A Gathering of Spies
On Sunday, November 2, 2003, I finally got into the Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. I would give it a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. It is certainly well done, laid out and stocked with "gadgets." Our tour guide told us they had 750,000 visitors last year (at about $20 a head), so who would have thought spying would become such a cash cow. We arrived at 9:05 and the guide to that phase of the tour consumed the next 20 minutes with background and introductions...Talk about carrying coal to Newcastle. This put us only 40 minutes ahead of the 10 am opening for the general public, including the dozens of Japanese tourists who were on hand trying to learn why they lost WWII. To truly enjoy the place you need more time to look and read all the plaques, displays, etc. at a leisurely pace. But on balance it was time well spent and is worthy of your "places to see" list.
The AFIO (Association of Former Intelligence Officers) November 1-4, 2003, conference and meetings at NRO and the Central Intelligence Agency were, with minor exceptions, all worthwhile. A couple of briefers haven't learned the cardinal rules of briefing - (1) don't read the damn slides - and (2) no one is interested in the organizational chart. A Marine Corps officer referred to something as being as complex and confusing as an "Air Force PowerPoint."
An Air Force Colonel gave a briefing at the end of the day on Monday when everyone was practically numb from sitting and had just endured a briefing from the DEA. From the time he stepped forward it was like Amateur Night at the Improv, only this guy was good. He is ready with his second career: standup comedian. He talked a lot about bombing and blowing things us and killing people, which he said was how one got promoted in the Air Force. He knew his subject, measuring signature intel, and now so do his listeners.
Nigel West and Ron Kessler were on hand flogging their new books and were likewise informative and entertaining. West was our speaker at the Saturday night black tie dinner. We had an hour and half on new literature in the field on Sunday and one of the speakers said he always addressed new officers with the admonition "No man is your friend and every hand can be turned against you - and that is just in headquarters." It was a mix of seriousness and humor.
I was impressed with the NRO complex and can understand why congressmen and women sitting only a few miles away would have been angry and surprised a few years ago when the place was built and equipped and they didn't even know it existed. It is a most beautiful, spacious and accommodating government building I have ever seen in the free world. And no government issue desks. I believe the planner and executor of the building contract must have been at heart a potentate. Remarkable.
The day at the CIA went well, although several of the original speakers cancelled out and sent substitutes. One man on the schedule for after lunch cancelled before lunch and sent no one. Had he known about the fine lunch he might have soldiered on and showed up. After lunch I toured the William Donovan and OSS memorial site and enjoyed it immensely.
The AFIO crowd was primarily a late fifties, early sixties group, with a smattering of young men. I talked with two of them and said they didn't look old enough to be "former". They told me their Dad had brought them and they were trying to get into the work. I wished them well. There were a few who were much older, however, I did not see a couple of men I had hoped would come. One of the guests at my table for Saturday's dinner was the second black man ever to become a Navy SEAL; he is the oldest black man alive to have been a SEAL. Another guest at my table was Air Force General John Singlaub, Ollie North's old buddy. He has slowed in his gate a bit but he looked like he could still do a deal or two.
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