Target USA Podcast by WTOP

We told you the story on Episode 78 of how "official" Washington was rattled on Aug. 9, when news broke that U.S. diplomats in Havana had been sickened a mysterious illness that no one could put their finger on. Target USA has continued digging into the story, and, in this episode, we now have a better idea of what happened and where. Russia may emerge as key suspect. Retired Ambassador Deborah Jo...

This is the final installment of our four-part Target USA series "Anatomy of a Russian Attack on the U.S." In this episode, Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, details how Russia's activities have impacted the U.S. intelligence community. Also, Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, discusses how they are going to deal with Russia's...

This is part three of our four-part Target USA series "Anatomy of a Russian Attack on the U.S." In this episode, former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers pulls back the curtain on Russia's troll farm operation, and intelligence expert Aaron Turner of Gravwell talks about how Russian operatives spied on mobile phones in Washington. As we've told you, the U.S. intelligence community...

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered operatives to interfere in the 2016 Presidential election. A Target USA investigation that began in November 2016 examined how the attack happened, when it started, who was involved and what lay ahead. In part two of our four-part Target USA series, "Anatomy of a Russian Attack," we explore the mindset of the Ru...

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered operatives to interfere in the 2016 Presidential election. A Target USA investigation that began in November 2016 examined how the attack happened, when it started, who was involved and what lay ahead. Dozens of interviews were conducted in the U.S. and abroad with current and former U.S. intelligence officials,...

Sixteen years after the worst terror attack in U.S. history, a former senior operations officer with the CIA says, "the situation is even worse." Mike Maness was overseas when the 9/11 attacks took place. But now he says: "As a country, we tend to have a very short memory. The average citizen seems to have forgotten, or is choosing to ignore, the fact that terrorism is still a very real threat." O...

North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Han Tae Song, said on Sept. 5 that the country's recent nuclear and missile tests "are a gift package addressed to none other than the U.S." The same day, U.S. Ambassador U.N. Nikki Haley said, "Enough is enough," indicating that it's time for more drastic measures to stop North Korea's provocative and dangerous actions. Nuclear weapons in...

Eleven trillion gallons of water have fallen in the Houston area. Veteran first responders and globally seasoned journalists stand in awe of the scope of the devastation. The damage is unprecedented, according to Texas National Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Travis Walters. On this episode we set the scene, examine the rescue efforts and look at how you can help. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c...

John Eustace retired from the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security in late July. On Target USA, he warns that unless the "leadership" wakes up, a tragedy like the one in Benghazi that left a U.S. ambassador and three others dead is going to happen. Money is the issue. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is being asked to trim its budget at the worst possible time. "The world is on fire,...

"Official" Washington was rattled on Aug. 9 when news broke that U.S. diplomats in Havana had been sickened a mysterious illness that no one could put their finger on. It was so bad that several had to be sent home or reassigned. It had been going on for months. But no one had any answers until doctors determined they were likely suffering from some kind of ultrasonic device. It is a weapon that a...

The Defense Intelligence Agency is bracing and preparing for "alarming" global changes, which include more frequent and more destructive wars, increasingly damaging cyberattacks, progressively belligerent and hostile nation-states, more clever and deceptive terrorists, and natural disasters that dwarf the scale of those in previous years. This podcast, featuring Defense Intelligence Agency Directo...

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism has released its latest report on terrorism. The news is good and bad. Acting Coordinator Justin Siberell gave Target USA the most engaging and forthcoming assessment on terrorism to date. Islamic State group, al-Qaida, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations are using technology to elevate their aptitud...

The Defense Intelligence Agency has produced a new assessment that indicates the North Korean regime, led by Kim Jong Un, will have an intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear weapon as early as 2018. Joby Warrick from The Washington Post, who broke the story, joins us with the details about what he and his team learned. Also, Ambassador Joe Detrani, the former U.S. Special Envo...

Robert Young Pelton's book "Licensed to Kill" chronicled his time with a team of government-hired guns in the war on terror in 2003. Since then, he's found himself at the heart of numerous major news events -- from U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl's walking away from his unit into captivity by the Taliban, to the migrant crisis, the IS group's "caliphate" and notorious terrorist Joseph Kony of the Lord'...

This week the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had confirmation that IS group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was dead. It never produced any proof, but it is the first "credible " organization to go that far. On this program we examine what 's known about al-Baghdadi's status, his elusiveness and what happens after he and his so-called caliphate pass from the scene. Brett Veli...

Responsible for U.S. military activity in 20 countries, U.S. Central Command is faced with multiple difficult, generational challenges. The Taliban is surging in Afghanistan. The Islamic State group 's so-called "caliphate" is crumbling in Iraq and Syria. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) continues to make deceptively clever and elusive bombs, while engaged in a brutal fight to taken over Y...

If the momentum of U.S.-led coalition is any indicator, the black flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) may be completely eradicated from Syria and Iraq in a matter of months. But Nick Rasmussen, the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, warns that the black cloud of IS group terrorism will not dissipate the day after the caliphate falls. See Privacy Policy at https://art...

Defense Secretary James Mattis said on June 13 that the Taliban is surging. Whats driving the resurgence and what will the U.S. strategy to fight the Taliban look like? We dig into those questions, plus we get a look at the state of IS and al-Qaida from Hans-Jakob Schindler on this weeks episode of Target USA. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https:/...

ISIS is running out of territory, money, fighters and time. Some experts fear the damage has already been done. However, on this episode of Target USA, Operation for Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon says, "There is absolutely nowhere that they can go. They have two choices: They can surrender or they can die." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice...

This riveting episode features the tense moments during the attacks in London, analysis of what happened, what Europol's European Counter Terrorism Centre's chief is doing about it, and the U.S. role in tackling a growing terrorism problem. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Often times people who served this country, some of whom who gave their lives, are laid to rest without a live rendition of taps. They end up with a prerecorded version. It was especially bad in the early-to-mid 2000s, when hundreds of deceased veterans came home from Iraq and Afghanistan during the height of those wars. Tom Day was offended, so he started Bugles Across America and began playing b...

The suicide bombing at pop star Ariana Grande's concert on May 22 literally shook the ground all around Europe's second largest indoor arena. But it also sent shockwaves around the world because the attack on a concert where very young children were attending left no doubt that terrorists today have no limits. On this program, we get the details about what happened. Philip Mudd, one of the world's...

President Donald Trump's decision to share classified intelligence with Russia sparked yet another media firestorm. It also created serious concerns for U.S. allies. Those concerns are critical to the war against terrorism. We dig into the fallout on this episode. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

The firing of FBI director Jim Comey by President Donald Trump has intensified an already raging, powerful international drama playing out in Washington and Moscow. The U.S. Congress and the intelligence community are trying to get to the heart of a strange story that connects President Trump, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and a cast of Russian and American characters in a plot th...

Bill Evanina is the national counterintelligence executive and director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. In an exclusive interview, he speaks candidly about the damage that Edward Snowden's leaks continue to cause. From terrorists to hostile nation-states to hackers, Snowden's guidance has shown them how to avoid being detected by the U.S. intelligence community. This week'...