Meeting General Sabban, an architect of Philippine counter-insurgency

My introduction to retired Philippine Marine Corps General Juancho Sabban was every bit as colorful and adventurous as the General himself.  The former Marine Corps commandant is well-respected in military circles and known as something of a legend who played a big role in shaping his country’s approach to dealing with insurgencies. I was eager to […]

Ex-CIA director testifies before House Intel Committee on Russia

Former CIA Director John Brennan spoke before the House Intelligence Committee today, sharing information and his own assessments mostly concerned with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Notably, Brennan revealed he had directly confronted the head of the FSB, Russia’s rough equivalent to an internal intelligence and law enforcement agency like the […]

Streamlining the Intelligence Community

Recent news that DNI Dan Coats is looking for ways to streamline the gargantuan US Intelligence Community have returned the question of how American intelligence should be organized and structured to the fore. While previous efforts at “reform” were largely stillborn and confined to the marginal reshuffling of existing capabilities, the election of Donald Trump […]

I was in the CIA for 25 years — here’s how I explained my job to my kids

Ralph W. McGehee is a veteran of two and a half decades with the Central Intelligence Agency. McGehee was recruited in 1952 and stationed in Southeast Asia in the mid-1960s. “Dad, what do you do?” my 13-year-old daughter Peggy asked about six months after we had settled into our home in North Thailand. She had been […]

Senate Intelligence Committee hearing overshadowed by Comey, Russia

Senior members of the American Intelligence Community testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday, speaking on the record about the current national security threats to the United States. The fallout of President Trump’s firing of F.B.I. director James Comey earlier this week made itself physically apparent, as Acting Director Andrew McCabe stood in his place […]

One of America’s first—and most memorable—spies: Nathan Hale

In 1776, George Washington sought out a volunteer to infiltrate enemy lines prior to the Battle of Harlem Heights in New York. A Yale-educated captain from Connecticut’s 19th Regiment of the Continental Army stepped up. His name was Nathan Hale. He would become one of the first American spies of the Revolutionary War. Hale was instrumental […]