CT and Intel News

OPM Breach, the CIA, and China. According to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper the ". . . CIA pulled a number of officers from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing as a precautionary measure in the wake of the massive cybertheft of the personnel data of federal employees . . ." Essentially, anyone with a security clearance (electronic SF 86 questionaire on file) who is in government service or in the military now has duplicate records. One in the U.S. and one in China. I am still waiting on my letter from the OPM notifying me that the Chinese have my file. (Washington Post, Sep 29, 2015).

New CIA Directorate. The Central Intelligence Agency is reorganizing itself. One new addition is the Directorate of Digital Information. See "The CIA unveils a radically new org chart", The Washington Post, October 1, 2015.

How Were CIA Agents Discovered by the KGB? It appears that the personnel section of the CIA took the "easy road" when sending replacement overseas. Read more in "How to explain the KGB's amazing success identifying CIA agents in the field?", Salon, September 26, 2015.

Intel and Politics. Robert Tomes writes "On The Politicization of Intelligence" in War On the Rocks, September 29, 2015. He explores what "politicization" really is and provides us some history on the topic. http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/on-the-politicization-of-intelligence/

Leaders' Summit to Counter ISIL. The United States recently held a summit that highlighted the international community's efforts to counter ISIL, address Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), and Counter Violent Extremism (CVE). Read a fact sheet on the summit provided to us by the White House, September 29, 2015.

Understanding & CVE in Afghanistan. "Youth recruitment into extremist groups in Afghanistan continues to be a major source of group building." A report presents findings from a three-province study on violent extremism in Afghanistan. The endeavor was undertaken by The Liaison Office, an Afghan research and peacebuilding organization. Read "Understanding and Countering Violent Extremism in Afghanistan", United States Institute of Peace (USIP), September 3, 2015.

Drones and Pilots. UAVs provide a vast amount of strategic, operational, and tactical intelligence around the world (and in Afghanistan). There is a pilot shortage for drones within the Air Force and numerous reports indicate that many are leaving the Air Force for less stressful jobs. It appears that the Air Force may start using enlisted pilots. Read more in "Enlisted drone pilots? Decision expected early next year", Air Force Times, September 28, 2015.