SpyTalk
A CIA Spy in Syria, and US Responses to Russian, Chinese and Other Adversary Hacking
Apr 22, 2021
Washington Post journalist Joby Warrick discusses an extraordinary CIA operation in Syria and former NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers talks about US responses to Russian, Chinese, and other adversary hacking.
54:16
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Quick takeaways
- The CIA recruited a top scientist developing nerve agent sarin in Syria's chemical weapons program, who provided crucial information about the country's chemical arsenal, which later became crucial in managing the threat of the weapons falling into wrong hands.
- The podcast highlights the challenges faced in the cyber domain, including the difficulty of defining acceptable norms, the need for international cooperation, and the ongoing challenge of ensuring appropriate oversight and preventing escalation in offensive cyber operations.
Deep dives
The Syrian Chemical Weapons Program and the CIA's Spy Story
The podcast episode discusses the story of a spy recruited by the CIA from Syria's chemical weapons program. The spy, a top scientist developing nerve agent sarin, provided extensive information about Syria's chemical arsenal to the CIA. The information seemed irrelevant until the outbreak of the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War. The fear of dangerous non-state actors gaining control of the chemical weapons prompted the need to secure and remove them. However, direct military action was not viable due to the risks of spreading the chemical agents. Ultimately, the information provided by the spy became crucial in managing the threat of the chemical weapons falling into the wrong hands.
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