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AFIO NOW!!

AFIO launched a series of recorded interviews and other activities. These programs are available in our Members-Only section which requires your USERID and PASSWORD — information on current member cards supplied with each renewal.

Just released to members-only...

"North Korea — the issues from the outgoing, and facing the incoming, US administrations."

Released 12 January 2021

Victor Cha PhD
Former Director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council

on "North and South Korea — Issues Facing the Incoming Biden Administration"

Interview of Monday, 8 December 2020 of Victor Cha, former Director for Asian Affairs at the NSC; Chair, Dept of Govt and Sch of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Interviewer - John Sano, former Deputy Director of CIA's National Clandestine Service; Intelligence Professor at two colleges. Host: James Hughes, AFIO President, a former CIA Operations Officer.

TOPIC: Victor Cha and John Sano discuss North Korea -- the issues from the outgoing and facing the incoming US administrations.
The interview runs 38 minutes which includes numerous Q&As..

Access Cha video here or click above image.

Prior Videos in this "AFIO Now" Series

Joseph W. Augustyn, former CIA Clandestine Services Officer on "CIA's Role in the Creation of the Department of Homeland Security" [Released to the public - Click to view video directly]

Seth Jones PhD, Director, Transnational Threats Project, CSIS on "A Covert Action" [Released to the public - Click to view video directly]

David Priess PhD, Author, former Senior CIA Analyst and PDB Briefer on "The President's Book of Secrets" [Released to the public - Click to view video directly]

Everette Jordan, Dep Asst Sec for IC Integration, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, US Department of the Treasury on "Enjoying a Rich, Challenging Intelligence Career Spanning Multiple Agencies." - members-only

Bruce Riedel, former CIA Senior Analyst, Served on National Security Council during Iraq War on "Early Gulf War Policy Decisions" [Released to the public - Click to view video directly]

Shelby Pierson, Election Threats Executive, Office of the Director of National Intelligence on "Nationwide Election Security" - members-only

Bruce Klingner, Former CIA Deputy Division Chief for Korea; Heritage Foundation Fellow on "U.S. Strategy Towards North Korea" [Released to the public - Click to view video directly]

Series Introduction: Stewart Baker, Chairman, and James Hughes, President - members-only

Nicholas Dujmović, Professor, Author, former CIA Historian, PDB Editor on "Guidelines and Experiences Teaching Intelligence at the University Level" - members-only

David Robarge PhD, CIA Chief Historian, PDB Editor on "The Complexities of Counterintelligence" - members-only

Vince Houghton PhD, Director, National Cryptologic Museum on "Nuking the Moon...and Other Intelligence Themes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board" - members-only

Martin C. Faga, former Director, National Reconnaissance Office on "NRO Support to the Gulf War" - [Released to the public - Click to view video directly]

NOTE: Closed Captioning is available with each video. To turn on while viewing, click the CC button at bottom right of viewing window. If viewing on a mobile browser or device, click on video image while it is running and three dots will appear at top right edge to turn CC on or off. Full bios appear below video either using the "SHOW MORE" or the caron (or down caret symbol) at far right on mobile devices.

Upcoming AFIO and Intelligence Community Events
Many informative, fascinating programs are occurring in the Washington Metro Area and across the country. Find out which ones to add to your calendar to stay connected and to stay current.

Corporate
Learn how your company can make a difference with AFIO corporate memberships and marketing opportunities. Reach more than 4,800 intelligence professionals.

National Members
Join or renew your existing membership and enjoy member benefits, such as special publications, invitations to events, unique banking & investment services, scholarships, and career assistance.

Publications
As a member or subscriber you receive the popular Weekly Intelligence Notes [WINs] and the print-only academic journal: Intelligencer - Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies for the intelligence community by intelligence professionals. AFIO also produces Intelligence As A Career - a printed and online guide to organizing your life and education to qualify for work in the intelligence community, and a Guide to the Study of Intelligence to assist college instructors, secondary school teachers of history, civics, and current events, and students, on the best readings on a wide variety of current intelligence topics.

About Us
Learn about us - our many events, publications, programs, and legislative alerts. Support AFIO with purchases and donations or meet our members at events throughout the US. Make your views known.

Chapters
Local chapters have appeal to many members, so after you have joined AFIO National, consider adding a local chapter membership to your mix.

Thursday, 21 January 2021, noon PST - Virtual via GoToMeeting - L.A. Chapter hosts Dr Ray Batvinis, Historian, Author, and former FBI speaks on "Agent Zhora: The Most Devastating Spy in American History"

Our guest speaker will be Ray Batvinis, a former FBI Special Agent. He will discuss: Agent Zhora: The Most Devastating Spy in American History.
William Wolfe Weisband [Agent Zhora] was an American who is considered by many scholars as the most damaging spy in the nation's history. He was a KGB source working as a Russian linguist for the Army Security Agency and the Armed Forces Security Agency - both were predecessors of the NSA. He was at the heart of American codebreaking against the Russians at the dawn of the Cold War and did incalculable damage to American security in the run up to the Korean War.

Raymond J. Batvinis PhD is a historian and educator specializing in the discipline of counterintelligence as a function of statecraft. For twenty-five years (1972-1997) Dr. Batvinis was a Special Agent of the FBI concentrating on counterintelligence and counterterrorism matters. His assignments included the Washington Field Office and the Intelligence Division's Training Unit at FBI headquarters. Later he served in the Baltimore Division as a Supervisory Special Agent where he supervised the espionage investigations of Ronald Pelton, John and Michael Walker, Thomas Dolce and Daniel Walter Richardson.
Following 9/11, Dr. Batvinis returned to the FBI for three years managing a team of former FBI agents and CIA officers who taught the Basic Counterintelligence Course at the FBI Academy. In addition to authoring scholarly articles, he has contributed to the Oxford History of Intelligence, an anthology of essays, published in 2009 by Oxford University Press. He has produced two books on the history of the FBI's counterintelligence program. The Origins of FBI Counterintelligence, (University Press of Kansas [UPK], 2007), and Hoover's Secret War Against Axis Spies, (UPK, 2014). He is currently writing a biography of William Weisband, an early Cold War American spy, while completing the third of a three volume history of the FBI's activities during World War II.

To participate or if you have other questions about this or other Los Angeles Chapter or meetings, email Vincent Autiero, President, at afio_la@yahoo.com To participate in the above event, email him and he will send you the link for the virtual GoToMeeting event.

Professor/Researcher Seeks Identification of Events Significantly Affected by Intelligence for "When Intelligence Made a Difference" AFIO Publication

AFIO is beginning a new educational project entitled "When Intelligence Made a Difference." We invite you to identify events involving any nation or organization when the outcome was affected significantly by intelligence.
We plan to publish edited submissions serially in our print-only member magazine Intelligencer: Journal of US Intelligence Studies.

If you are interested in contributing an article, please email peter.oleson@afio.com. Briefly state what event you have in mind, and include your bio. [AFIO will identify authors by name and current or former title only ― no multi-line biographies.] If your suggestion is a good fit for this project, we will respond asking for your comments on that event, not to exceed 1,500 words (excluding footnotes).
When you send your article and bio, please let us know if you have ever had prior employment or contract work within the US Intelligence Community -- and, to meet pre-publication review requirements, supply a copy of the official approval letter or email you received back, naming and clearing for publication the article you are sending us. Without this, we are unable to consider or include your article in the publication.

As with most nonprofit academic publications, contributors will not be paid, however AFIO will publish under broad, pro-educational Creative Commons copyright. Therefore, authors retain the right to use their articles anywhere else they wish, after its publication in Intelligencer.
Eight weeks after publication of your contribution in the print-only version of Intelligencer, the article will then appear on AFIO's website for general public/educational access. Since the time of 1) an article's acceptance, and 2) appearance in print, and then 3) inclusion online can run eighteen months to three years from start-to-finish, a title-author listing of all accepted forthcoming articles (but no summaries) will be included in a print edition of Intelligencer and online. So it is imperative authors be patient as these articles are released on this serialized basis, in our two or three journal issues per year. By submitting an article to us authors acknowledge and accept these provisions.

This project would make a good class assignment. Accepted articles would give students a publication credit in a recognized journal.

Again, if you wish to participate or explore more aspects of this project, email Peter Oleson at peter.oleson@afio.com.

Gifts appropriate for intelligence officers, colleagues, recruitments, agents, advisors, and family. The AFIO Store has following new items ready for quick shipment:

Long-Sleeved Shirts and Hooded Sweatshirts with embroidered AFIO Logo

Show your support for AFIO with our new long-sleeved Polo Shirts and Hooded Sweatshirts.

Both items are high quality and shrink resistant and feature a detailed embroidered AFIO seal. The color of the long-sleeved Polo Shirts is royal blue; the price is $55 and includes shipping.

The Hooded Sweatshirts are dark grey; price is $70 and includes shipping. 

Purchase a shirt and sweatshirt for yourself and consider as gifts for colleagues, family, and friends.

Both items are available in men's sizes: Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL, and XXXL. The long-sleeved Polo Shirts and Hooded Sweatshirts are not available in ladies' sizes.

Long and Short-Sleeved Shirts with embroidered AFIO Logo

Show your support for AFIO with our new Polo Shirts. Be the first to buy these new, high quality, subtle heathered grey short sleeve shirts of shrink and wrinkle resistant fine cotton with a soft yet substantial feel. They feature a detailed embroidered AFIO seal. Get a shirt for yourself and consider as gifts for colleagues, family, and friends. Only $45 each including shipping.
Sizes of (M) men or (W) women shirts; Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL, and XXXL. At this time all orders will arrive as Short Sleeve shirts.
You may pay by check or credit card. Complete your order online here or mail an order along with payment to: AFIO, 7700 Leesburg Pike, Ste 324, Falls Church, VA 22043-2618. Phone orders at 703-790-0320.
If interested in other shirt colors or sleeve lengths, contact Annette at: annettej@afio.com.

Monday, 18 January 2021, 1 PM EST - Virtual - AFIO Atlanta hosts Chapter member Harvey Klehr on "In Search of Godsend, the Fourth Soviet Spy at Los Alamos."

Harvey Klehr PhD is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Politics and History, Emeritus, at Emory University. He has written many books on espionage in the United States and the American Communist Party's history, among them Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America (1999) and Spies: The Rise of the KGB in America (2009). He will discuss his work unmasking the fourth Soviet spy at the Manhattan Project, recently published in Studies in Intelligence. All members and friends of AFIO are invited.

For details, contact Atlanta Chapter President Brian Hooper at brian@afioatlanta.com or 404.403.8004.

Thursday, 28 January 2021, 6 PM EST - Virtual & In-Person - AFIO Atlanta hosts its monthly Thursday Cigar & Strategy Group social.

For details, contact Atlanta Chapter President Brian Hooper at brian@afioatlanta.com or 404.403.8004.

AFIO's Guide to the Study of Intelligence
Are You Using It?

Full no-cost, online version of Guide is here.

Perfect for professors, students, those considering careers in intelligence, and current/former officers seeking to see what changes are taking place across a wide spectrum of intelligence disciplines.

AFIO's Guide to the Study of Intelligence helps instructors teach about the large variety of subjects that make up the field of intelligence. This includes secondary school teachers of American History, Civics, or current events and undergraduate and graduate professors of History, Political Science, International Relations, Security Studies, and related topics, especially those with no or limited professional experience in the field. Even those who are former practitioners are likely to have only a limited knowledge of the very broad field of intelligence, as most spend their careers in one or two agencies at most and may have focused only on collection or analysis of intelligence or support to those activities.

We regret that the printed, bound edition has sold out. No copies remain for sale.

AVAILABLE ONLINE-ONLY: As an educational service to professors and students, AFIO provides the full 788-page Guide online here for free. This was made possible through the generosity of our foundation, corporate, and institutional members, coupled with the donations we received from our many individual members. We thank all of them.
Online version of the Guide.

Available as a thank you for donations are the new AFIO Breathe-easy logo face masks:

These soft, form-fitting, washable, non-medical grade fabric face masks have a double-layer tight weave with wide behind-the-ear elastics to make long periods of wear comfortable. Also easier to quickly put on or take off. Blue on outside, white inside so you never mistake the exposed side. The masks do not have a nose wire but are sculpted, shaped, and sewn to fit most users. The all-cloth composition allows the masks to be washed or steam-disinfected without concern over metal wires. The color logo is washable and a permanent part of the mask.

The masks, however, are not for sale. They are being offered strictly as a thank you gift to our donors.
For tax-deductible donations of $50 you will receive a receipt and our thank you gift of two of these newly-arrived face masks.
Donations of $100 receive four masks to be sent to the same address. Other amounts and split-shipments are available.
To donate now to support AFIO's programs and publications, please do so here.

We wish all members and donors continued good health, safe social distancing, and warmly appreciate any support you are able to provide the association.

Mug with color glazed logo. Made in America. (We left out all that lead-based glaze and hidden toxins in those mugs made in China being sold by other organizations). Sturdy enough to sit on desk to hold pens, cards, paperclips, and candy.

This handsome large, heavy USA-made ceramic mug is dishwasher-safe with a glazed seal.
$35 per mug includes shipping. Order this and other store items online here.

Also available are our popular Intelligence Community Mousepad

Full color seals of all 18 members of the U.S. Intelligence Community on this 8" round, slick surface, nonskid, rubber-backed mouse pad. Price still only $20.00 for 2 pads [includes shipping to U.S. based address, only. For foreign shipments, we will contact you with a quote.] Great gift for colleagues and self. Click image above for larger image. Now with dark navy background, brighter, updated seals of member agencies. And now MADE IN USA. Order MOUSEPADS here.

Other Upcoming Educational Events....includes selection of events from advertisers, corporate sponsors, and others—

Thursday, 21 January 2021, noon EST - Virtual - Frank Figliuzzi, The FBI's Keeper of the Code – hosted virtually by the International Spy Museum

As the FBI's former head of counterintelligence, Frank Figliuzzi had a unique opportunity to study patterns of conduct among high-achieving individuals, as well as the errors made by unethical persons. He came to understand that maintaining a "code of excellence" was the key to success in any field. Appointed the FBI's Chief Inspector by then Director Robert Mueller, as "Keeper of the Code," Figliuzzi was charged with overseeing sensitive internal inquiries, target shooting reviews, and performance audits. He ensured each employee met the Bureau's exacting standards. Now, drawing on his distinguished career serving as a special agent for twenty-five years with leadership positions in major American cities, Figliuzzi takes us on a personal journey with The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau's Code of Excellence. Join International Spy Museum Historian and Curator Andrew Hammond for a discussion with Figliuzzi about his memoir, the lessons he's learned, and the FBI execs who he believes erred! Following their discussion, you'll be able to ask questions via our online platform.
Event is free – no registration required. Visit www.spymuseum.org.

Monday, 25 January 2021, noon EST - Virtual - Dead Doubles with Trevor Barnes - hosted virtually by the International Spy Museum

In 1960, alerted by the CIA, MI5 discovered two British spies stealing secrets from the highly sensitive submarine research center in Portland in southwest England. In the wake of the spies' sensational trial, the FBI would uncover the true identity of the enigmatic Lonsdale—Konon Molody, a Russian who had lived in California before being recruited by the KGB. While in jail Molody and the Cohens opened secret talks with MI5 to betray Russia, but before they had the chance, the KGB blackmailed Britain into spy swaps to fly them back to Moscow. Join International Spy Museum Historian and Curator Andrew Hammond in conversation with journalist and intelligence historian Trevor Barnes as we mark the 60th anniversary of the arrest of the Portland Spy Ring. Barnes is the author of Dead Doubles: The Extraordinary Worldwide Hunt for One of the Cold War's Most Notorious Spy Rings. He and Hammond will explore how he drew on never-before-seen MI5 and FBI files, private family archives, and sources in Russia to illuminate one of the most infamous spy cases from the Cold War. Following their discussion, you'll be able to ask questions via our online platform. Event is free – no registration required. Visit www.spymuseum.org.

Wednesday, 27 January 2021, noon EST - Virtual - Adolf Tolkachev, the Billion Dollar Spy - hosted virtually by the International Spy Museum co-sponored with the Council on Intelligence Issues

What is a good spy worth? In the case of this one, an estimate by the US Air Force specialist who used the intelligence gained from this one source to terminate or direct research, "somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 billion…" That was before the source, Adolf Tolkachev, delivered another 179 rolls of film with thousands of pages of Soviet documents. Burton Gerber, a legendary CIA officer and senior leader and Moscow Chief during much of the operation, will join Washington Post journalist and Pulitzer Prize winning author David E. Hoffman for a discussion of the Tolkachev case. William D. "Bill" Murray, a retired senior operations officer of the CIA and co-founder of the Council on Intelligence Issues, will be moderating this program. Please join us for this unique presentation which will bring you deeply into one of the most successful and important US espionage operations of the late 20th century, and then you'll be able to ask questions via our online platform. Co-sponsored by the Council on Intelligence Issues.
Event is free – no registration required. Visit www.spymuseum.org

Additional Events:

Sunday, January 17, 2021, 2-3:30 pm EST - Zoom Virtual - The Cold War Museum hosts David Hatch, NSA's Chief Historian, discussing "What Was Likely the Most Important and Most Secret Counterintelligence Project of the Early Cold War? And What Did It Allow Us to Do?" Access to view a recorded version of this presentation, to view on your own schedule, is also available to all event registrants.

The Cold War Museum invites you to attend (virtually) a presentation by David Hatch, the Historian of the NSA on "VENONA: How an Astonishing and Closely-Held Work of Decryption Led Us to the Atomic Spies, the Cambridge Five, and Much More."
VENONA was probably the best counterintelligence tool the United States had in the early Cold War. The ability to decrypt an exceedingly difficult cryptosystem used by the Soviet intelligence services gave the United States unprecedented insights into Soviet espionage tradecraft as well as Soviet espionage targets, and significant clues to the identities of Americans cooperating in passing secrets to the USSR. Dr. Hatch will give an overview of the program, discuss some specific cases and talk about VENONA's impact on the early Cold War.

Dr. David Hatch has his MA from Indiana University, Bloomington, and his Ph.D. from American University in the District of Columbia. He has worked at the National Security Agency as analyst, supervisor, and staff officer. Since 1993, he has been the NSA Historian. Dr. Hatch is the author of many classified and unclassified articles about NSA's history and the history of cryptology, and has been a talking head on many television documentaries.

To participate live or to view recording of event, buy ticket via Eventbrite, then access event video as your leisure. A special link to that video will be provided to those who need it from CWM Executire Director Jason Hall. Registrants should email Jason@coldwar.org.
Cost: $20, 100% of which is a contribution to the Cold War Museum.
Location: ONLINE ONLY. Eventbrite ticket buyers will receive a link to the virtual room on the Zoom platform where this event will take place. We are recording the whole event, including the Q&A, for the Museum's archives.
For more information and ticketing, use this link.

This is the 39th in a series of presentations sponsored by the Museum featuring eyewitnesses to, and other experts on, significant Cold War events and activities.

28 January 2021, 6 pm EST - Virtual - OSS Society "Oh So Social" Conversation with Sec James Mattis and Hon. Mike Vickers

OSS Society kicks off their "Oh So Social" Monthly Conversation Series for 2021 with a presentation by Secretary James Mattis and the Honorable Michael Vickers. Event includes a special cocktail presentation by noted author/cocktail historian Philip Greene.
There is no charge to attend. To register, use this link.