Target USA Podcast by WTOP

Since the sudden resignation of Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, on February 21, 2020, the U.S. Intelligence Community has struggled to figure out what's next. This short episode provides some background on what happened, how we got here and what's next. There will be more extensive coverage. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://...

Something weird happened with the stock market this week: It dropped about 1,800 points in two days. That's not the weird part, though. What's strange is that a software company called Blackbird AI, which uses artificial intelligence to track disinformation, discovered a sinister effort to manipulate and distort information about the spread of coronavirus. Wasim Khaled, CEO of Blackbird AI, joins...

Imminent nation-state threats to U.S. national security, pernicious cyberattacks and looming global health crises, like the 2019 novel coronavirus, are but a small fraction of the burgeoning front-line intelligence challenges facing the nation. On this episode, Deirdre Walsh, Chief Operating Officer in the Office of the Director National, identifies the threats and details the plan for dealing wit...

Croatia recently took over the presidency of the European Union. Croatia has its work cut out for it because the EU is facing a lot of challenges, not the least of which is the uncertainty looming because of the now-complete Brexit. Also there’s the big question of what Russia is doing in the region, something the U.S. constantly frets about. Pjer Simunovic, Croatia's ambassador to the U.S., joins...

You might remember hearing in recent weeks about Russian intelligence agents allegedly plotting to bug the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. There also may have been an assassination plot involved. Bill Browder, a British businessman, author and the self-described public enemy No. 1 for Russian President Vladimir Putin, was the alleged target. He joins us on this episode of Target USA to...

We know that Russia, China, Iran, non-nation state hacktivists and even domestic activists are actively attempting to interfere in the U.S. 2020 Presidential election. But what's not well known is that altering the election results may not be their ultimate goal. Shelby Pierson, the election threats executive from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, joins us to talk about the thre...

The U.S. government is worried that China’s intelligence services may get into the 5G networks of its global partners and harm U.S. national security interests. On this episode, we learn they are already in many networks including our own personal ones. Command Sergeant Major William Rinehart talks about the steps the U.S. military is taking to protect the nation from these threats. See Privacy Po...

This episode deals with one overarching question: Was the crew of UIA 752 -- which likely was asleep during Iran's bombing campaign of U.S. forces in Iraq -- know it was too dangerous to fly the morning they took off from Tehran? Information we’ve obtained and experts we spoke to suggest they may have never known. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at htt...

During a week of high drama between the U.S. and Iran, a top Iranian general was assassinated by the U.S. Americans on military bases in Iraq had to run for cover from Iranian launched ballistic missiles, and the leaders of both nations have warned that more attacks could be coming. But what kind of attacks could Iran be planning? Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office of the...

In a stunning and devastating airstrike, on January 2nd, the US military killed General Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp and Quds Force. This special report lays out what we've learned about it and what's next. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

As we start 2020, we take a look back at one of best episodes of 2019 -Episode 190. It's part three of a four part series called "The Fog of Espionage". More in-depth coverage of espionage is coming in 2020. This episode provides the backstory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

On this edition of Target USA Radek Sikorski, Chair of the Delegation for relations with the United States in the European Parliament discusses the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead -including China. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

For the fourth time in U.S. history, a sitting president has gone through the impeachment process. What are the national security implications of impeachment? Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson joins us to lay them out. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

The shocking public displays of animosity and aggression among NATO allies at the London Summit in November suggests NATO really is falling apart -- just as Russia had hoped. On this episode of Target USA, Jonathan Vseviov, Estonia’s ambassador to the U.S., tells us that public appearances say a lot about the state of affairs inside NATO, but they don’t tell the whole story. See Privacy Policy at...

Few if any leaders of nation-states will publicly acknowledge they've been hacked, and what's worse, they won't share intelligence, even with their allies. In this episode Col. Jaak Terian, director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence, explains why. Also Col. Andrew Hall, director of the Army's Cyber Institute, talks about how the U.S. Army is preparing for the future fight...

Earlier this year we traveled to Morocco to observe Exercise African Lion. It is an annually scheduled, multinational military exercise, with the U.S. and Morocco playing the leading roles. It's designed to improve interoperability, mutual understanding and prepare for the possibility that the two countries and other allies would need to collaborate in a real-time military operation. In this episo...

Have you ever heard of the Dossier Center or Bellingcat? They're two of the preeminent online investigative journalism groups in the world. Quite often Russian corruption is their target. On this edition of Target USA, we'll take a look at exactly what they do, what the risks are, and how they're trying to get at their targets -- which often include close friends of Russian President Vladimir Puti...

Former FBI Agent Robert Levinson was last seen on Kish Island in Iran in 2007. His family has been begging and pleading with the Iranian government to let him go. Iran has always denied any knowledge of his whereabouts. But now there’s new hope for his return home. Hear his story from 2007 up to the latest developments on this edition of Target USA. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...

For weeks the nation has been preoccupied with a phone call President Donald Trump made to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. What was said has resulted in an impeachment inquiry against Trump. Also at issue is the transcript of the call and who had access to it. In this episode, we examine how a presidential call is set up, monitored, and, most of all, documented. You may be surprised about...

In part one of our chat with Ms. El-Atr she detailed how they met and got married. In this episode, she details her struggles to get her marriage recognized. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

URGENT: ISIS leader Abakr al Baghdadi is was targeted in a US military raid in northwestern Syria and he's believed to be dead. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

You probably haven’t heard of her before, because Hana El Atr, has for the first time revealed her identity and her marriage to journalist Jamal Kashoggi. She says it happened months before he was allegedly killed in Turkey in 2018. While it's not your typical national security story, it looms large because he worked for an influential US company. El Atr tells her story only to Target USA. See Pri...

In this series we've learned that there are more than three million spies around the world eyeing the U.S. We've examined who they are and the tactics they use. A former U.S. agent gave us a glimpse into a day in the life of American spies. Now, in the conclusion, what should we expect in the future? What tactics are coming? Where will the spies originate from? And can the U.S. handle the threat?...

What's it like to be an American spy? There are two scenarios: an American who is spying for the U.S. government, and an American overseas who’s running spies. Either way, it’s a complicated, dangerous and nerve-wracking experience. On this episode we take you deep into the murky world of American spies. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19...

Russia and China are espionage powerhouses, but a tiny nation may be the most dangerous of all. Cuba has run an extensive spying operation inside the U.S. for decades and, according to sources, continues to this day. One of its spies was Ana Montes, who according to some, is one of the most damaging U.S. spies -- ever. FBI Special Agent Pete Lapp breaks down her case and the danger. See Privacy Po...