Mark Stout
@markstout
Intelligence historian, former intelligence officer. Also live on the borderlands of military history. Former Historian at the International Spy Museum. University educator. I wish I were in Seattle. The cat is Boadicea.
Funny bit in this. FBI talked with CBP apparently about possibly identifying forged drivers licenses from China. CBP said, dude, there are soooo many fake drivers licenses for kids wanting to buy alcohol. We can't sort through this haystack.
TIL that for a while during World War II, the USG banned the broadcast of weather reports. The ban was partially lifted in October, 1943. From Broadcasting magazine, October 18, 1943.
Remarkable description of how the documents published in this book were obtained.
NARA stacks years ago looking at their storage of old spy satellite film.
Anyway, aside from the essay on the Minute Man Division linked to above, Joan Jensen's book "The Price of Vigilance" is the best thing out there on the American Protective League. I've attached a doc from the UW Library special collections appointing a Mr. Hills a block sergeant in Seattle. 6/6
Are you a student doing work in intelligence history? There's an award for that!
Marjorie Taylor Green just went off on X about Trump and Iran. Here’s part of it.
What was wrong with Canada? From March 8, 1974. #CIA #NixonAdministration #intelligence #intelhist
Wonderful drawing from "History and Anecdotes of the New York Branch Office of Naval Intelligence in World War I" privately printed in about 1919. The only copy in existence, AFAIK, is at the Naval War College.
This is my candidate for worst book purporting to be on military theory or history.
CIA officer Hal Ford in 1984 on the challenges facing writers of intelligence estimates. Note the comment about Henry Kissinger.
The "Kalenda Lateral Grille” cipher from the early 1950s. US spy stuff. No, I don't understand how it works.
US War Department, November, 1945. This font seems vertically stretched. Look at that T; look at that C. To me they are faintly uncomfortable to gaze upon.
In 1958, the Canadians mentioned the possibility of Soviet nuclear submarines operating in Hudson Bay. I wonder if any study beyond this paragraph was ever undertaken on this. It's quite the notion.
When I ran across interesting classification markings and caveats at the other site I used to post them. Think I'll resume that here. Here it's mostly just the purple ink that I like. CIA, June, 1953.
Interesting form from the declassified JFK records showing the foreign police and intelligence services--not just in the UK--that the FBI legal attaché in the US embassy in London was in liaison with as of 1968.
This is the book. It's available for purchase right now from your favorite bookstore. Christmas is coming up soon. It is traditional to give gifts on Christmas. ... ... ...