“We gather here today in recognition of Women’s History Month. At this time, it seems only fitting that we remember our own.We honor today four of our women who made that supreme sacrifice: Barbara A. Robbins, Phyllis Nancy Faraci, Monique N. Lewis, and Deborah Marie Hixon.”
Tribute to Women Who Have Died STUDIES IN INTELLIGENCE
The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service. There are 140 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. Eleven represent women.
April 18 2025 — Monique Lewis was just hours into her first day as a CIA officer when a suicide bomber attacked the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1983. Her husband, James Lewis, a paramilitary officer there, was also killed. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
“I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds.”
President John F. Kennedy following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion (April 20, 1961)
The CIA coin was created anticipating a victory, but the operation was a “perfect failure.” The Bay of Pigs victory coin features an outline of Cuba with a rebel invader advancing past a fallen member of Castro’s military in the foreground.
April 17 2025 — The Bay of Pigs invasion, launched on April 17, 1961, was a failed CIA-backed attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro’s communist government in Cuba. Roughly 1,400 exiles, trained and armed by the United States, landed at Playa Girón on Cuba’s southern coast, expecting to ignite a popular uprising against Castro. But the plan quickly unraveled: Cuban intelligence had anticipated the attack, the invading force was outnumbered and outgunned, and Kennedy-approved U.S. air support was miscoordinated. Within three days, Castro’s forces had crushed the invasion, capturing or killing most of the exile fighters and dealing the U.S. a major Cold War embarrassment. The CIA quickly blamed the lack of air cover for the invasion’s failure, and this explanation has been widely accepted—even by the families of the American volunteers who died during the mission. But this is not the truth. A simple time zone mix-up between Nicaragua (where the CIA-backed forces were launching) and Cuba resulted in U.S. air support arriving too late to effectively assist the invasion forces. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“What’s the cadet motto at West Point? You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do. I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. It’s – it was like – we had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.”
CIA Director Mike Pompeo Texas A&M University (April 15, 2019)
Remarks at Texas A&M University – The Impact of Diplomacy on Daily Life
April 15 2023 — On this day three years ago, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo participated in a Q&A discussion at Texas A&M University. Pompeo could not resist telling his audience how proud he is to have served as Director of the CIA. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_Today
“President Ronald Reagan didn’t seek congressional approval when he bombed Libya [April 14 1986] in retaliation for a bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland [December 21 1988].”
Amber Phillips Washington Post (April 7 2017)
April 14 1986 — Reagan Strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi
April 14 2023 — In a piece published by the Washington Post on April 7 2017, Amber Phillips wrote that President Ronald Reagan’s April 14 1986 bombing raid on Tripoli and Benghazi was retaliation for the December 21 1988 attack on Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie. Obvious nonsense! But I would like to take this opportunity to remind you the importance of studying, researching and analyzing the facts! Whatever the subject I investigate, I always begin the same way. I work out the very best timeline I can manage. This is a theory of mine: No lie, no matter how professional — even a CIA lie — can survive a good timeline. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“Alerted by doctrine and success against another local CIA operation, Shanghai’s security apparatus moved cautiously against Redmond’s network, obtaining evidence that made the guilty verdict of 1954 inevitable. To Chinese intelligence practitioners, the case provides an exemplary example of how counter-espionage work against the US should proceed in the 21st century.”
David Ian Chambers Chinese retrospectives on the Hugh Redmond case
The Herald Statesman, Yonkers, N.Y. – November 5, 1962
April 13, 2025 — Hugh Francis Redmond was a CIA officer and former U.S. Army paratrooper who spent nearly 20 years as a prisoner in China after being captured during a CIA mission. The details of his involvement with the CIA remain largely classified to this day, adding to the mystery surrounding his case. Perhaps, the CIA will remember him on the 55th anniversary of his death, and finally add his name to the Book of Honor? Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
“Having stepped onto firm ground,I saw a woman and a girl who were standing near a spotted calfand who were watching me with bewilderment.When they saw me in my space suitand the parachute dragging alongside as I walked,they started to back away in fear. I told them, don’t be afraid, I am a Soviet like you,who has descended from spaceand I must find a telephone to call Moscow!”
Diary — Yuri Gagarin (April 12 1961)
April 12 2023 — On April 12 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person to venture in outer space. His spacecraft — Vostok 1 — orbited for 108 minutes before returning to Earth in Kazakhstan. At about 7,000 metres (23,000 ft), Gagarin ejected from the descending capsule and landed using a parachute. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“As I told the Prime Minister the last time, he vastly overestimates the competence of the CIA.”
Henri Kissinger (Answer to Zhou Enlai about the US involvement in the bombing of the Kashmir Princess)
April 11, 2025 — On April 11, 1955, the Kashmir Princess — a chartered Lockheed L-749A Constellation aircraft owned by Air India — was damaged mid-air by a bomb explosion. The plane crashed into the South China Sea while en route from Hong Kong to Jakarta, Indonesia. Sixteen of those on board were killed, while three survived. The target of the assassination was none other than Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. Responsibility for the bombing was initially attributed to Indian intelligence agencies, but it was later discovered that the CIA was behind the plot. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
“We are committed to focusing the intelligence community on its core mission: ensuring our security by providing the president and policymakers with timely, apolitical, objective, and relevant intelligence to inform their decision-making — to ensure the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.”
Tulsi Gabbard (April 8, 2025)
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel, left, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, testifies as the House Intelligence Committee holds a hearing on worldwide threats, at the Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
April 10, 2025 — The Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has announced the formation of a new task force aimed at eliminating the politicization of America’s intelligence agencies. Quite logically, she will begin by investigating recent episodes where intelligence appears to have been weaponized. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
“The FBI and the US Department of Justice have been aware of this and I know they’re working closely with their colleagues at the Crown Office and Police Scotland to see if this is something that can be used in court. I’m very hopeful that it can be used and will lead to at least one more conviction. We’ll have to see what goes beyond that, depending on what they can find.”
Former FBI Richard Marquise (March 2025)
March 19 2025 — If authenticated, the newly revealed documents provide incontrovertible evidence that Colonel Gaddafi’s Jamahiriya Security Organisation (JSO) was indeed behind the destruction of both Pan Am 103 and UTA 772. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
“I am expecting a gold watch from Boeing at the end of my presidency for being a top salesman.”
President Obama (July 21 2016)
July 22 2020 — On Friday (July 17 2020), British Airways announced that it would be retiring its iconic fleet of Boeing 747’s with immediate effect. Today, after almost 50 years, Qantas’ last 747 went on a farewell tour to retirement. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
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