Intelligence Matters

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Ellen McCarthy, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). As head of INR – the oldest all-source U.S. intelligence agency, and among the smallest, within the 17-member community – McCarthy leads a cadre of about 250 analysts at the State Department who provide assessments to the Secretary of State, relevant policymakers and the President. She explains how INR analysts arrive at their assessments of foreign leaders, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and how their assessments can inform, but not influence, policymaking. This is the second installment of a continuing series on "Leadership of the IC," featuring currently-serving senior leadership within the U.S. intelligence community.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Russ Travers, deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Travers offers an overview of enduring and evolving terrorism threats facing the U.S. from extremist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda as well as known state sponsors of terror Iran and Pakistan. He also outlines how technological shifts are compounding challenges of counterterrorism intelligence collection. This is the first installment of a continuing series on "Leadership of the IC," featuring currently-serving senior leadership within the U.S. intelligence community.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Chris Krebs, Director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Krebs details the department's efforts to defend U.S. systems, elections and infrastructure from foreign adversaries' cyber incursions and influence operations. He explains the nature of strategic threats from Russia, China and others and how CISA is working to boost the resilience of the country's critical infrastructure. He also describes the agency's efforts to protect the 2020 presidential election from outside interference.

In this bonus episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell holds a mock "situation room" dialogue with Ambassador Bill Burns, former deputy Secretary of State and President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Jim Miller, former Under Secretary is Defense for Policy and senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, on U.S. diplomatic, policy and military options for responding to Iran amid escalating tensions.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Washington Post journalist and Beijing bureau chief Anna Fifield about her new book, "The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong-Un." Morell and Fifield discuss her years of reporting from inside Pyongyang and her conversations with the North Korean leader's elusive inner circle. She describes how she obtained first-hand accounts of Kim's childhood and family relationships. Fifield also details some of Kim's early, formative experiences and the sometimes brutal ways he managed to consolidate and maintain power.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with former CIA analyst and targeting officer Nada Bakos about the post-9/11 hunt for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the low-level jihadist and eventual head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, ISIS's predecessor organization. Morell and Bakos discuss the intense political pressure some analysts felt as they worked to identify links between Iraq and Al Qaeda in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. Bakos also describes how targeting officers employed tactical analysis in an effort to dismantle terror networks and the human intelligence that led to Zarqawi's demise.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell interviews Jonna Mendez, who spent nearly three decades at the CIA and was its Chief of Disguise until 1993. Mendez tells Morell about the fundamentals of disguise, deception and illusion, including what kinds of spies were the hardest to hide. Mendez also discusses her time with her husband, Tony Mendez, a celebrated CIA officer who was famously portrayed in the movie, "Argo." She explains why both of them have pushed for greater transparency into the lives and work of intelligence officers worldwide.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Russia and foreign policy expert Angela Stent, who is director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and a professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University. Stent and Morell discuss Russia's primary global objectives today, and the centuries of history that have shaped its trajectory. Stent also traces President Vladimir Putin's rise to power, and offers an assessment of the qualities and strategies that underlie his political success.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell interviews Tamir Pardo, who served as Director of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, from 2011 to 2016. They discuss the Mossad's relationship with the CIA and current regional dynamics involving Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the possibility of arriving at a two-state solution. In a rare and wide-ranging interview, Pardo tells Morell about his career trajectory and pivotal moments during his tenure as director.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with David Sanger, national security correspondent for the New York Times and author of “The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age.” Morell and Sanger discuss the technological and geopolitical challenges of the cyber domain, including forthcoming developments like 5G networks, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and expanding opportunities for offensive operations. Sanger also offers his perspective on covering the intelligence community and the Trump administration.