Inside the Mind of Spymasters: A Luncheon with Legends

 

      As a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and the mind behind the "Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster" series, I found myself rubbing elbows with two legends of the spy world at a luncheon in 2015: former CIA Case Officer Barry Eisler and General Michael Hayden, who ran both the CIA and NSA.

     Their talks were laser-focused on the delicate balance between privacy and surveillance in this digital age, and how America can best take the fight to ISIS and radical Islam. But what really struck a chord was their message: America isn’t at war with Muslims. In fact, it’s our ability to embrace them as fellow Americans that really sticks in the craw of groups like ISIS and Hezbollah, who twist and distort the true essence of Islam.   

     Eisler kicked things off. If his name rings a bell, it's probably because his book, The God's Eye View, hit the New York Times bestseller list. But there's more to him than just words on a page. He spent three years in the shadows with the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, then swapped spycraft for Silicon Valley, where he played the tech game as a lawyer and startup exec.  

I ask Barry Eisler about his latest book

     Oh, and did I mention he’s got a black belt from the Kodokan International Judo Center? One of his novels, Rain Fall, even made it to the big screen in Japan. When he’s not spinning tales, he’s blogging up a storm about torture, civil liberties, and the rule of law.

     During his talk, Eisler didn’t pull any punches. He warned us about how politicians love to twist words to keep us in the dark. Take the word "surge," for instance—Bush and Obama both used it to justify sending more troops to the Middle East. But Eisler didn’t buy it. He said the real word should’ve been "escalation." A “surge” sounds like a quick boost, but in reality, it meant more American boots on the ground and deeper involvement in the fight. And don’t get him started on the word "intervention." According to Eisler, it’s just a fancy way of saying "war." And he thinks our leaders ought to call it what it is.

     It’s no shocker that Barry Eisler’s novel, The God’s Eye View, dives deep into the shadowy corners of America’s intelligence world. He pulls back the curtain on the tug-of-war between those who’ll do anything to keep the country’s darkest secrets buried and those who are hell-bent on bringing them to light.

     Then General Hayden took the floor, speaking to the 70 or so members of the San Francisco AFIO chapter. As a former CIA and NSA Director, he didn’t mince words. According to Hayden, we’re living in the “Golden Age of SIGINT” (that’s signals intelligence, for those keeping track).

     But what really hit home was his take on America’s resilience. He said that by embracing the religion and culture of moderate Muslims, we’ve made ourselves bulletproof against the likes of ISIS, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda, who thrive on manipulation and recruitment. He also pointed out a little-known fact: in the U.S., the average income of American Muslims is actually above the national average—a sharp contrast to what you see in some European countries.

General Hayden and I at the AFIO luncheon. He autographed his book for me, writing in "Good luck with the 'Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster' series!

     He didn’t pull any punches when he pointed out that Iran is the world’s top sponsor of terrorism. It’s a bold claim, but one that lines up with what I found while digging into terrorism in the Caribbean for my “Mission of Vengeance” spy thriller novel. Turns out, State Department documents reveal just how deep Iran and Hezbollah have sunk their claws into the tri-border area of South America and other parts of Latin America—right in our backyard.

     General Hayden then shifted gears, touching on the intense pressure that comes with a life in espionage. He shared a haunting story about a Reaper drone pilot who had been tracking a target for weeks. This pilot watched the man’s every move—saw where he lived, watched him kiss his wife and kids goodbye every morning. After all that time, the pilot felt like he knew the guy.

     Then, one day, the kill order came down. The pilot watched as the target got into his SUV and drove off. When he was a few hundred meters from home, the pilot pulled the trigger, obliterating the vehicle with a Hellfire missile.

     And here’s the kicker: my research shows that many drone pilots end up needing serious counseling. It’s a job that takes a toll—and has a high turnover rate to prove it.

     In his book Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, General Hayden offers a front-row seat to the high-stakes world of America’s intelligence agencies and their battle against the ever-evolving threats of terrorism. During his talk, he hammered home the point that the Intelligence Community (IC) has to “play to the edge,” getting so close to the line that they end up with chalk dust on their cleats.

     Running both the CIA and NSA is no small feat, especially when you’ve got a media and political class that’s often short-sighted and uninformed. But Hayden took on that massive responsibility and kept Americans safe, all while taking the heat from critics. Without giving too much away, his book dives into how our intelligence agencies responded post-9/11 and how they adapted to the rapid technological changes that groups like ISIS and radical Islamists are quick to exploit. He didn’t shy away from discussing the NSA’s evolution since 9/11, including its controversial surveillance program that involved collecting domestic phone records.

     The luncheon and those conversations sparked some great ideas for my Mission of Vengeance spy thriller. Hats off to the San Francisco chapter of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) for putting together such an eye-opening event! 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and authors the ‘Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster’ series. Check out his latest spy thriller, ‘Mission of Vengeance’.