Report: Trump plans to shrink top intelligence agencies, including CIA

Report: Trump plans to shrink top intelligence agencies, including CIA

President-elect Donald Trump is planning to restructure two of the nation’s top intelligence agencies, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Wednesday. The newspaper writes that Trump plans to reduce the size of the office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the CIA, fearing the agencies have become too large and politicized. […]

Former Navy SEAL and CIA Officer’s take on the rift between Trump and the CIA

Former Navy SEAL and CIA Officer’s take on the rift between Trump and the CIA

It is no secret that things have been “testy” recently, at least in public, between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the President-elect, Donald J. Trump.   To hear it spoken of in the media, you would think that the CIA is filled with Trump haters looking to stymie the newly elected incoming POTUS, and […]

Former CIA officer on the ramifications of Russian ambassador assassination

Former CIA officer on the ramifications of Russian ambassador assassination

Monday the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was shot and killed while speaking at the opening of a photo exhibit in Ankara, Turkey. The gunman, Mert Altintas, was a Turkish policeman, although there are conflicting reports as to whether he had been dismissed from his position prior to the attack. In any event, while Altintas was not part of […]

‘Spectral’ is military science fiction done right

‘Spectral’ is military science fiction done right

I am somewhat infamous for my negative reviews of movies about special operations forces. I’m not one of those guys who watches these films expecting some high degree of hyper-technical accuracy. Fictional films are just that. However, I find a lot of these films to be silly, as they claim to recreate something with authenticity, […]

FBI backs CIA view that Russia intervened to help Trump win election

FBI backs CIA view that Russia intervened to help Trump win election

FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have backed a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the presidency, according to U.S. officials. Comey’s support for the CIA’s conclusion suggests that the leaders of the three agencies are in agreement on […]

No intel briefing for electors, DNI says

No intel briefing for electors, DNI says

Washington (CNN) Electoral College electors will not receive an intelligence briefing on Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Friday. In a statement, DNI pointed to an October 7 announcement by US intelligence agencies that said they were “confident” of Russia’s involvement in efforts to hack information related […]

Former Republican presidential candidate says Russia hacked his accounts, calls for ‘crippling sanctions’ against Putin

Former Republican presidential candidate says Russia hacked his accounts, calls for ‘crippling sanctions’ against Putin

Sen. Lindsey Graham accused Russian hackers of targeting his campaign accounts in an interview on CNN Wednesday. Graham, a former Republican presidential candidate, said the vendor that administered his campaign’s accounts was hacked in June. Graham, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, floated the possibility of “crippling sanctions” to help rein in Russia. “This […]

REPORT: Intelligence officials believe Putin was directly involved in the Democratic Party hacks

REPORT: Intelligence officials believe Putin was directly involved in the Democratic Party hacks

US intelligence officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin was most likely directly involved in the hacking campaign that targeted Democratic Party officials and organizations during the US presidential election, NBC News reportedTuesday. Two of the unnamed intelligence officials cited by NBC News pointed to new evidence they say shows Putin directed the distribution of hacked […]

Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is not the answer

Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is not the answer

President Obama’s recent decision to grant Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) expanded authorities in the fight against terrorism likely came as welcome news to many. Anything that means we move more quickly and nimbly in hunting the enemy has to be welcome. Here is the reality, however. We are in this war for the long […]

Are the CIA and Donald Trump slipping into a Russian designed civil war?

Are the CIA and Donald Trump slipping into a Russian designed civil war?

A recent CIA briefing given to the Senate indicating that the Russian intelligence services sought to manipulate US elections to favor President Elect Donald Trump has ignited a firestorm across the political spectrum, however, it also signals something far more perilous: a brewing civil war between the incoming president and what will be his primary […]

Trump, CIA on collision course over Russia’s role in U.S. election

Trump, CIA on collision course over Russia’s role in U.S. election

The simmering distrust between Donald Trump and U.S. intelligence agencies escalated into open antagonism Saturday after the president-elect mocked a CIA report that Russian operatives had intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help him win. The growing tensions set up a potential showdown between Trump and the nation’s top intelligence officials during what some […]

Watch: Sam Faddis talks about the CIA under the Trump administration

Watch: Sam Faddis talks about the CIA under the Trump administration

Retired CIA officer Sam Faddis recently appeared on Tipping Point to discuss the incoming Trump administration and what that means for the CIA.  Sam comments on what he thinks of Trump’s nominee for the Director of Central Intelligence as well as the State Department.  After, he discusses the long term issues in Iraq and the […]