CIA Memorial Wall — STAR 30 : John Peterson (Laos – October 19, 1972)

Posted on October 19, 2026 by L

“They blinked. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I turned to the stars and whispered, ‘John’s star is here.’ I moved to the wall and gently touched the star I knew was his. They followed me, Lora’s small hand lovingly and gently taking mine. Tyler slipped his arm protectively around me, both sharing my newly revealed sadness.”

Martha Peterson

October 19, 2026 — John Peterson, a CIA paramilitary operations officer, was killed in action in Laos on October 19, 1972, during the Vietnam War. His death occurred while conducting a mission against North Vietnamese forces as part of the CIA’s operations supporting local militias along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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On This Day — Black Monday (October 19 1987) [From the Iran-Contra scandal (November 3 1986) to the shoot down of Iran Airbus 655 (July 3 1988)]

Posted on October 19, 2026 by L

“Many people remember the events leading up to October 19, 1987. Unfortunately, very few of them recall the specifics. When many people talk about the dramatic drop in the overall stock market, they either blame a single cause (portfolio insurance) or treat the market fall as if it were something that came from out of the blue. Far from being a lightning strike or an act of God, the crash was a single event caused by a complex series of interconnected events.”

Black Monday
The Motley Fool

 

October 19, 2022 — In the morning of October 19 1987, two U.S. warships shelled an Iranian oil platform in the Persian Gulf in response to Iran’s Silkworm missile attack on the Sea Isle City. The stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value, its largest single-day percentage drop. The day became known as “Black Monday”. In a FRONTLINE interview, Former CIA Vincent Cannistraro explained his view on the whole affair going from the Iran-Contra scandal (November 3 1986) to the shoot down of Iran Airbus 655 (July 3 1988), and eventually to the Lockerbie tragedy (December 21 1988). Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — CIA Memorial Wall — STAR 19 & 20 : Michael M. Deuel & Michael A. Maloney (Laos – October 12, 1965)

Posted on October 12, 2026 by L

“Many could argue – and did – that Mike Deuel and the others who died in Laos died for naught, that their efforts failed to sway events. But tough the mission ultimately failed, their grit is still quietly celebrated at Langley by the aging few who knew them, particularly those from the agency class of 1961. They remember Deuel not as a casualty of war, but the standard-bearer of their class and generation.”

The Book of Honor
Ted Gup

Michael M. Deuel & Michael A. Maloney

October 12, 2026 — On October 12, 1965, an Air America Sikorsky UH-34 helicopter crashed during takeoff from a pad near Saravane (now Salavan), Laos, resulting in the deaths of the pilot, Capt. Richard H. Liebert, the co-pilot, Franklin D. Smith, and CIA officers Mike Deuel and Michael A. Maloney. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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Did Intel Today Trigger the Halt of the Lockerbie Trial? [UPDATE: Behind Closed Doors, Pretrial Battle Continues]

Posted on October 9, 2026 by L


“If the defense challenges the provenance and chain of custody of PT/35(b), the fragment of bomb timer circuitry that became a central element in the case against Libya, the prosecution could face a potentially devastating evidentiary problem.”

Intel Today
August 20, 2026

Ahmed Khalifa Niasse and French President Nicolas Sarkozy

August 27, 2026 — Just 24 hours before jury selection, the Lockerbie trial was postponed because of evidence previously unknown to the parties. Nearly four decades after the tragedy, this development is baffling. But it may not be as coincidental as it seems. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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20 Years Ago — The Murder of Anna Politkovskaya (October 7, 2006)

Posted on October 7, 2026 by L

“She was brave, she was bold, and she was beautiful. In her fearless quest to uncover the wrongdoings of the Russian State, Anna Politkovskaya inspired awe in some and fear in countless others. Hers was a lonely voice, yet loud enough for the entire country to hear. It was too loud. At age 48 she was assassinated for simply doing her job.”

A Bitter Taste of Freedom

 

Anna Politkovskaya (August 30, 1958, New York City — Assassinated: October 7, 2006, Moscow)

October 7, 2026 — On October 7 2006, Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya was killed in front of the elevator of her apartment building in Moscow. After several arrests, releases and retrials over eight years, five people have been jailed for her murder. Who ordered the contract killing? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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50 YEARS AGO TODAY — Remembering the Bombing of Cubana Flight 455 (October 6, 1976)

Posted on October 6, 2026 by L

“Our confidential source ascertained (…) that the bombing of the Cubana Airlines DC-8 was planned, in part, in Caracas, Venezuela, at two meetings attended by Morales Navarrete, Luis Posada Carriles and Frank Castro. (…) A confidential source all but admitted that Posada and [Orlando] Bosch had engineered the bombing of the airline.”

FBI Declassified Reports

Luis Clemente Faustino Posada Carriles (born February 15, 1928) — nicknamed Bambi — is a Cuban exile militant and former Central Intelligence Agency agent. Carriles is considered a terrorist by the Government of Cuba, among others; he is widely considered responsible for the bombing of Cubana flight 455, which killed 73 people.He was a long-time member of the Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations described by the FBI as “an anti-Castro terrorist umbrella organization”.

October 6, 2026 — Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 was a Cuban flight from Barbados to Jamaica that was brought down on 6 October 1976 by a terrorist bomb attack. All 73 people on board the Douglas DC-8 aircraft were killed. Several CIA-linked anti-Castro Cuban exiles and members of the Venezuelan secret police DISIP were implicated by the evidence. Scholars continue to reexamine the extent of U.S. intelligence agencies’ knowledge or involvement, or whether there was complicity by omission. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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Global James Bond Day — Dr. No Worldwide Premiere at the London Pavilion (October 5 1962) [UPDATE — 64 YEARS AGO TODAY: JAMES BOND & THE MYSTERIOUS RADIO-BEAM WEAPON ]

Posted on October 5, 2026 by L

“Dr. No is a dangerous mixture of violence, vulgarity, sadism and sex.”

Vatican spokesperson
(1962)

James Bond Dr No — Behind-The-Scenes Photos of Sean Connery and Ursula Andress

October 5, 2026 — On October 5 1962, Dr. No had its worldwide premiere at the London Pavilion. Fifty years after the release of the film, Eon Productions celebrated “Global James Bond Day” on October 5 2012.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — Soviet Union Launches SPUTNIK (October 4 1957) [UPDATE — How the West Lost Its Scientific Edge]

Posted on October 4, 2026 by L

“What came to be known as the Space Race between the United States and the USSR began in 1957 when the Soviets launched the first satellite, Sputnik.”

President John F. Kennedy

Special Message to Congress
on Urgent National Needs
(May 25, 1961)

October 4, 2026 — On October 4 1957, the Soviet Union launched SPUTNIK-1 into an elliptical low Earth orbit. It was a 58 cm (23 in) diameter polished metal sphere, with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses.

Its radio signal was easily detectable even by amateurs, and the 65° inclination and duration of its orbit made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth. This surprise success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space Race, a key part of the Cold War. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — And thus a new syndrome was born… (Havana Syndrome – October 3 2017) [UPDATE : The CIA Hoax That Shaped Intelligence Politics]

Posted on October 3, 2026 by L

“If the facts are confirmed and if the effects are indeed caused by a physical device, I find the microwave explanation far more likely than a sonic attack.”

US Spies & the Havana Syndrome

INTEL TODAY
(October 3 2017)

October 3, 2026 — On October 3rd 2017, INTEL TODAY coined the expression “Havana Syndrome” which is now universally used, both by mainstream media and the research community. In the same piece, I suggested for the very first time that microwave attacks, conducted for espionage, were the most likely explanation. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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40 Years Ago — Gaddafi Target of U.S. Disinformation (October 2, 1986 — Bob Woodward) [Disinformation Goes Mainstream — and It Still Matters Today]

Posted on October 2, 2026 by L

“There is a wonderful book that you might read… And the title of it is from a quote from Winston Churchill: ‘In time of war, the truth is so precious, it must be attended by a bodyguard of lies.'”

George P. Shultz
Secretary of State
October 3 1986

libya_bombing_reagan_meeting_14_march_1986
14 March 1986 — Reagan Strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi

October 2, 2026 — On October 2 1986, the Washington Post published an extraordinary story written by legendary journalist Bob Woodward: “Gadhafi Target of Secret U.S. Deception Plan”. Under orders from the White House, the US Intelligence Community was planting false information in the US media. As a result of this scandal, the use of the word ‘disinformation’ became mainstream in the English language. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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