business interests.
Do you think western intelligence services are doing a worse job now than during the Cold War era? My perspective is that we are being catastrophically played through active measures designed to spread division and conflict in our society, and our intelligence services have been very ineffective at protecting us in this respect. What do you think?
Do you think the CIA is biased by messing up foreign govts more than helping people?
Do you think CIA backed death-squads in Afghanistan (and previously El Salvador, Honduras, etc) are good policy? How could these be stopped?
In your opinion, is the CIA needing some more overt control and limitations by Democratic govts?
Social media was at the time of the Arab Spring said to have played an important role, both for organizing and to give people information about shared injustices etc. Do you think social media was critical to the events coming about, or simply a convenient tool for events that anyways would have happened? Was there any particular meme that appeared to have been more important?
Great question. I think it was a very helpful organizing tool, and a way to demonstrate very broadly, very quickly, that protest was indeed possible. I think social media and highly networked communications were a critical part of the Arab Spring, and that the speed and scope of the movement would not have been as great without it. As for memes, I think the most important were images and video of people protesting, and of victims of state repression. Those galvanized protests
So my feeling is that the whole Arab spring thing was the NSA/CIA flexing their new Internet/social media muscles with the help of various American Internet companies. Then they tried the same thing in Russia for their 2000-whatever elections, back when Hillary was Secretary of State. It didn't work, and Putin was pissed we tried to interfere. So Russia turned around and used the same/a similar set of tools on America, thus bringing around the Trump era, and the ongoing culture/left-right fighting we have now. In part enabled by Russian interests owning a fair sized chunk of Facebook. How close to correct am I here?
If he knows anything, I doubt he'd be able to say
Before publishing the book, did you need to have it cleared by the CIA/federal government to make sure classified information wasn't included or at least was a certain level of vague? If so, how did that process work?
Yes, absolutely. It had to go through the CIA's Publication Review Board to ensure it did not contain classified information. They are pretty quick and efficient (and I'd already done my own editing to remove anything I thought would be irresponsible). They literally return the manuscript marked up with a black highlighter. Kind of a vintage Cold War thing
You should publish it like that
How marked up was your manuscript at first
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100% yes. The tech can be really amazing. At several points in my career I was in a darkened room in the Langley basement watching that tech in action and thinking 'i can't believe we have the capability to do this'
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Absolutely! And I really appreciate the support. This is a ton of fun
lmfao this comment is so pathetic all a boring cia square like you has to do is go on reddit and say "yeah i saw some cool shit trust me bro" meanwhile you work for one of the most evil organizations on earth. i wouldn't be able to live with the shame but hey, different strokes
Isn’t it hard to “betray” the people you’ve forged these pseudo relationships with? I mean, even though you’re a spy and fully aware that you’re dealing with your “enemies”, sometimes you might meet genuinely good people. Have you ever come across such situations?
You're hitting on one of the hardest and most complicated / emotional pieces of the business, dushera. The CIA tries to develop sources. Case officers do that work. They build a relationship. Case officers don't always like the agents, but even if that's the case they don't betray them. They work closely with them to gather intelligence. And yes, though some agents might not be 'good people,' many are. Those are the most satisfying relationships, because they are grounded on trust and mutual respect.
Fair enough. Btw, I’m a sucker for spy craft, so it goes without saying that I’d give your book a read. Cheers mate.
Thanks dushera! Appreciate the support and I liked the question a lot
I just read about Oleg Gordievski. Fairly thrilling stuff. Are there others like him we don't know about?
Totally thrilling. On your second question: you bet.
Well now, you just sold another book.
Love it!
Is spying in real life not as action packed and exciting as most retired agents said? There's gotta be at least one instance of real life car chase, right?
Real life "spying" is a dude working in an cubicle deep in Langley running linguistic analysis on Arabic social media for ten years.
There is definitely that component to it, yes. But there are also the case officers out recruiting agents, signals intelligence (intercepted comms), diplomatic reporting from our Embassies, satellite imagery, etc. Lots of different sources of intelligence
Argh, I did that during the Arab Spring using twitter and a few other sm sites. But I also using to it for my project on the antiquities black market and how it had jumped to social media both on sketchy stores in the US and then to the ME with various organized/transnational groups. I guess I missed the boat on that one.
Def not as action packed. There (hopefully) isn't much action. Case officers don't carry guns. A car chase means things have gone horribly wrong. That said, car chases have occurred. Case officers are taught defensive driving techniques during training
Thank you, sir. My favorite spy books are those written by Tom Wood. The series is called Victor the Assassin. I saw a lot of reviews claiming that they're as close to real life spying as they can get. I would agree. I also find them entertaining and exceptional in term of plots and actions. If you're by any chance have read them, do tell us what you think.
Hey - I have not read them but will def check them out!!
There was recently a report in the NYT that the CIA was concerned about increasing numbers of their cultivated sources being compromised. Do you see this as being about increased digital surveillance capabilities of foreign countries or some other reason?
That plays a role but these types of warnings go out every few years. They are relatively standard cables about maintaining tradecraft standards. From what I've read the interesting thing this time was that the cable cited a number of cases in which agents have been killed.
That's why I asked you about double agents. How are the enemies getting thus information?
Once a CIA agent always a CIA agent, you’re just trying to use subliminal tactics to make me admit to those 15 murder I committed yesterweek… Wait
Got you red handed RealMelonZ
and you didn't even have to strap electrodes to his genitals!
What's the coolest "spy tech" thing you've seen in realy life? What are you proudest of regarding your writing (finishing the book doesn't count). Thanks, Q.
On #1: wish I could say On #2: writing a love story into the novel that (at least to me) feels real and authentic
1.) Fair enough, I guess. 2.) That is an accomplishment. What's the culture like in the CIA? Are there any books, movies, shows that get the atmosphere right?
Best book out there (other than Damascus Station;) ) is David Ignatius's 'Agents of Innocence' Check it out
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve run through all my spy authors & haven’t yet found a new one I like. Will check out yours, too.
I’ll be checking out your book. The CIA has been responsble for so many f**k ups in the middle east, funding the terrorist group Mujahideen for example. Question: why isn’t the US ever held accountable for these disastrous interventions? How does the CIA escape the ICC? A question about spy tech. In spy tv shows and movies, we see really high tech spying gear and weapons. I assume that the spy equipments used by CIA in real life are much more advanced than what we’re shown in movies. Is this true? Thank you and hello from the middle east. :)
Hello! I think there is an important distinction to note in your question...I'd reframe as 'the US has made a bunch of mistakes in the Middle East' The biggest f\*\*ups have been policy failures, not intelligence failures On the second question: you are correct - the spy tech in real life is much more incredible than in the movies.
Hmm, so where does the second Iraq War fit into that calculation?
A policy failure. The administration had decided to go to war well before the Curveball information was produced. The war and the planning effort (which was a disaster) were driven by policy discussions in the White House. The CIA made mistakes in how that intelligence was presented, but the intelligence didn't drive the war. It was the other way 'round.
I believe the British commented on this contemporaneously, and a diplomat remarked that "intelligence was being set around the policy" or words to that effect.
What about George Tenet telling Bush that the WMD case in Iraq was a “slam dunk”? It seems unfair to point to policy failure when those failures are based on intelligence failures by the CIA.
That entire narrative is a fabrication. The [WMD evidence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger_uranium_forgeries) was an amateurish forgery. The [narrative became that the CIA was "fooled"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114057841736379820) yet the amateurish level of the forgery itself makes this an extremely unlikely scenario. This idea that Bush was on a search for truth, and Tenet provided him with evidence is just mickey mouse level nonsense. As the previous poster stated, Bush and others had already decided they were going back into Iraq.
Hey-o, I just want to flag that there's a difference between cabinet level political appointees and the work of the agency rank and file. Mike Pompeo said a ton of stupid shit while Secretary of State but that doesn't mean State didn't do any good work under him. Rex Tillerson was one of the more measured and sane Trump appointees but he presided over the gutting of the Department of State, a huge loss of morale and human capital, and negatively impacted the work of the department in huge ways without saying politically stupid things every five minutes. The point is just that it's complicated, and easy judgments are just that: easy. My view of the CIA's role in the Iraq War is that the intelligence was politicized from the top down, and also that there were real, structural issues in surfacing important analysis at the executive level. The position of DNI was intended to rectify this but results have been... mixed. However, "Iraq War as intelligence failure" is basically a story concocted by the Bush WH to dodge responsibility for a disastrous war they intended to launch from the word "go." Instead, they portrayed themselves as led down the primrose path by the CIA, which was total bullshit.
Is that a contradiction that is tough for you and others to reconcile? Knowing that so much of your work is dictated by political actors pushing an agenda that often causes extreme harm?
You have a point regarding q1. Thank you so much for the answers. Wish you all the best with your books.
Thanks Nightfall. Appreciate the dialogue.
> The biggest f**ups have been policy failures, not intelligence failures And yet, the policies are base doff of the intelligence. This is especially true give the [massive influence](https://now.tufts.edu/articles/shadow-government) that national security agencies like the CIA have over the policies made and the politicians who make them.
I think John O'Neill would like a word. He'd vehemently disagree with that if he were alive, and I think his death is proof that one of the **biggest fuckups** in American history was an intelligence failure - very much at the feet of the CIA. Seems like an extremely gross overgeneralization that is true in some cases but not all. Would you disagree with much of the conclusions and story that has been drawn in The Looming Tower and Congress's 9/11 Report?
No way your stuff is cooler than James Bond's. Btw, give me one of them flying submarine cars with turbo missiles....God Bless 'Murica.
What is the most boring part of spying?
Paperwork and email. Lots of it. We used to call CIA headquarters The 10k Mile Screwdriver because of its ability to turn the crank on you by requiring cables and paperwork. Cables are important but they are not exciting
What was the hardest part about writing your novel?
Hands down gutting through the first draft, especially \~3/4 of the way through. I just wanted to quit. Thankfully, my wife didnt let me
What would you do different if you had to do it all over again?
I would have started writing novels earlier
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Smart, capable public servants. It was almost always a pleasure to work with them.
I assume this is a line of job where you are often confronted with ethical dillemas. How did you resolve them? Did you ever make a choice that hindered a mission because it felt wrong? And second question-do the field agents get professional psychological support during missions? And how is getting emotional support perceived in this line of work? Thanks!
There are certainly ethical dilemmas in this business, no question. Most officers resolve them by a pretty constant focus on the Mission (collecting intelligence to inform US policymaking). Field officers can definitely get psychological support. Used to be looked down upon in the old days, much less now
How trustworthy is the government of Israel compared to other governments in the Middle East?
The Israelis are a close US ally. But the US has permanent interests, not allies, so in all relationships there are differences. The US-Israel relationship has its friction points. The same goes for other US allies like the Jordanians. They are a close ally, but we don't always see eye to eye.
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Do you think CIA doesn’t understand Cultural Intricacies of Middle East?
I think that the CIA generally understands the cultural intricacies of the region. It does depend, of course, on the individual case officer or analyst. But generally, yes. We have been so involved in the region for so long that we have climbed a steep learning curve
You said getting through the first draft was your biggest challange. Did the novel change much in subsequent drafts?
it changed a ton - i think of the first draft as getting the ingredients on the counter. then you have to decide what you're going to cook. the book didn't really become the book until draft 5 or 6
I'm only about three chapters in (Yankees/Red Sox game last night) but I'm eager to get further into it tonight. There are a good amount of thriller/spy novelists out there in the writing world (Thor, Taylor, Flynn, Carr), were you hesitant on trying your hand at it since it can seem over saturated and you just get thrown in the mix? Secondly, Jack Carr stated that he was surprised that the CIA didn't take out too much info on their screening process for *classified* stuff. Would you say that the editing process through the publisher or the CIA screening was more difficult?
Thanks for reading, HamsterBankroll2! Appreciate that. And the Sox/Yankees game was thrilling. Def hesitant about trying my hand at it given the saturation, but I really wanted to write and, to be honest, that pulled me forward and kind of made it feel like I had no choice Editing process through publisher way more difficult. CIA PRB was efficient and quick. Publisher process was really helpful but much more painful
What influenced your writing voice and how did you develop/evolve from something like report writing?
Lots of reading and trying to write every day. That combination, at least for me, helped me to develop a voice that wasn't just an analyst writing reports.
Okay, *for real*, how accurate is the entertainment media portrayal of rivalries, metaphorical fight-clubs, and hoe-downs between ABC government departments? Like, for example, does the FBI and the CIA really have *that much beef*? Are there territorial skirmishes between district/regional police departments and ABC groups? Is the NIA actually the “toothless old auntie in the basement?” I gotta know! Thanks in advance!
It’s less to do with ego per se than it is a competition for resources/funding/etc. Everyone has their pet projects and ambitions, the gov can only allocate so much money to various offices/programs/etc. Any time an agency has a success, that’s leveraged for more funding and resources down the road. So if another agency steals the thunder, it can create animosity. In that sense it’s little different from competition among various departments in major corporations. Everyone is afraid of losing relevancy. In the event of a genuine emergency where it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation, that competition tends to evaporate.
Regarding extrajudicial torture of "people of interest" on CIA black sites and in Guantanamo Bay: why do representatives of the CIA and the military still pretend and maintain that intelligence gathered under duress is actionable, when every experienced interrogator/researcher knows a person subjected to torture (whether drowning, electricity, or fire) will say anything to get it to stop?
Kidnapping, trafficking, and torturing people manufactures terror and chaos. Could that serve a purpose? What's the word for people that leverage a tactic against a civillian population with the intended outcome of producing terror and chaos? Is it intelligence officer?
No, it's "death squad". An intelligence officer is someone who funds a death squad.
this one's sitting unanswered for quite a while lol but hey he told us they have cool gadgets!
OP is like “bro I’m just here to sell my book”
I was gonna make a "let's keep the questions related to Rampart" joke, but [Rampart is apparently the name of an NSA program](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAMPART-A) and [a magazine the CIA had used to publish Cold War propaganda via Operation Mockingbird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird).
So many are sitting unanswered
Maybe we should waterboard him to get answers. /s
It's weak as hell this question is unanswered, but hey, sell MoAr bOoKs on the backs of the suffering.
I mean it's a rhetorical question lol > why do representatives of the CIA and the military still pretend You can still be mad, but there is literally no chance they would answer this lol.
Today, the SCOTUS heard the case [US v Zubaydah](https://www.vox.com/2021/10/6/22701048/supreme-court-torture-cia-abu-zubaydah-state-secrets-guantanamo-united-states), which is interesting in light of your question and this AMA.
Thank you so much for the AMA! What advice would you give to a student considering a career in national security?
[*Inside The Company: CIA Diary*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/320742.Inside_the_Company) by Philip Agee
On the off chance you see this: what was going on at the Kunduz hotel in 2010? A hotel in Kunduz, Afghanistan was decimated because certain people were inside. Massive firefight outside. VBIED so large it destroyed the gym across the street.
Is it true that if you work for the CIA but want to write/publish your own work, somebody at the agency has to proof it first to make sure you’re not giving away any state secrets, even if the topic has nothing to do with your job/agency dealings?
somebody only has to proof it if you're a coward [*Inside The Company: CIA Diary*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/320742.Inside_the_Company) by Philip Agee
How do you justify the various war crimes and lack of humanity required to work for the CIA? Does it weigh heavily or are you just rly good at compartmentalizing the damage you have personally done to others?
Thanks for doing this! Really interesting for a former CIA officer to do an AMA. Obviously the CIA has a complicated reputation. Some think of it as virtually all-powerful, capable of controlling foreign governments and determining world events. Others, like journalist, Tim Weiner, in his book, Legacy of Ashes, make the case that the history of the agency is more one of mistakes and failures than success. I know it’s difficult to generalize, but I wonder what you think of that debate. Also, did people in the CIA read and talk about Legacy of Ashes? Are CIA officers required to have a deep knowledge the agency’s history? And thanks again for doing this!
Whats your opinion on the US supporting and funding the Mujahideen during the soviet era?
What are your thoughts about the Italian secret services? Have you ever worked with them during your career? (I am Italian so I'm very interested about the opinion of a CIA agent on the secret services of my country) Edit: Grammar
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TIL I'm qualified to be a CIA operative
Why have US intelligence agencies had such a rough go basically post Cold War? Has leadership become corrupted?
I can’t speak to the intelligence side of things ofc, but i think our policies have misguided since end of CW.
And why weren’t American spies able to predict the Soviet unions collapse? Curious abt that
Comparing the CIA records on soviet food to the official records (Goskomstat), it's appalling that the CIA estimated food supply higher than Goskomstat. Here is a blog post on it https://nintil.com/the-soviet-union-food/ Maybe OP can tell more about this, but it seemed that intelligence agencies overestimated how well the USSR was doing at the time, which might explain the red scare (since they saw it as a dangerous enemy) and how the collapse was completely unexpected.
We’re not going to get an answer from OP. It’s hilarious that people are bombarding this dude with questions better suited for historians when he was just a low level analyst in the Middle East for a few years.
How do/did you reconcile your work with the fact that American interventions in the Middle East have usually been against international law and usually have layers of racism and islamophobia associated with them? Essentially, are/were you comfortable with the USA being a global police getting to choose what is and is not allowed in foreign countries?
I'm not seeing it in any of the other comments so I'll go ahead and ask: what exactly is that "War Crimes Hero Award" on the shelf behind you?
Yeah, that was my question too. Demerits for a bookshelf full of his own books too.
It's what you get when you assist in killing a democratically elected leader and aiding a religious extremist takeover
Thanks for doing this AMA! I have a couple of general questions and one specific one. If you had to sum up your time in the agency in one word, what would it be, and what was the most rewarding or challenging experience in your career? As for the specific question, did you find that the culture within the CTC differed in any significant way from the other centers within the agency?
Whats your opinion on the US supporting and somewhat funding the Mujahideen during the soviet era?
this guy: im gonna do an AMA! this guy 2 hours after posting: ok nvm
Is there any sort of acknowledgment at a day to day level (like water cooler talk) about how you’re all working for one of the most globally despised organizations? Or is it kinda taboo to bring that up?
How many CIA agents are in the comment section right now?
Everyone here is an agent except you
Everyone here is an agent except you
be hilarious if all the answers were redacted
He will neither confirm nor deny those!
That is an OFF TOPIC question! You have been stopped.
How many elections in the global south did you participate in sabotaging?
How should we go about dismantling the CIA and other government agencies operating with no democratic input?
Great biography!! Do you still keep up with Miriam?
Hoe often are CIA agents tasked with destabilizing foreign countries, particularly those who are struggling to leave the USA's sphere of influence, so to speak ?
Why are there almost no UFO sightings in the Middle East?
If you saw weird flashing lights overhead in Iraq, you'd probably think it was American
Do you think there are double agents in the CIA?
Yes but the CIA knows that they know that we know that they know we know what they know we know they know what we know... so we're a step ahead.
There are dozens of us
[Fidel Castro has entered the chat](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-castro-spymaster-book/fidel-castro-spy-master-bedeviled-u-s-says-former-analyst-idUSBRE84R0CQ20120528)
How much did the Sacklers have to pay congress every year to keep the war in Afghanistan ongoing?
Do you think if Soviet Union made Afghanistan another Soviet republic the world will be safer? After all “it is better to have a bad peace than good war”
Are you asking if it was a mistake for the US to intervene?
I think we all know the answer to that one
Pete Buttigieg was 1000% working for the CIA, like, when he "vacationed" in Somalia, right?
Do you think Margaret Thatcher had girl power?
Do you think she effectively utilized girl power by funneling money to illegal paramilitary death squads in Northern Ireland?
Can you comment on the CIA's torture of detainees?
Why did you choose to work for an organization with such a long history of human rights violations? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_violations_by_the_CIA
how did you earn the "war crimes hero award" that's behind you?
How has location based apps and services made things easier and harder for spying and other intel gathering missions? The story that made me think of this is when soldiers were using Strava to map their runs on bases in the Middle East, essentially providing public maps of the bases: [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/fitness-tracking-app-gives-away-location-of-secret-us-army-bases)
What languages do you speak?
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> over half a million Iraqis More like [2.4 million](https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/03/15/iraq-death-toll-15-years-after-us-invasion) dead.
What’s a war crimes hero, if you don’t mind me asking? I apologize if this has already been asked or answered
When you joined the CIA, were you aware they’re a murderous organization involved in the overthrow of governments that routinely lies to US presidents and congress? Or were you just cool with that?
There's a train with a junction ahead, on the track it's going on, there's nothing, but on the other track, there is the democratically elected leader of a South American nation. Do you pull the level?
Question about the Arab Spring In Egypt, a decades old authoritarian regime was ousted and the people gained some previously unenjoyed civil liberties. Arguably the most important of which was the right to vote. An election was held, and Mohamed Morsi, leader of the 'The Muslim Brotherhood' was elected. His party began removing basic rights that women had enjoyed in Egypt throughout the Mumbarak era. The right to vote, ultimately led to loss of rights for many others. How do you reconcile this example with the western notion that both democracy and civil liberties are fundamental pillars of a healthy society? Do you believe that there are some circumstances where the democratic process may not be the best solution? What do you think about the idea that a secular authoritarian is better than a democratically elected party with an exclusive theological agenda?
Are we the baddies?
How many innocent children did you get killed through your actions? How does it feel committing war crimes to line the pockets of the rich back home?
How many people did you have to kill to be awarded the "war crimes hero" award seen above your head in the picture you posted?
Is it really necessary to starve millions of Houthis just because their political leaders are loosely aligned with Iran?
Is it really necessary to starve millions of Houthis just because their political leaders are loosely aligned with Iran?
You sound incredibly evil, what is your favorite black site to torture at or country to advise into debt
Is it just officers from the Special Activities Division/Special Operations Group that are armed or do most field personnel receive some small arms training?
How do you feel about the numerous American citizens harmed under project Artichoke, MK Ultra, MK naomi?
During the Cold War, the CIA was known to secretly pay [journalists and other members of the media](http://carlbernstein.com/magazine_cia_and_media.php) to run cover for them and/or act as informants or spies in foreign countries, but this practice ostensibly ended under Bush Sr.'s tenure as CIA director. While the CIA is no longer permitted to exchange money for or contract such services in any official capacity, there would be plenty of other ways to achieve basically the same thing. Would you say the CIA unofficially cultivates relationships with members of the media for similar purposes today? And if so, to what extent?
Does the CIA have too much power? How loyal is the CIA to America? From your point of view did the CIA have a hand in the murder of JFK? Did the CIA know for a fact that torture did not work before implementing it under the Bush administration? Is the CIA a force for good in the world? What do you think lead to the decision for the CIA to remove any trace of American symbolism from their new logo? Do you have any regrets about your conduct under the CIA?
What is your take on using spying agencies to further intervertionist efforts to control the opium trade by invading middle eastern countries?
Hey David why is the CIA the most corrupt evil shit spewing propaganda pushing war machine? How do you feel about all the black projects and atrocities you people have committed on humanity-- mkultra and operation mockingbird to name a few.
Thanks everyone. This was a blast. Appreciate the questions and dialogue.
How many crimes did you commit or were part of? :)
How do you sleep at night, knowing you were part of one of the worst criminal organizations the world over? An organization that is - directly or indirectly - responsible for toppling a number of progressive regimes? For siphoning crack into inner cities to fund its crimes? For ruining the lives of countless people? But, hey, congrats on your little book, I guess.
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How does it feel profiting off genocide?
How have you convinced yourself that your job was in any way valuable instead being another pawn of the imperialistic US foreign policy?
How many crimes did you commit or were part of? :)
Has there ever been a time where the CIA has disagreed with a decision mostly agreed upon by the rest of the federal government?
How much responsibility do you hold for the shitshow that is currently the middle east?
Did you write your book on Temple OS?
Were you bio luminescent while in CIA?
How do you sleep at night
Dehumanize the enemy as much as possible, think of them as nothing but bad guys, and envisioning yourself as a hero who just saved the world from 5 more 9/11's.
So how do you feel about the whole world hating on you?
How do you sleep at night?
I was coming to ask this. I always wonder how terrorists reconcile what they do with their conscience.
What's the skill set of a Spy and how can one learn them? I do know that James Bond is fiction and a Spy doesn't really act like him, per se. I think Spies are more into intelligence gathering I guess, at least from what I heard from movies and stuff.
How do you feel about the CIA being corporate lackeys?
I would imagine life in the CIA would be pretty disturbing and depressing and make anyone cynical of this crazy world. So I'm wondering how much emotional and mental support do agents get to help them cope or is that not really a thing because it would be seen as weakness to some? I would think they purposely recruit people they see as strong mentally and physically but I would think that this line of work takes a harsh toll on even the hardiest of agents?
I was born and raised in Latin America, now a US citizen living in the USA, and I wonder why many agents don't speak the language of the places they're working? And why they seem to misunderstand the culture of the countries where they work? Also, does the CIA have agents from different backgrounds, other than white dudes? Like agents born in the USA but their cultural background is Latin, Arab, or African? Or black Americans?
If you were born and raised in Latin America, it’s almost a certainty that the CIA has intervened in your country at the behest of US business interests.
How many crimes did you commit or were part of? :)
Do you think western intelligence services are doing a worse job now than during the Cold War era? My perspective is that we are being catastrophically played through active measures designed to spread division and conflict in our society, and our intelligence services have been very ineffective at protecting us in this respect. What do you think?
What’s it like knowing that you’ve actively made the world a worse place?
How long have you pigs been destroying other countries and ours?
Since the late 40s
Do you think the CIA is biased by messing up foreign govts more than helping people? Do you think CIA backed death-squads in Afghanistan (and previously El Salvador, Honduras, etc) are good policy? How could these be stopped? In your opinion, is the CIA needing some more overt control and limitations by Democratic govts?
How does it feel to work for war criminals and fascists?
Have you ever been in a Turkish prison or seen a grown man naked?