Ex-CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Olson: The Assault on America's Secrets

The Alpha Human Podcast

James Olson, former Chief of Counterintelligence for the CIA, served for over 30 years in clandestine operations against the Russian KGB and the espionage efforts of China, Cuba, North Korea, and Iran, and was awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit and the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal for his efforts. Olson is currently a professor at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government where he teaches Counterintelligence (CI) to America's next generation of spy hunters. Jim is also the author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying, and To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence. Olson honed his skills as a spy during the cold war and came up during the final years of James Angleton's grip on counterintelligence at the agency. Angleton was the first Chief of Counterintelligence at the CIA, and was a cold warrior who became so obsessed with the Russian threat against the USA that he became consumed by it, seeing moles and Soviet spies everywhere, and falling victim to what he called the "wilderness of mirrors." Angleton alienated many in the CIA with his relentless witchhunts culminating in his ousting in 1974, and a severe backlash against counterintelligence budgets and personnel ensued. Bereft of proper staff and training the Agency’s CI efforts were so hobbled that by the mid-1980s America had become infested with spies operating unencumbered on US soil, with the FBI arresting eight hi-profile traitors run by foreign intelligence agencies in 1985 alone. This led to renewed interest in beefing up America's CI efforts and the creation of the CIC (Counter Intelligence Center) in 1988 which James Olson was tapped to become deputy director, and would later lead. With Olson's rise as Chief of Counterintelligence at the CIA, and with the lessons of the Angleton era still burned in his memory, he made penetrating spy rings operating in America and converting foreign intelligence officers into American assets a relentless pursuit, making his mantra of "Be Offensive" the most important principle in his Ten Commandments of Counterintelligence. Few Americans are aware of the extent to which foreign intelligence agencies are damaging America's companies, infrastructure, and political system, with the greatest threat coming from Russia, Cuba, and China. The magnitude of China's espionage operations against the United States is nothing short of staggering, "they are voracious" warns Olson, from military and industrial technology, to agricultural methods and medical secrets, "they'll go after it all." in an effort to enhance the Chinese economy. For China, espionage is strictly business, driven mainly by the ambition to steal American technology, data, and intellectual property in an effort to gain a corporate, industrial, and military advantage. However, for Russia, the attacks are ideological, personal, and vengeful, according to Olson. Their offensive is born out of animus over the collapse of the USSR and the hatred for U.S. hegemony still held by former KGB spies and veterans of the cold war who have remained in the intelligence community or who have found their way into the governing power structure of modern-day Russia. Surprisingly, of all the intelligence operations ever conducted against the U.S., it was neither Russia nor China whose efforts caused the most damage, the true masters of the game turned out to be the Cubans, the communist threat sitting right at America's doorstep. - Links James Olson: https://bush.tamu.edu/faculty/jolson/ To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence: https://amzn.to/34daODQ Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying: https://amzn.to/3kSN25Q Ex-CIA author takes hard look at spying in the U.S. - https://bit.ly/3iTBeP2