Intelligence Matters

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell interviews former deputy Secretary of State and deputy National Security advisor to President Barack Obama Antony Blinken, who weighs in on the Trump administration's foreign policy decisions in some of the world's top geopolitical hotspots. Blinken evaluates the opportunities seized, squandered and still ahead in countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, North Korea and China. A former national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, Blinken discusses the parameters of a potential Biden foreign policy.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Lisa Monaco, former U.S. Homeland Security Advisor to President Barack Obama. She reviews her career trajectory from federal prosecutor to Hill staffer to running the National Security Division at the Department of Justice to a series of high-profile roles at the White House. Monaco evaluates the existing threat from foreign-directed terror attacks, the importance of continuity in counterterrorism policy, and the evolution of cyber threats facing the United States.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, trade expert Gary Hufbauer, nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, explains the national security implications of trade policy and why a given economy?s health is one of the most significant determinants of a nation?s stability. Hufbauer evaluates the effects of automation on the global economy, the enduring gap between wage and productivity growth, and how much trade balances really matter. He and Morell discuss the effect of populist trends on global economic policies and review several recent deals struck by the Trump administration.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, guest host Admiral Sandy Winnefeld (ret.) interviews Nadia Schadlow, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy. They discuss the 2017 National Security Strategy, which articulates the administration's national security concerns and strategic priorities. Schadlow explains how the document was conceived and crafted to reflect President Trump's 'America First' governing philosophy. Schadlow and Winnefeld also discuss how the president's national security team considered the United States' posture vis a vis other great powers like Russia and China, and offers an assessment of the strategy's overall implementation to date.

In this week's episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Glenn Gaffney, current Executive Vice President of strategic intelligence investor In-Q-Tel and former head of the CIA's Science and Technology Directorate. Morell and Gaffney discuss space as an area of strategic, scientific, intelligence and military competition with Russia and China, and assess the United States' current positioning. They also review existing and future cyber threats to the U.S., which Gaffney explains are expanding and evolving with alarming rapidity.

In this bonus episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell weighs in on the CIA's reported assessment regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. He explains the agency's analytic process, the significance of confidence levels, and which stakeholders would be briefed, and how. He reviews the strategic and policy implications of holding Saudi Arabia to account and what steps the United States and the Kingdom should take to ensure long-term regional stability.

In this week's episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with John Miller, Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism at the New York Police Department. In a wide-ranging conversation, Miller reflects on his career spanning journalism, public affairs and operations roles at some of the country's top law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Miller discusses his 1998, in-person interview with Osama bin Laden and live reporting after the 2001 September 11th attacks. He also tells Morell about the NYPD's intelligence and analysis efforts and weighs in on the threats posed by extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS today.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Phil Reilly, former Special Forces soldier and CIA Clandestine Service Senior Paramilitary Officer who was among the select team of ten officers first deployed to Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Reilly recounts how U.S. forces first partnered with the Northern Alliance in the Panjshir Valley against Taliban units and describes his team's harrowing first helicopter flight over Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan. Reilly explains why he believes maintaining a strong U.S. presence in Afghanistan is necessary to prevent the Taliban from regaining power and to keep the existing Afghan government afloat.

In this week’s episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and legendary former CIA operative Michael Vickers about about his work combating the Soviets in Afghanistan, his views of the Trump administration’s security strategy, and the biggest national security threats facing the United States today. Vickers explains why he believes the United States and China are not only battling for economic and political supremacy, but also for control of advanced technologies and the “industries of the future.”

In this week's episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Eric Edelman, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Finland, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and current co-chair of the National Defense Strategy Commission. Edelman and Morell, who is also a member of the Commission, discuss the contents of its new report evaluating the nation's defenses in general and the National Defense Strategy in particular. They explain why, just as other world rivals have grown savvier, stronger and more aggressive, America's military edge is in many areas diminished and in some cases erased. The two evaluate what steps the President and the U.S. Congress can take to forestall a significant national security crisis.