Tipping Off Our Enemies to Terrorist Attacks

Last month’s spectacular terrorist attack on a concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow, which left 144 people dead, was quickly followed by startling news that US intelligence had warned the Russians about the impending assault. When the Kremlin said the warnings hadn’t been specific, moreover, US officials pushed back, saying, in effect, “Oh yes they were,” and added details to its rejoinder. Likewise, it turned out that back in January, US intelligence had warned Iran about an impending Islamic State terrorist attack at a gathering to honor its fallen Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani, who had been killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad.  

The revelations that our spy services had actually warned two of our greatest mortal enemies astounded many people and triggered a lot of acidic commentary, confusion and the inevitable conspiracy theories on social media. 

Today’s guest, former CIA case officer and base chief Laura Thomas, who held a number of senior intelligence positions during her nearly 16 years of government service, says those actions followed a standard practice in American intelligence. It’s called “a duty to warn.” And she’s here to explain how that seemingly esoteric, even confounding, practice is not only a staple of the spy world—at least on the American side—but it has some espionage benefits as well. 

Laura Thomas
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