“The bravery of these two men cannot be overstated. Chris and Chief put the lives of others ahead of their own. That is heroism defined.”
George J. Tenet Director of Central Intelligence (May 2004)
October 25 2025 — Mueller and Carlson were paramilitary contractors from Special Activities Division, killed in an ambush in Afghanistan on October 25, 2003. On May 21, 2004, these officers’ stars were dedicated at the CIA memorial ceremony. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“I heard one day that one of our local operations had gone awry, that a helicopter had been forced to make an emergency landing, hurting someone in the process. It turned out to be much worse than that. Dave had been horribly burned by a white phosphorous grenade. It was a windy day, and the helicopter pilot had apparently requested that a smoke grenade be thrown to show him wind direction as he landed in a small area. A white phosphorous grenade had been used by mistake.”
A friend of Dave Lee Konzelman David
October 24, 2025 — David Lee Konzelman died on October 24, 1971, at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas from injuries sustained on September 13, 1971. The injuries occurred when a phosphorus grenade exploded in his hand while he was serving in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“Though he never said so explicitly, President Ronald Reagan ended America’s military commitment to a strategic mistake that was peripheral to America’s interests. Three-and-a-half months after the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. military personnel — and after repeatedly pledging not to do so — Reagan ordered the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Lebanon.”
Foreign Policy
October 23 2025 — The Beirut barracks bombings were terrorist attacks that occurred on October 23, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces — members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) — killing 241 U.S. and 58 French servicemen, six civilians, and the two suicide bombers. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“And you’ll ask: why doesn’t his poetry speak of dreams and leaves and the great volcanoes of his native land? Come and see the blood in the streets.”
I explain a few things Pablo Neruda
October 21 2025 — Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician. On October 21 2018, The Spy Museum tweeted: “Today in SpyHistory – The Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to former KGB agent and Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, 1971.” Really? Where is the evidence that Neruda was a KGB agent? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“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, 2025 — 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
“Richard Sorge’s brilliant espionage work saved Stalin and the Soviet Union from defeat in the fall of 1941, probably prevented a Nazi victory in World War II and thereby assured the dimensions of the world we live in today.”
Larry Collins American writer
October 18 2025 — On October 18 1941, Richard Sorge was arrested in Tokyo. He was hanged on November 7 1944, at 10:20 Tokyo time in Sugamo Prison. A number of famous personalities — from General Douglas MacArthur to James Bond’s father and former MI6 Ian Fleming — considered him one of the most accomplished spies. Chief Prosecutor Mitsusada Yoshikawa — the Japanese who led the prosecution and obtained Sorge’s death sentence — wrote that he never met a greater man. Richard Sorge is proof that one spy can alter the History of our world. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
October 15 2025 — Margaretha Geertruida “Margreet” MacLeod (Born Zelle; August 7 1876 – October 15 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan. She was put on trial on July 24 1917. The following day, she was convicted of being a spy for Germany. On October 15 1917, she was executed by firing squad in France. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
“There have been only two kinds of CIA secret operations: the ones that are widely known to have failed—usually because of almost unbelievably crude errors—and the ones that are not yet widely known to have failed.”
Edward Luttwak
On July 19 1981 President Ronald Reagan met with French President Francois Mitterrand in Ottawa, Ontario at an economic summit. Mitterrand informed Reagan about the “Farewell Dossier”.
August 18 2016 — Not everyone will agree with Ed Luttwak’s analysis which is undoubtedly a tad unfair. There is no doubt that the Farewell Operation was an extraordinary successful operation. And yet everyone suspected everyone of lying about it. It just seemed too good to be true. Follow us on Twitter:@INTEL_TODAY
“Sarkozy has to give back the money he accepted from Libya to finance his electoral campaign. We financed his campaign and we have the proof… The first thing we’re demanding is that this clown gives back the money to the Libyan people.”
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (March 2011)
After becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to France with high honors later that year.
September 30 2016 — French news website ‘Mediapart’ has uncovered hard evidence documenting the funding of Sarkozy’s presidential campaign (2007) by Colonel Gaddafi.
UPDATE (March 1 2021) — Today, a Paris court found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence.
UPDATE (September 30 2021) — Today, Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to one year in prison for illegal campaign financing in his failed 2012 re-election bid.
UPDATE (May 11 2023) — France’s financial crimes prosecutors (PNF) said Sarkozy and 12 others should face trial over accusations they sought millions of euros in financing from the regime of then Libyan leader Gaddafi for his ultimately victorious campaign.
UPDATE (August 25 2023) — Sarkozy to face 2025 trial over alleged Libya funding
“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, 2025 — 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
