James Olson DECLASSIFIED: 90 Minutes with a Legend in CIA Clandestine Services



Last night in Waterbury, Connecticut, 350 seats filled with first responders, law enforcement and security professionals, FBI agents, members of the armed services, concerned citizens, educators, professors and students of government, political science, criminal justice and homeland security all gathered to hear James Olson, a "legend in clandestine services" as described by Robert Gates, former Director of Central Intelligence.  Mr. Olson, former Chief of Counterintelligence at the United States CIA, delivered Intelligence and the Terrorist Threat: How Far Have We Come Since 9/11? 

In a clever, three-part presentation, this spymaster turned master raconteur took his audience to a standing ovation with richly detailed and revealing "off-the-record" remarks, a robust Q&A session and a surprise third component of his time on stage that brought the house down.  With great podium presence, James Olson surveyed the nature of the terrorist threat to the United States from abroad and within.  With humility, his boyish charm and tremendous sense of humor, he made clear by examples the obscured yet pivotal contribution of intelligence gathering by clandestine agents.  He unveiled the exacting and multi-faceted training undergone by operatives of the CIA that prepares them in unimaginable ways for this unique path of public service that is anything but public.  Their careers  are hidden, inherently dangerous and typically unheralded. 

Impressive was how well James Olson knew his audience and seems to understand people in general.  His talk was chock-full of vivid anecdotes not only from his time in the field, but also from his own ongoing career and the unique challenges of marriage and parenting while stationed abroad for years under deep cover in service to our national security.  Heads were nodding and shaking in the audience throughout his formal talk.  His warmth and focus in informal chats before and following his podium time were meaningful to students, practitioners, faculty and a few fellow Cold Warriors who were delighted to reconnect.  I can see why James Olson is today a beloved lecturer on the art of espionage at Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government & Public Service.  He has my endorsement as one to invite to your firm, school or organization's next distinguished speaker series.

Thanks go to Post University whose student, Ben McKenna, took the lead with support from President Donald Mroz and Professor David Jannetty in hosting James Olson and securing the co-sponsorship of Brass Axe Capital, Crystal Rock, Holy Cross High School, Securitas, Powers Brennan Griffin, Triple Stitch, Post University Student Life and the Waterbury Police, Fire Department and PAL. 

Lisa Bernard is the President of SecuritySpeak, LLC, a consulting firm devoted to matters of security and crisis management. Experts in these areas offer briefings, talks and distinguished lectures to audiences of all types working to bring analyses and understanding of security matters to people in all walks of life. (203) 293-4741. www.SecuritySpeak.net. 

The Russians Are Coming? The Russians Are Coming!

 

To be sure, the reaction from people in and beyond Groton and New London, Connecticut to the sighting of a Russian spy vessel sitting thirty miles off their coast and the U.S. Naval Submarine Base last month spanned as wide as those in the Norman Jewison comedy film, The Russians are Coming!  The Russians are Coming! Locals voiced their concerns and opinions at a town meeting.  On Facebook, folks wondered if they should keep their children home from school.  Retired navy commanders, American submariners, CT lawmakers and elected officials calmed nerves and offered threat assessments and possibilities spanning the gamut from “this is nothing new” to “Putin is testing the resolve of the new American President” to “yet another Russian aggression.”  A resident of coastal Connecticut myself, I certainly noted the sighting and couldn’t shrug it off.  After musing about it with a colleague, I went to my local library for the DVD, The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!  Curiously enough, there was quite a wait list for the 1966 farce that parodies Cold War concerns.   

Days ago, just as my turn to rent the DVD came up, that same ship, the Viktor Leonov, was spotted twenty miles south of the U.S. Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia.   That’s when I reached out to Dr. Stephen J. Blank, internationally renowned authority on Russian military and foreign policies, for a better sense of Russia’s motives in sending this 300 foot-long ship with surveillance equipment that can intercept radar, radio and other electronic signals.  Unlike the guileless submarine crew in the comedy, The Russians are Coming! the Russians aboard the Viktor Leonov are not sneaking an irresistible and innocent “peek” at America with wide-eyed curiosity.  And “spying” seems too vague a term to be useful to describe what it really happening as this ship traverses our coast, albeit in international waters.  As ever, Dr. Blank’s informed analysis put it all in perspective and I share it with you here:

The appearance of the Russian vessel off the US submarine base at Kings Bay, Georgia is not merely another example of Russian surveillance of our submarine capability or another attempt to send a psychological message that its subs can get within striking range of the continental United States.  Rather it is also part of an evolving strategy that appears to be intelligence and combat preparation for a possible contingency of a protracted war with the U.S. when Russian subs will have a mission of interdicting U.S. naval vessels and submarines en route to Europe and/or cutting communication cables with Europe.  If seen in tandem with recent military moves, these submarine sightings, aerial, and naval probes of the U.S. and our allies, suggests a mounting concern in Russia that it will have to fight a protracted war with NATO.  Indeed, the scope of Russia's comprehensive information warfare against the U.S. and Europe already indicates that Moscow deems itself to be in a "Cold War" type scenario with NATO.

Dr. Stephen J. Blank is available for talks, lectures and briefings through Lisa Bernard's SecuritySpeak, LLC.  (203) 293-4741.  LisaBernard@SecuritySpeak.net.