The Live Drop

Though this episode was recorded in November of 2021, David's recollections and impressions of the Syrian Conflict are eerily similar to what's happening in Ukraine right now. A former CIA analyst, he's now a spy novelist to keep your eye on. David McCloskey reveals part of his process and some unique elements of craft that he brought to this auspicious first novel. Episode 58

From a CBS article by Kate Gibson, here are some links to help Ukranians:

Convoy of Hope. The disaster relief group says it's partnering with a local Polish organization to provide meals to refugees entering Poland, as well as to deliver food, water and other basics across the region. Donate here.

International Committee of the Red Cross. The Swiss-based organization is supporting the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross in helping those impacted by the war. Donate to the ICRC.

International Medical Corps. The first responders' organization has teams inside Ukraine and in the surrounding regions to offer medical and mental health services. Link to contribute.

Kyiv Independent. The English-language news site has launched a GoFundMe campaign asking for support.

UNICEF. The global group devoted to safeguarding children is working to provide humanitarian supplies to families without safe water or electricity due to the conflict. Contributions can be made here.

Voices of Children. The Ukraine-based charitable foundation has been offering psychological counseling, including art therapy, for children affected by war in the country's east since 2015, according to its site. The group is currently helping children and families across Ukraine, including helping with evacuations.

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Author of The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Espionage, Doug London was happy to get right into his book's revelations and talk about his process. With 34 years of experience in the CIA, this memoir is rich with the authentic personal encounters of a case officer. Doug walks me through some of the many things going through a case officer’s mind during all stages of Spot, Assess, Develop, and ultimately Terminate—sounds more violent than it is.

Doug has a profound appreciation of those who’ve put their trust in him, and claims it’s an unethical job that has to be done with ethics. He continues to shares his thoughts on intelligence, espionage and current events at justsecurity.org.

Twitter: @douglaslondon5

From Hatchet Books:

This revealing memoir from a 34-year veteran of the CIA who worked as a case officer and recruiter of foreign agents before and after 9/11 provides an invaluable perspective on the state of modern spy craft, how the CIA has developed, and how it must continue to evolve.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a modern-day spy, Douglas London is here to explain. London’s overseas work involved spotting and identifying targets, building relationships over weeks or months, and then pitching them to work for the CIA—all the while maintaining various identities, a day job, and a very real wife and kids at home.

The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence captures the best stories from London's life as a spy, his insights into the challenges and failures of intelligence work, and the complicated relationships he developed with agents and colleagues. In the end, London presents a highly readable insider’s tale about the state of espionage, a warning about the decline of American intelligence since 9/11 and Iraq, and what can be done to recover.

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ANNHAGEDORN.COM

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In his new book Proof of Life, American author Daniel Levin dives into the Syrian shadows - an underground industry of war where everything is for sale: arms, drugs, even people. In this thriller/memoir he draws on his perceptions and experience as a a lawyer turned armed conflict negotiator who, for the past twenty years, has worked with governments and development institutions worldwide. After a fairly worldly upbringing, he served in the Israeli Special Forces, studied law, taught in Arabic, and now uses his extensive Middle Eastern contacts and cultural understanding for diplomatic and mediation efforts as well. 

In this interview, I showed up for the story of a Syrian hostage negotiation, and stayed for the wide-ranging discussion of the importance of historical context in any conflict resolution and the potential institutional reforms that must also take that into consideration. We talked about the government/ruling situation in Afganistan, Lebanon, and Isreal - and the author’s uncanny sense of smell. 

More about Daniel Levin ---> https://www.daniellevinauthor.com

Resources mentioned:

Lichtenstein Foundation for State Governance

Empire of the Summer Moon, S. C. Gwynne

Nothing but A Circus, Daniel Levin 

The Martyr Made Podcast - Origins of Zion

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I like to keep the track clean of ads, and sales pitches. As such, meeting costs and finding time to produce this podcast is a challenge, so any support is appreciated. If you would like to help make Season Three operational, please consider a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop

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Back in April 2021, Todd Bensman talked with me about the nexus between immigration and national security in his book America’s Covert Border War: the Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration.  Todd is an award-winning journalist who transitioned to a career as a national security intelligence professional for the Texas Department of Public Safety and then returned to writing and publishing.

We talk about the threat of muslim extremists crossing and the varied and circuitous international routes they may take - how some, like some Haitians now, can cross from Panama through the storied Darien Gap and across Mexico to seek asylum after crossing into the U.S.  Todd currently serves as the Texas-based Senior National Security Fellow for the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a Washington, D.C. immigration policy institute. While we talk around the politics of the border,  his book is a story of the ambitious and intrigue-laden covert American counterterrorism programs built after 9/11 from the U.S. border to the tip of South America.  Todd raises the question: have we become a victim of our own counterterrorism success?

Recorded earlier this year, on April 16th, 2021

More on the author and recent articles can be found at:

ToddBensman.com

Todd Bensmen - Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)

Twitter @BensmanTodd

Abid Ali Khan Indicted and Sanctioned

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/pakistani-national-indicted-and-sanctioned-human-smuggling-conspiracy

**Edited by Pete Turner

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I like to keep the track clean of ads, and sales pitches. As such, meeting costs and finding time to produce this podcast is a challenge, so any support is appreciated. If you would like to help make Season Three operational, please consider a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop

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Mark Valley
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Toby Harnden is an awarded journalist, foreign correspondent and former bureau chief of the Sunday Times.  His most recent book is  First Casualty: The untold story of he CIA mission to avenge 911.  After numerous interviews with key players and having visited Afganistan several times over the last decades, Toby documents the unconventional success story of CIA’s Team Alpha from their insertion into the Darya Suf Valley, coordination with Special Forces ODA 595, link-up and cooperation with Northern Alliance commander Abdul Rashid Dostum - leading to the fall of the Taliban at the end of 2001.

Toby brings his well-informed insights about some of these initial players: Including David Tyson, JR Seeger, Alex Hernandez and their ride on horseback North with Dostum to Mazar I Sharif, along with the first casualty, Johnny Michael Spann and the events at the Qala-I Jangi fort complex.  We discuss the complexity and the accomplishment of how those few intrepid officers and operators transcended traditions, tribes, allegiances and history in an operation that holds clues to the future of Afghan resistance to the Taliban. 

More about the author at:  Tobyharnden.com

I hope you've enjoyed listening to this episode. I could use your help to make more...

I like to keep the track clean of ads, and sales pitches. As such, meeting costs and finding time to produce this podcast is a challenge, so any support is appreciated. If you would like to help make Season Three operational, please consider a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop

Or alternatively,  join The Live Drop Patreon community for exclusive commentary and content starting with a $5 monthly donation ---> https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop

As always, please rate and review the show on iTunes. Your input is appreciated. 

Thank you for listening and your support,

Mark Valley
Creator/Host
thelivedrop.com

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The Live Drop's 50th Episode - John Sipher - CIA & Spycraft Entertainment

from Spycraftentertainment.com

John retired in 2014 after a 28-year career in the Central Intelligence Agency’s National Clandestine Service. At the time of his retirement, he was a member of the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service, the leadership team that guides CIA activities globally. John served multiple overseas tours as Chief of Station and Deputy Chief of Station in Europe, Asia, and high-threat environments. He has significant experience working with foreign and domestic partners to solve national security challenges. John also served as a lead instructor in the CIA’s clandestine training school, and was a regular lecturer at the CIA’s leadership development program. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal.

John is a sought-after foreign policy and intelligence expert. John speaks regularly on foreign policy and intelligence issues. His articles have been published in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Politico, Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, Slate, Lawfare, The Cipher Brief and Just Security, among others. He regularly appears on the PBS NewsHour, CNN, MSNBC, BBC and other outlets.

Twitter: @john_sipher

In this episode John starts off with a discussion of his article Murdering Reality: The Spurious Spies of Spy Fiction, and some of the mistakes writers and filmmakers are prone to make. After a thorough discussion of the history of Soviet intelligence into the rise of Vladimir Putin, John shares some of his experience and perceptions of Russia during his service with CIA. Unwilling to go quietly into consulting, Sipher reveals why he decided to take his expertise and storied career into the entertainment business. The Live Drop Podcast is fortunate to have had John as a guest for such a fun and far ranging discussion. 

References to links, and works are below:

• Putin's People by Catherine Belton
• The Gerasimov Doctrine by Molly McKew
• European Values - Prague Think Tank 
• Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973)

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Live Drop guest Kao Kalia Yang is a celebrated Hmong-American writer.

She holds degrees from Carleton College and Columbia University. Yang is the author of The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir  winner of the 2009 Minnesota Book Awards in Creative Nonfiction/Memoir and Readers’ Choice, a finalist for the PEN USA Award in Creative Nonfiction, and the Asian Literary Award in Nonfiction.

Her second book, The Song Poet  won the 2016 Minnesota Book Award in Creative Nonfiction Memoir, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Chautauqua Prize, a PEN USA Award in Nonfiction, and the Dayton’s Literary Peace Prize.

Yang’s debut children’s book, A Map Into the World  is a American Library Association Notable Book of the Year, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book, winner of the Northstar Best Illustrator Award, and winner of the 2020 Minnesota Book Award in Children’s Literature.

Her co-edited collection titled What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss By and For Indigenous Women and Women of Color  is a groundbreaking work that centers the poetry and prose of women whose voices have been neglected and silenced on the topic despite the fact that they experience these losses disproportionately.

Her most recent Children's book: The Most Beautiful Thing   was just published on October 6th, 2020. Kalia is also a teacher and public speaker.

I wanted to talk to Kalia about the legacy of the Secret War in Laos - how it is remembered in the Hmong diaspora. A civil war fought alongside Vietnam's in the shadows by the CIA, with Hmong fighters against communist insurgents. I ended up having an enlightening cultural conversation with a poet in real time about birth, life, suffering, loss, death and grief in Hmong tradition and in current-day America. 

Her next book Somewhere in the Unknown World  – a collective memoir about the lives of refugees - is available for pre-order and comes out on November 8th, 2020.

You can find out more about Kalia and her work at  kaokaliayang.com

Episode 49

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Crea

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