From: officialflagrant
An ex-CIA officer, whose identity remains largely confidential, shares insights into the workings of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), its evolution, global geopolitics, and personal experiences.
Understanding the CIA
The organization is officially referred to as “CIA” (Central Intelligence Agency), not “the CIA” [00:01:15]. This distinction is noted as a common misconception by the American public [00:02:27]. Within the intelligence community, members sometimes refer to it as “the agency” to signify being part of an exclusive group [00:03:01].
The CIA functions as the national security arm for the United States, primarily tasked with collecting foreign secrets [00:03:27]. This mandate means the CIA does not collect domestic secrets within the U.S.; that role falls to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) [00:03:38].
CIA’s Authorities and Past Controversies
The CIA operates under “authorities” rather than “jurisdictions,” which define what they can and cannot do [00:04:00]. While they cannot conduct certain activities domestically, the CIA has the authority to engage in various operations abroad, including activities that might be considered illegal within the U.S., such as drug dealing, if it serves to keep Americans safe [00:04:30].
When asked about CIA involvement in the Kennedy assassinations, the officer states he cannot answer, noting that pre-9/11, the CIA had significantly more autonomy, making it difficult for anyone to truly know [00:26:57].
Post-9/11 Reforms and Challenges
Prior to 9/11, the CIA operated differently [00:04:57]. The 9/11 Commission, published in 2003, revealed that both the CIA and FBI possessed information that could have prevented the attacks but failed to share it effectively due to a lack of an overarching national intelligence director [00:06:05].
As a result of this failure, Congress initiated reforms, leading to the birth of the National Director of Intelligence [00:07:48]. This new authority now dictates information sharing and prioritization across all intelligence agencies, ensuring that organizations like the CIA and FBI collaborate more effectively [00:07:57].
Despite these reforms, the officer describes the CIA as a well-intentioned government organization, but one that operates like the local DMV rather than a highly efficient corporation [00:09:15]. This bureaucracy stems from a promotion system where career advancement within the government means entrenching oneself deeper into the status quo, hindering innovation and challenging old methods [00:11:21].
Recruitment Crisis and Political Influence
Since the 2016 Trump election, there has been a significant exodus of younger intelligence community members [00:11:45]. These younger individuals often see their future in the private sector due to better financial prospects and a desire to avoid government bureaucracy [00:17:18].
- Political Interference: During his presidency, Donald Trump openly distrusted the CIA, opting instead to utilize private intelligence firms for his intelligence needs [00:12:09]. This led to budget cuts for the CIA, impacting operations and career paths for officers [00:18:32].
- Clearance Policy: Trump also limited the duration of security clearances for former CIA employees, curbing the “brain drain” to the private sector where these clearances were highly valued for access and networking [00:15:52]. This move also served to limit competition for the private intelligence firms he favored [00:16:11].
- Systemic Flaws: The current system is designed to satisfy the “boss” (the President), rather than necessarily providing the best data or intelligence for national safety [00:18:50]. This reliance on political leadership, which changes every four to eight years, makes it difficult to maintain a long-term vision for national security [00:08:43].
Intelligence reform is a recurring topic in election cycles, focusing on improving promotion processes, information sharing, and analytical methods to ensure the intelligence community functions effectively [00:19:39].
Agent Recruitment and Training
The CIA actively seeks diverse candidates, including those from the LGBTQ+ community, to broaden its reach and align with government diversity mandates [02:56:04]. They conduct psychological profiling to identify individuals with “useful crazy” – a specific type of trauma-induced high performance that is beneficial for intelligence gathering [03:00:18].
- Experiential Learning: CIA training utilizes “Just-in-Time learning” or “experiential learning,” where theoretical concepts are immediately practiced in scenarios with role-players (experienced CIA officers) before being applied in real-world situations [03:44:00].
- “Free Cup of Coffee” Exercise: A notable training exercise involves getting a free cup of coffee from a stranger without asking or trading, requiring the trainee to build rapport and create value for the person [03:47:50]. This teaches how to create reciprocity, interest, and value, essentially “priming” someone to offer something without being directly asked [03:38:12].
- Guilt and Manipulation: Recruits are psychologically assessed to ensure they are “not really wired to feel guilt” about manipulating others, making them effective operatives [04:40:01]. However, individuals may still feel some level of remorse, but it won’t inhibit their actions [04:41:09].
Life as an Operative
CIA officers often face high divorce rates because the demands of the job frequently conflict with personal relationships [03:30:58]. Some officers, including the interviewee, have worked in “tandem couple” operations with their spouses, using their real marriage as part of their cover [03:36:20].
An American CIA officer on average has a lifespan of 18 years [00:46:16].
Personal Sacrifices and Risks
The officer recounts that his proudest operation ended in his near-capture, a story he hopes to get clearance to publish [02:53:42]. He states he has “never intimately killed anybody,” meaning he has not killed anyone in personal range, but acknowledges that intelligence he provided might have led to kinetic strikes like drone strikes [03:02:32].
He claims not to suffer from PTSD, attributing his mental well-being to processing his experiences through writing and building his business, which served as a form of “self-therapy” [03:03:13]. He also applies CIA principles to parenting, such as using code words for safety and giving children a perceived sense of control [03:04:20].
Geopolitical Landscape
The officer believes the United States is currently in an “awkward middle school phase” as a country, predicting a long and painful period of economic and international influence decline for about 10 years [01:05:20].
China’s Rise and Military Industrial Complex
China is actively developing its own military-industrial complex, learning from the U.S. model [02:30:17]. Unlike the U.S., which seeks “hot wars” for economic benefit and training, China aims to win through “small, incremental gains” [02:36:52].
- Economic Parity: Economic experts predict China will achieve economic parity with the United States by 2030, which the officer believes is as concerning as China becoming dominant [03:33:21].
- Taiwan: China is normalizing military exercises around Taiwan, aiming for a “forceful or rigid” reunification rather than a peaceful one [01:30:14]. The U.S. relies on Taiwan for semiconductor production, and if China gains control, it could cut off supply or heavily tax it [02:26:50].
- Espionage Tactics: China’s intelligence operations in the U.S. are at record highs, actively recruiting from the tech and military sectors [01:38:40]. They leverage financial debt and cultural taboos (like sex) to compromise individuals, often through “sexpionage” or by exploiting familial loyalties common in Chinese culture [01:39:52].
India’s Pragmatism
India possesses two of the world’s best intelligence services but dedicates 80% of its efforts to Pakistan [03:13:00]. India is described as “powerfully pragmatic,” maintaining alliances with America, China, and Russia while simultaneously growing its GDP, consumption, and population [03:13:07]. It is predicted to become the world’s next manufacturing hub, making other nations increasingly dependent on it [03:13:50].
Whistleblowers and Government Secrets
The officer holds a difficult stance on whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, believing that true whistleblowing should only occur after exhausting all internal, official channels to prove an infraction of American freedoms [03:02:32]. Failure to do so, as he alleges was the case with Snowden, leads to more damage than good [03:03:55].
When asked about UFOs and government secrets, he believes UFOs are real but are not alien [03:10:13]. He suggests that the unexplained 2% of aerial phenomena are likely advanced, unacknowledged technologies from other nations, which should be more concerning than alien theories [03:10:29]. He also links some UFO sightings to natural phenomena like “Earth lights” caused by earthquakes [03:11:14].
Regarding CIA and government conspiracies like MK Ultra and Project Stargate, he states that based on his experience with “remote viewing” (Project Stargate), neither program yielded actionable intelligence that could be systematically confirmed as reliable [03:17:19]. He notes that these pre-9/11 activities were often driven by the Cold War mentality of “the bad guys are doing it, we should do it too,” highlighting the U.S.’s disadvantage due to its individual freedoms, which slow down weapon development compared to authoritarian regimes [03:19:24].
Post-CIA Endeavors
After leaving the CIA at 34, the officer launched “Everyday Spy,” a company dedicated to “spy education” [03:04:08]. Its mission is to teach real-world spy tactics, frameworks, and psychological principles to everyday people to enhance personal, family, and business safety [03:42:36].
The business also offers crisis management and problem-solving services, such as investigating deepfake incidents [03:43:55]. The officer hopes that his company can eventually formally contract with intelligence agencies to introduce best practices from the corporate world, contributing to intelligence reform and maintaining America’s global dominance [03:48:40].