Jeff Stein

1 week ago | spytalk.co | Jeff Stein

Michael Ledeen, the controversial national security journalist, scholar and schemer who died at age 83 on May 17 from complications following a stroke, played a significant covert role leading up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, as well as other productions of false intelligence for political ends. Ledeen was featured prominently inThe Italian Letter, a 2007 book by SpyTalk Contributing Editor Peter Eisner and Knut Royce, a Pulitzer Prize-winning  investigative reporter at Newsday.

1 week ago | military.com | Jeff Stein

This column first appeared on Spytalk.co. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com.

2 weeks ago | spytalk.co | Jeff Stein

News that DNI Tulsi Gabbard had fired two senior intelligence officials because their findings on Venezuela had displeased her sent me scurrying for the origin of the phrase, “Don’t kill the messenger.“ Turns out there are lots of strands to its provenance, but one I’m partial to was the story told by Plutarch about an ancient Armenian general, Tigranes, who so disliked a messenger’s word that a Roman general was close on his heels that “he had his head cut off for his pains; and no man dared...

2 weeks ago | open.substack.com | Jeff Stein

News that DNI Tulsi Gabbard had fired two senior intelligence officials because their findings on Venezuela had displeased her sent me scurrying for the origin of the phrase, “Don’t kill the messenger.“ Turns out there are lots of strands to its provenance, but one I’m partial to was the story told by Plutarch about an ancient Armenian general, Tigranes, who so disliked a messenger’s word that a Roman general was close on his heels that “he had his head cut off for his pains; and no man dared...

3 weeks ago | adn.com | Jeff Stein

The Republican tax proposal emerging in the House of Representatives would add more than $2.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade, according to nonpartisan estimates and budget experts. That fiscal hit has triggered criticism from House conservatives, who have at times vowed to vote against legislation that adds to the national debt, which is already over $36 trillion.