Richard McGarrah Helms was an American government official and diplomat who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1966 to 1973. Helms began intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Following the 1947 creation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),he rose in its ranks during the presidencies of Truman,Eisenhower and Kennedy. Helms then was DCI under Presidents Johnson and Nixon,yielding to James R. Schlesinger in early 1973.
The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan,Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973 principally by American banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller,an internationalist who sought to address the challenges posed by the growing economic and political interdependence between the U.S. and its allies in North America,Western Europe,and Japan.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921,it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York City,with an additional office in Massachusetts. Its membership has included senior politicians,numerous secretaries of state,CIA directors,bankers,lawyers,professors,corporate directors and CEOs,and senior media figures.
Kissinger Associates,Inc. is a New York City-based international geopolitical consulting firm,founded and run by Henry Kissinger since 1982. The firm assists its clients in identifying strategic partners and investment opportunities and advising them on government relations.
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States,also known as the 9/11 Commission,was set up on November 27,2002,"to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks",including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The commission was also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.
The President's Daily Brief (PDB),sometimes referred to as the President's Daily Briefing or the President's Daily Bulletin,is a top-secret document produced and given each morning to the president of the United States;it is also distributed to a small number of top-level US officials who are approved by the president. It includes highly classified intelligence analysis,information about covert operations,and reports from the most sensitive US sources or those shared by allied intelligence agencies. At the discretion of the president,the PDB may also be provided to the president-elect of the United States,between election day and inauguration,and to former presidents on request.
Joseph Charles Wilson IV was an American diplomat who was best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium;his New York Times op-ed piece,"What I Didn't Find in Africa";and the subsequent leaking by the Bush/Cheney administration of information pertaining to the identity of his wife Valerie Plame as a CIA officer. He also served as the CEO of a consulting firm he founded,JC Wilson International Ventures,and as the vice chairman of Jarch Capital,LLC.
Robert Michael Gates is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush and was retained for service by President Barack Obama. Gates began his career serving as an officer in the United States Air Force but was quickly recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gates served for 26 years in the CIA and the National Security Council,and was Director of Central Intelligence under President George H. W. Bush. After leaving the CIA,Gates became president of Texas A&M University and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates served as a member of the Iraq Study Group,the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton,that studied the lessons of the Iraq War.
In-Q-Tel (IQT),formerly Peleus and In-Q-It,is an American not-for-profit venture capital firm based in Arlington,Virginia. It invests in high-tech companies to keep the Central Intelligence Agency,and other intelligence agencies,equipped with the latest in information technology in support of United States intelligence capability. The name "In-Q-Tel" is an intentional reference to Q,the fictional inventor who supplies technology to James Bond.
John L. Helgerson is a retired career intelligence officer who spent 38 years at the Central Intelligence Agency,his final role was CIA Inspector General from 2002 until his retirement in 2009. He was responsible for investigating CIA interrogations of terror suspects,and compiled a report critical of agency practices in 2005 which was released in 2009 by the Obama administration.
Richard Bruce Cheney is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U.S. vice president,following the death of Walter Mondale in 2021.
John Owen Brennan is a former American intelligence officer who served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from March 2013 to January 2017. He served as chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama,with the title Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism,and Assistant to the President. Previously,he advised Obama on foreign policy and intelligence issues during the 2008 election campaign and presidential transition.
Michael Joseph Morell is an American former career intelligence analyst. He served as the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2010 to 2013 and twice as its acting director,first in 2011 and then from 2012 to 2013. As a CIA analyst he served as presidential daily briefer to George W. Bush,including on the morning of September 11,2001. In his book,The Great War of Our Time,Morell defends the use of drones by both the Bush and Obama Administrations against suspected terrorists and he explains the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques by the Bush Administration. He is now Senior Counselor and the Global Chairman of the Geo-Political Risk Practice at Beacon Global Strategies LLC,a consulting firm in Washington,D.C.
Membership in the Council on Foreign Relations comes in two types:Individual and Corporate. Individual memberships are further subdivided into two types:Life Membership and Term Membership,the latter of which is for a single period of five years and is available to those between the ages of 30 and 36 at the time of their application. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have applied for U.S. citizenship are eligible. A candidate for life membership must be nominated in writing by one Council member and seconded by a minimum of three others.
The Analysis Corporation (TAC) was the Intelligence Solutions business of Global Defense Technology &Systems,Inc. (GTEC),now Sotera Defense Solutions,a defense contracting company. Based in McLean,Virginia,it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Strategies Group Inc.,the operating company of GTEC. From its inception in 1990 to its dissolution in 2012,TAC worked on projects in the counterterrorism and national security realm by supporting national watchlisting activities as well as other counterterrorism requirements.
Avascent is a boutique management consulting firm serving the defense,aerospace,homeland security,logistics,transit,and financial industries. It was formed in 2007 after a management-led buyout of DFI Corporate Services from its parent,DFI International.
The President's Surveillance Program (PSP) is a collection of secret intelligence activities authorized by the President of the United States George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks in 2001 as part of the War on Terrorism. Information collected under this program was protected within a Sensitive Compartmented Information security compartment codenamed STELLARWIND.
Inside Job is a 2010 American documentary film,directed by Charles Ferguson,about the late-2000s financial crisis. Ferguson,who began researching in 2008,says the film is about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption",amongst them conflicts of interest of academic research which led to improved disclosure standards by the American Economic Association. In five parts,the film explores how changes in the policy environment and banking practices helped create the financial crisis.
Avril Danica Haines is an American lawyer and senior government official who serves as the director of national intelligence in the Biden administration. She is the first woman to serve in this role. Haines previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Obama administration. Prior to her appointment to the CIA,she served as Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs in the Office of White House Counsel.
Ruth A. David is an American engineer. While at the CIA,David was responsible for encouraging the agency to pursue partnerships with the private sector and designed a proposal to procure technology at the stage of development from the private sector. She has been awarded the CIA Director's Award,the Defense Intelligence Agency Director's Award,the CIA Distinguished Intelligence Medal,the National Reconnaissance Officer's Award for Distinguished Service,and the National Security Agency Distinguished Service Medal.
