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Council on Intelligence Issues
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INTELLIGENCE AWARENESS
CII’s programs increase the public's understanding of intelligence challenges and risks faced by people working for the CIA and other intelligence agencies.
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CII welcomes financial and other donations including legal, analytic, operational, or other support. CII is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, and contributions are tax deductible.
CII's Intelligence Awareness and
Legal Resources
Reading Board
Intel Basics
This site contains articles, reviews, and other information on many of the core intelligence issues, with a particular focus on risks and challenges in intelligence collection, analysis, and covert action. Information about intelligence challenges and the relationship of intelligence to policy and operations will provide readers a broader understanding of CIA, the intelligence community, and the people who serve.
Featured Piece:
CII's Co-Founder Bill Murray recently gave a podcast interview to share some of the experiences and challenges he faced during his 38-year career as an intelligence operations officer. Read Goodstory Transcript and Hear the Podcast excerpts to appreciate the life of an operations officer with insights relating to Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and more.
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Spy Sites -- Publications of Note:
For a guide to the history of espionage in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, See "Spy Sites of Philadelphia - A Guide to the Region’s Secret History" by H. Keith Melton & Robert Wallace With Henry R. Schlesinger. Also take a look at two prior works, Spy Sites of Washington, D.C. and Spy Sites of New York City. All books include photographs, sketches, and maps as well as insightful commentary and are through links to either Georgetown University Press or Amazon.
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Director of National Intelligence releases the 2019 National Intelligence Strategy
How 9/11 Revealed the Importance of the President's Daily Brief
Top 10 CIA Myths (From CIA's website)
Former CIA expert discusses what makes a good disguise for spies (From the AFIO Newsletter and Wired, October 2018)
Podcasts
Readers may be interested in expert opinions related to national security that are not limited to intelligence issues and topics, but that touch upon such matters on occasion. Topics address foreign policy or legal matters, for example, and that information may be found at:
IntelAid
Assistance
Expert insights presented in selected articles, guidance, and other material can help current and former intelligence officers identify and deal with complex legal and other challenges arising out of their employment.
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Balancing Government and Employee Interests in Disputes?
Selected highlights from January 30 panel of experts who shared insights about handling disputes involving classified information. The event was sponsored by the Bar Association of the District of Columbia at the law firm of Reed Smith LLP and was moderated by the Council on Intelligence Issues:
For information about this event and its partipants, see Event Archive
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The American Bar Association recently updated its compilation of intelligence and national security legal documents. For more information, see "The U.S. Intelligence Community Law Sourcebook 2019 Edition: A Compendium of National Security Related Laws and Policy Documents"
Justice Department Regulations for Representation of Government Officials by Department of Justice or Private Counsel
Regulations that govern acceptance of process and production of CIA records (CIA Regulations)
For in-depth legal analysis of "How National Security Can Trump Individual Rights" (Read Here)
What's Happening -- CII Alerts
CII and ABA Panel Discussion
May 12
In Case You Missed It
"Whistleblowing in the Intelligence Community"
Read about this event and the panelists elsewhere on this page, and to view the event
CLICK HERE
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View Other CII Events
CII panel discussions invite former intelligence and other national security experts to focus on important intelligence topics of timely interest.
CII Co-hosts have included the International Spy Museum, Foreign Policy Research Institute, and Others
"Adolf Tolkachev:
The Billion Dollar Spy"
Co-Sponsored by the Council on Intelligence Issues and the International Spy Museum
What is a good spy worth? In the case of this one, an estimate by the US Air Force specialist who used the intelligence gained from this one source to terminate or direct research, “somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 billion…” That was before the source, Adolf Tolkachev, delivered another 179 rolls of film with thousands of pages of Soviet documents.
Spy stories, real spy stories, are never simple, and they frequently have tragic endings. They are also often hampered by internal governmental controls that make the operation more difficult for the operations personnel. Fighting through these obstacles is often as difficult as running the operation itself.
Meet one man who made this fight and helped America gain clear advantages in the future of air warfare and the author who brought the operation to light many years later.
With
Burton Gerber, a legendary CIA officer and senior leader and Moscow Chief during much of the operation.
David E. Hoffman, Washington Post journalist and Pulitzer Prize winning author.
William D. “Bill” Murray, a retired senior operations officer of the CIA and co-founder of the Council on Intelligence Issues, will moderate this discussion.
John Gannon, CII's Chairman, will introduce the participants.
Please join us for this online presentation that will bring you deeply into one of the most successful and important U.S. espionage operations of the late 20th century.
In two prior events, former senior intelligence officials described intelligence practices that began under President Truman:
"Intelligence Challenges in an Election Year: Briefing Presidential Candidates"
October 23, 2020
Panel held in partnership with the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI):
September 23, 2020
Hot Topics Panel Discussion, in partnership with the International Spy Museum
View Video Here
Also available is a panel of intelligence analystical, operations, and policy officers:
"Preserving
Intelligence Integrity
in a
Dangerous World"
Click and
Make a Contribution
If you enjoyed these recordings, to help CII continue to offer presentations on intelligence and other national security topics, please consider making your tax-deductible contribution now:
Featured Alerts
Read selected announcements, letters, opinion pieces, or articles by the Council on Intelligence Issues or current and former intelligence officers, as well as other announcements and items of interest relating to intelligence and national security.
"Whistleblowing in the Intelligence Community
Legal and Practical Challenges"
Sponsored by
The Council on Intelligence Issues
and the
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Whistleblowers in the Intelligence Community:
Basic Information You Should Know
by
Anthony J. Cipparone
Whistleblower is a term used to identify those public service employees and contractor employees who lawfully report fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement to those in a position to investigate and review such activity. Whistleblowers in the US Intelligence Community (IC) are those employees and contractor-employees who work in any of the 17 federal executive agencies that constitute the IC. Intelligence Community Whistleblowers play an important role in ensuring that intelligence programs and operations are accountable and conducted in accordance with federal law and regulations.
For important national security purposes, the most sensitive Intelligence Community programs and operations are often conducted in secret and, as a result, without the public oversight that occurs in most non-IC federal departments and agencies. The role of the Whistleblower may, therefore, be critically important to ensuring the integrity of important national security activities. The Whistleblower, however, like all federal employees and contractors in the IC, has a legal obligation to safeguard and protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure. That means the IC Whistleblower must ensure that s/he follow the proper security process and procedures within their respective agency when reporting any suspect activity.
Following are seven points that would-be Whistleblowers working in the Intelligence Community need to know:
1. Can a Whistleblower’s identity be protected?
Yes. Those charged with the investigation and review of Whistleblower complaints take great steps to ensure the confidentiality of a Whistleblower’s identity in accordance with the law and established regulations. However, there are rare instances when corroboration of the alleged complaint may only be achieved through the Whistleblower. Whistleblowers who are concerned about protecting their identity should make this known when they file their complaint.
2. To whom may the Whistleblower report their allegation of corruption?
Whistleblowers may report complaints of fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement to their agencies’ Inspector General, the Intelligence Community Inspector General, their agencies’ General Counsel, as well as their government management.
If confidentiality is important, however, would-be Whistleblowers should realize that certain components are better equipped to maintain their confidentiality. Offices of Inspector General can provide the most protections of confidentiality under the law. Government managers, however, may find it more difficult to do so particularly if the agency decides to take action(s) based upon the complaint.
3. What happens to the Whistleblower’s complaint after it has been reported?
The complaint, which is an allegation of wrongdoing, must now be thoroughly investigated and reviewed by authorized officials to determine whether it has any basis in fact. This process may be lengthy depending upon the nature and scope of the allegation. Offices of Inspector General usually have a staff of professionally trained investigators who handle these matters.
4. Can you be fired or face reprisal for being a Whistleblower?
No. Whistleblowers are protected from reprisal by federal regulations through a Presidential Policy Directive known as PPD-19, as well as an Intelligence Community Directive, ICD 120. Whistleblower protections for military personnel are separately outlined in a Department of Defense Directive, DoDD 2050.06.
5. What should you do if you believe you were fired or reprised against for being a Whistleblower?
An employee or contractor who believes they were fired or reprised against because they reported a Whistleblower complaint should immediately contact the entity where they initially reported their allegation to report their concern.
6. Does the IC Whistleblower have any obligations when reporting allegations of wrongdoing?
Like all employees and contractors of the IC, the Whistleblower is obligated under federal law and regulations to protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure. The Whistleblower should follow his or her specific agency’s process and procedures for reporting allegations of corruption. An Agency’s Office of Inspector General is often a good source of information and guidance in these matters.
7. Should a Whistleblower hire an attorney to represent him or her?
It is not necessary for a Whistleblower complainant to hire an attorney when reporting their allegation. Anyone considering hiring an attorney, however, must follow their agency guidance since the attorney must be cleared before classified information may be shared and/or discussed.
Conclusion
Whistleblowers have played an important role in the conduct of oversight and accountability in the federal government and the Intelligence Community. Blowing the whistle, in a lawful manner, may result in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of important government operations.
The Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) public website contains a wealth of information about Whistleblowers, and their role and responsibilities.
Anthony Cipparone is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer. He served as the Deputy and Acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations
Council on Intelligence Issues Note: Readers should be aware that the Council, or CII, provides information about legal services and attorneys in the CII legal network to assist IC officers, including whistleblowers, who may be interested in seeking legal counsel. For information, refer to Legal Resources and Contact Us on this website.
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Open Letter To the American People About the Importance of Protecting IC Whistleblower
An Open Letter to the American People:
We are former national security officials who proudly served in a wide array of roles throughout the U.S. Government. We are writing about the Intelligence Community whistleblower’s lawful disclosure, which was recently made public. While the identity of the whistleblower is not publicly known, we do know that he or she is an employee of the U.S. Government. As such, he or she has by law the right—and indeed the responsibility—to make known, through appropriate channels, indications of serious wrongdoing. That is precisely what this whistleblower did; and we applaud the whistleblower not only for living up to that responsibility but also for using precisely the channels made available by federal law for raising such concerns.
A responsible whistleblower makes all Americans safer by ensuring that serious wrongdoing can be investigated and addressed, thus advancing the cause of national security to which we have devoted our careers. What’s more, being a responsible whistleblower means that, by law, one is protected from certain egregious forms of retaliation. Whatever one’s view of the matters discussed in the whistleblower’s complaint, all Americans should be united in demanding that all branches of our government and all outlets of our media protect this whistleblower and his or her identity. Simply put, he or she has done what our law demands; now he or she deserves our protection.
Signed,
Review the List of 88 Officials who signed the open letter.
Whistleblower Complaint Dispute: Legal Analysis
Read two separate pieces with the analysis of Robert Litt, former General Counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about the dispute between the ODNI and the House intelligence committee over access to a whistleblower complaint on a matter of "urgent interest."
https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-latest-reports-say-about-whistleblower-complaint
http://www.lawfareblog.com/unpacking-intelligence-community-whistleblower-complaint
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CII Panel Attracts Broad Interest
Former intelligence officers, government and private sector officials, lawyers, academics, and members of the press attended the CII's expert panel on "Intelligence Operations in a Digital Age" held June 24, 2019.
Panelists agreed that cyber has fundamentally changed how we think about intelligence and how we conduct intelligence operations. As one panelists noted, “Cyber changes everything. Everywhere today, everything is out there, and there are lots of opportunities for getting it.”
The panel was part of CII’s efforts to educate the public about the practical, policy, and legal factors that influence the planning and conduct of clandestine intelligence operations. Participants addressed how technological advances can affect operations in an increasingly transparent world, and the challenges and risks that confront intelligence officers, their agents, and others who assist them to support U.S. national security objectives.
Moderated by former CIA head of the national clandestine service Michael Sulick, the panel included former government officers with extensive public and private sector experience --
Participants addressed how technological advances can affect operations in an increasingly transparent world, and the challenges and risks that confront intelligence officers, their agents, and others who assist them to support U.S. national security objectives.
For more about the panelists and the event, READ PANEL HIGHLIGHTS
Also Quandaries: Deep Fakes and Cyber Conflict (The Duelfer Blog, July 12, 2019 posting provides an attendee's perspective on issues raised during the June 24 panel) (See http://www.charlesduelfer.com/
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WORLDWIDE THREAT ASSESSMENT
OF THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
The Director of National Intelligence and other IC Leaders recently testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the Intelligence Community's Annual Threat Assessment. (See DNI Statement, April, 2021)
The DNI's statement in 2019 before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the Intelligence Community's World Wide Threat Assessment may be found here: DNI Statement on WWT, January 29, 2019.
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Remembering Mike Spann
(excerpts from https://www.wsj.com, 25 May 2019)
". . . . .Johnny “Mike” Spann, a CIA officer who deployed to Afghanistan early in the war was killed on November 25, 2001 . . . . . when Taliban prisoners rioted. He was 32 years old.
"Spann was the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan. Before joining the CIA, Spann was a Marine, leaving with the rank of captain. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery alongside other American men and women who have served their nation in war. He is further honored with a black star on the CIA’s Memorial Wall at its Virginia headquarters, along with 132 other fallen agency colleagues.
"So this weekend, as we enjoy our barbecues and kick off the summer, let us not forget how extraordinarily blessed we are to have men and women such as Mike Spann, who willingly placed themselves in harm’s way to preserve our freedom—and paid the ultimate price." Appeared in the May 25, 2019, print edition. ©2019 https://www.wsj.com. All Rights Reserved.
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CII Board of Directors
The CII's Board of Directors is an integral part of the exciting steps being taken to become a vibrant and effective voice to support CIA and other intelligence officers for their good faith service to the Nation and to offer informational programs that enhance the public's awareness of the challgenges and risks facing intelligence officers. The Board consists of John Gannon (Chairman), George Jameson (President and Co-Founder), Bill Murray (Vice President and Co-Founder), Vaughn Bishop, Chuck Campbell, Mary Corrado, Dawn Eilenberger, John Nelson, and Alan Wade. Francie Schilling is CII's Corporate Secretary, and Robert Rizzi is the Legal Advisor. (See more about CII's mission, vision, and directors and officers.)
CII on Federal News Radio
Listen to Federal News Radio's interview with CII's co-founders about CII (broadcast September 7, 2018, here's how FNR characterized CII: "Occasionally intelligence practitioners find themselves caught in legal trouble not totally of their own making. That’s the idea behind a new legal referral service called Council on Intelligence Issues.").
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CIA Matters
Gina Haspel outlined CIA priorities in her first major speech (click for link to full text).
CIA's then-chief information officer and now the deputy chief operating officer stresses the need for a data-savvy CIA workforce (December 4, 2018).
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Protecting Defectors is a Moral Obligation
Following recent media allegations, a former official points out that there is a "moral" obligation to help protect foreign spies who have risked their lives to help the CIA. View this YouTube video of Rachel Maddow's interview with Joe Augustyn, former head of CIA's defector resettlement center, on how CIA takes steps to protect defectors and others whose assitance put them at risk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ5_T8ej2h4&feature=youtu.be
Executive Actions
Announcements, reports, directives, regulations, decisions, and other actions of the executive branch that affect or relate to intelligence employees, intelligence issues, or have national security implications.
President issues Memorandum on Cooperation With Attorney General's Review of Intelligence Activities Relating to the 2016 Presidential Campaigns (23 May 2019)
Intelligence agencies brief 2020 campaigns on cybersecurity, espionage issues, See CNN Kevin Collier (22 May 2019)
DNI Coats issues Security Executive Agent Directive 7 mandating security clearance reciprocity (9 November 2018)
The National Insider Threat Task Force (NITTF) released the Insider Threat Program Maturity Framework (November 1, 2018)
Joint Statement from the ODNI, DoJ, FBI, and DHS on Combatting Foreign Influence in U.S. Elections (October 19, 2018)
See DNI Coats' Statement on the National Strategy for Counterterrorism (October 4, 2018)
Congressional Interests
Congressional actions, legislation proposed or enacted, and other actions of the legislative branch that affect or relate to intelligence employees, intelligence issues, or have other national security implications.
Senate Intelligence Committee recently issued Volume 2 of its report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections (Russian Use of Social Media).
See also Volume I (Russian Efforts Against Election Infrastructure)
SSCI reports intelligence authorization bills to the Senate for fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020 (May 22, 2019). See S. 1589
SSCI Vice Chairman Mark Warner introduces legislation to improve security clearance processing (December 6, 2018)
See (July 11, 2018) SSCI Report to Accompany FY '18 & '19 Intelligence Authorization Act
See also (July 12, 2018) House passes intelligence authorizations for FY'18 and '19
See (July 3, 2018) SSCI's Initial Findings Regarding IC's Assessment of Russian Interference into 2016 Election
Court Watch
Court decisions and other developments in court cases and investigations that relate to intelligence employees, intelligence issues, or that otherwise are of national security interest.
DIA counterterrorism analyst charged with leaking classified Top Secret documents to journalists. See https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2019/10/us-official-charged-with-leaking-secrets-to-journalists-2/
Former DIA official sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for attempted espionage. See https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-intelligence-officer-convicted-attempted-espionage-sentenced-10-years-federal-prison
U.S. reveals previously sealed Grand Jury Indictment of Julian Assange under the Espionage Act for conspiring to steal government secrets. (See 11 April 2019, USA Today)
Former Air Force Intelligence Agent charged with Spying for Iran (NYTimes, February 14, 2019)
Ex-CIA contractor gets 90 days for unauthorized retention of classified material (From AP News)
Former CIA employee pleads not guilty to leaks charges (From AP News)
Citizens group wants prosecutions over rendition program
Other News
Selected items not covered in CII's executive, court, or congressional alerts. These may include information concerning foreign governments or international organizations, state or local governments, and the private sector.
CIA Director Gina Haspel's Auburn University speech (April 18, 2019)
Security Clearance Reform Overdue Overhaul, April 15, 2019 by Sina Beaghley
"Former CIA Officer Writings About Intelligence, Policy, and Politics, 2016-17"
Statement by Former CIA officials, tribute to George H.W. Bush
CIA Remembers
George H.W. Bush
Statement by Director of the CIA Gina C. Haspel
“We’ve lost a great champion of the Agency—an accomplished Director, faithful advocate, and dear friend—with the passing of former President George H.W. Bush. As a heroic Navy pilot in the Second World War, a skilled statesman who deftly managed the collapse of the Soviet Union and liberated Kuwait from Saddam Husayn’s aggression, and a committed citizen who remained engaged in public service throughout his later years, President Bush exemplified the virtues of patriotism, duty, and compassion. Officers here at the George Bush Center for Intelligence and deployed around the globe honor the memory of a great American. On behalf of the men and women of CIA, I extend our heartfelt condolences to the Bush family.”
Secrecy in U.S. National Security: Why a Paradigm Shift is Needed. (This RAND publication summarizes an examination of the current security classification system, identifies what works and what doesn't, and provides the authors' recommendations for improvement.)
New 9/11 Memorial at CIA Headquarters. Read Here
Former national security officials express concerns about the revocation of former CIA director John Brennan's security clearance. [Read Here]
Former DDCI writes "Why so many former intelligence officers are speaking out."
Events
May 12, 2021 Event
"Whistleblowing in the Intelligence Community: Legal and Practical Challenges"
CII's upcoming event co-sponsored with the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security will offer insights from a expert who has represented anonymous and other whistleblowers and from former senior intelligence officials with varied practical experiences from their positions at ODNI, NSA, DHS, CIA, NGA, and the Department of Justice.
Information about this discussion is available above and in the Events section on this site.
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For information about CII and our events, or to learn about how to contribute, provide reading material for our website, or to volunteer in other ways, Contact Us.
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The Council on Intelligence Issues from time to time will alert readers to events that are related to intelligence or national security sponsored by other organizations with whom we share common interests.
Additional information about those events may be found by contacting those organizations via the links below:
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American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Law & National Security:
The Committee holds events of interest periodically, including breakfasts and an annual review of national security legal and policy issues. Also available are podcasts and reading materials.
For information about Committee and other ABA events as well as materials for the ABA's program on "Hacking Democracy: Elections and Beyond" see
americanbar.org/natsecurity
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International Spy Museum
The Spy Museum and its many exhibits are now open to the public. The Museum offers many educational programs including panel discussions, virtual tours, interactive programs, and other presentations.
For more information, visit the International Spy Museum HERE.
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Potomac Officers Club/ExecutiveBiz:
The Potomac Officers Club is an Executive Networking Organization, primarily consisting of members of the U.S. federal government contracting community.
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Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO)
AFIO sponsors or hosts numerous events relating to intelligence. These are held in the Washington, DC area across the country, and virtually.
For more information about AFIO and future programs and to register for events,
Visit AFIO Here
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The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA)
Visit INSA Here for more information
The CII's educational events aim to highlight the risks and challenges facing intelligence officers as they carry out their responsibilities serving U.S. national security interests.
CII plans to hold several events open to the public annually:
As noted elsewhere on this website, CII held an event co-hosted with the Spy Museum in January and has scheduled an event on May 12 with the ABA. Planning is underway for other events in 2021 and 2022 that will cover a mixture of operational, analytic, policy, and legal challenges and risks.
Our September and October 2020 panels highlighted the challenges facing intelligence officers who provide classified briefings to candidates who are often unfamiliar with how foreign intelligence is collected, analyzed, and protected. For additional information, view previously recorded events below.
VIDEOS OF OTHER CII EVENTS
Previous events presented by the Council on Intelligence Issues may be viewed at the video links available below
"Intelligence Challenges in an Election Year: Briefing Presidential Candidates"
View Two Separate Panel discussions of the timely election year topic presented by experts with first-hand experience in how the CIA and Intelligence Community since 1952 have undertaken to brief candidates both before elections and during transitions pre-inauguration.
View October 23 Panel held in collaboration with FPRI on
"Intelligence Briefings for Presidential Candidates"
and
View September 23 Panel held with the International Spy Museum on the same topic
"Briefing Presidential Candidates"
You also might be interested in the in-person discussion on another important topic:
"Preserving Intelligence Integrity
in a
Dangerous World"
See video link here: Preserving Intelligence Integrity
See this panel of distinguished former senior government officials with broad experiences in intelligence, law enforcement, and policy positions inside and outside the intelligence community. Their insights highlighted factors that enhance or undermine the credibility, effectiveness, and impact of intelligence for national security decision-makers. Panelists shared their thoughts on objectivity, "speaking truth to power," avoiding "group think", and the challenges of "bringing bad news."
Participants
John Gannon, Moderator and Chairman, Council on Intelligence Issues
Peter Clement
Robert Grenier
Chris Kojm
Bill Murray
The Honorable Caryn Wagner
The Council on Intelligence Issues thanks all those who registered for this event.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST
Council on
Intelligence
Issues
About Us
The Council on Intelligence Issues (CII) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2010 to educate intelligence personnel and the public about important intelligence and other national security interests. CII helps current and former officers, employees, and families of the CIA and other intelligence community agencies who may need legal counseling or other assistance in connection with their intelligence service.
© 2018 / All Rights Reserved