Steve Vogel, Author, former Washington Post Journalist, discusses British Traitor George Blake

Interview of Wednesday, 10 November 2021 of Steve Vogel, Author/Journalist, The Washington Post. Interviewer - Host: James Hughes, AFIO President, a former CIA Operations Officer.

TOPIC: Steve Vogel and Jim Hughes focus on a major figure -- double agent George Blake -- from Steve's 2019 book, "Betrayal in Berlin: The True Story of the Cold War's Most Audacious Espionage Operation."
Discusses the state of US-Soviet relations in 1950s, particularly reflected in the divided city of Berlin. Vogel describes in considerable detail CIA's plan to construct a clandestine tunnel into East Berlin to tap into critical Soviet telecommunication lines. The plan known in U.S. as "Operation Gold," was aided by our UK intelligence allies, which called it "Operation Stopwatch."

Covers the planning, difficulties, risks of exposure, betrayals, and benefits gained from the audacious and ultimately successful covert operation. Reviews some of the major U.S. and UK officers involved.
The interview runs 50 minutes and includes many PowerPoint slides, charts, photographs. It concludes with several Q&As.

BIOS:

JAMES R. HUGHES currently serves as the 17th President of AFIO. His service began January 2015. He had a career of US Government service spanning 37 years in numerous foreign countries with a particular focus in the Middle East. He started in U.S. Military Intelligence in the late 1960s and then joined the CIA’s Clandestine Service. He served overseas as a Chief of Station several times, and at CIA Headquarters in a number of senior management positions, including as Chief of the Near East and South Asia Division, in the Directorate of Operations [today’s National Clandestine Service]. He was also named the Associate Deputy Director of Operations (ADDO) at the National Security Agency, 1998-99. Following his retirement from the government in 2005, he joined EDS in Herndon, Virginia, as the Client Industry Executive for the U.S. Intelligence Community. After the HP acquisition of EDS, he continued to serve in a similar capacity until his retirement in 2012. His parents were missionaries in Turkey in the 1950s, where Jim spent his formative years. He is fluent in Arabic.

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[nicholasdujmovic]

I recently finished Steve Vogel's book Betrayal in Berlin, and I consider it one of the best books on Cold War intelligence history I have ever read. I recommend it highly.