intelligence

Right out of the gate, let’s get one thing straight: Iran is our enemy.

After the June 18, 1914 assassination of Austria’s Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie at the hand of a Serb nationalist, the coming conflict forced nations such as Germany, Russia, Britain, and France to honor treaties and mutual-protection agreements that had been made. By the time Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia on July 28, […]

Inscribed on the CIA’s original headquarters building in Langley is a passage from the gospel according to St. John: “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” This unofficial Agency motto alludes to the truth and clarity that intelligence provides to decision-makers, similar to the “knowledge is power” mantra. But […]

The blood is dry. The victims will be buried soon. The immediate terror has passed, but the deep-seated rage is just settling in and getting comfortable. We are familiar with this progression of emotion here in the United States, as are citizens of London, Madrid, Istanbul, Sydney, and countless other nations across the world. The […]

When working within a target country or diaspora, dialect is often the difference between getting the right information and having to go back and get it right. Claiming to be from one place but using the dialect of another area will land you in a world of “this sucks.”

The other day, my youngest daughter (age 17) walks in, looks at her phone, and mutters a phrase that I had never heard before. “TIFU” (pronounced tie – phoo). “What does that mean?” I asked, expecting (and getting) some acronym that kids have come up with as the next buzzword. She looked at me, shook her […]

I am an unapologetic believer in our nation’s national security apparatus, and not just because I was a part of it as an officer in both the U.S. military and the Central Intelligence Agency. I also witnessed, firsthand, the dedication of those in the intelligence- and security-agency trenches, and saw them put their considerable skills to […]

A little preface: To say I dislike Edward Snowden and Glen Greenwald is putting my feelings mildly. I think about the years leading up to this point and it draws out an ire that borders on fury. I was politely asked to write an article covering a facet of this, and I felt that I could […]

For the uninitiated, RUMINT stands for “Rumor-based Intelligence.”  It is the grapevine, the Lance Corporal Underground, the mysterious pathways by which information gets around before higher’s even aware that it’s out there. With social media and so-called “New Media,” RUMINT has gotten more pervasive than ever.  Now you can find up-to-the-minute reports of what is […]

The CIA isn’t known for sharing its secrets with anyone, let alone the public.  As such, the contents of an old Office of Strategic Services field manual aren’t something to be missed. As SOFREP has covered previously, the days of the OSS were the glory days where espionage, sabotage, and war-fighting all converged under the […]

Following the “Rachel” and “Racket” operations, Detachment One was set to hunt for an HVT known only as “X” (the actual identity of “X” still hasn’t been unclassified).  “X” was believed to be a high-level insurgent facilitator; one of his associates had been captured in May, putting him on the operational radar.  He showed signs […]

You like that title? Like Dr. Strangelove right? Really..it was. I swear it. My name is Jerry. I understand many of you are disenfranchised with the current or even past administrations. But it doesn’t mean your country is broken…or your government. It also doesn’t mean there are conspiracies under every rock. Trust me. I know. […]