Intelligence and the Post-9/11 Kill Culture
In a candid interview with JULIAN DOREY Clips, former CIA officer John Kiriakou offered a startling insider’s perspective on the world of international espionage, revealing the surprising list of the United States’ top intelligence threats and the aggressive, even “murderous,” tactics employed by close allies like France. Drawing on his years of experience within the Agency, Kiriakou painted a picture of a global intelligence community where deep trust is reserved for few, and lethal action is often a preferred tool of statecraft.
The CIA’s Classified Threats: Israel, China, and Russia
Kiriakou began by sharing a little-known detail about the indoctrination of new CIA officers. He described a specialized briefing room—which he calls the “red room”—where recruits are shown the Agency’s official list of primary espionage threats against the United States. Despite being a NATO member and long-time partner, France, he noted, is not on the primary list.
According to Kiriakou, the three nations historically highlighted as the number one espionage threats to the U.S. are Israel, China, and Russia. This disclosure underscores a fundamental reality of intelligence work: political alliances do not preclude aggressive spying against each other.
“Murderous” and “Talented”: The Aggression of French Intelligence
While not in the top three for espionage, Kiriakou reserved his most severe assessment for French intelligence, repeatedly characterizing its operations as “crazy,” “dicks,” and outright “murderous”.
He provided vivid anecdotes to illustrate their extreme aggression toward American operatives:
- The De Gaulle Airport Incident: Following a diplomatic spat in the early 1990s, the CIA was forced to ban its personnel from transiting Paris’s De Gaulle Airport. Kiriakou recounted an incident where French officials demanded an American officer turn over his secure diplomatic laptop. When the officer refused, citing diplomatic immunity, the French agents took the device into a back room and destroyed it using a railroad spike fastened to a table.
- Targeting Activists and Terrorists: Kiriakou cited the French service’s notorious willingness to engage in lethal action, noting their historical violence against Greenpeace activists. Furthermore, he mentioned that their current approach in the Sahel region of Africa involves them simply killing all kinds of Al-Qaeda people, highlighting a “head squad” mentality that prioritizes elimination over capture.
The “Serial Killer” Shift After 9/11
The conversation took a darker turn as Kiriakou discussed the profound cultural shift within U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism operations following the September 11, 2001, attacks. He shared a powerful observation made by a retired MI6 officer (British Intelligence), who told him that U.S. operatives “really loved working with you guys until 9/11” and then claimed that “you all became serial killers after 9/11”.
Kiriakou admitted that this was “unfortunately true,” explaining that many operatives went out with the mandate to “just kill as many al-Qaeda people as they could find”. He drew a clear parallel between this new US operational culture and the long-standing, lethal French approach.
He cautioned, however, that this path represents a “slippery slope”. While acknowledging that targeted strikes against a “clear and present danger” might be necessary, Kiriakou warned that a kill-first mentality leads to disastrous collateral damage—such as “blowing up a fucking wedding” or a funeral—which kills women and children, ultimately creating propaganda and turning the “good guy” into the “bad guy” in the eyes of the world.
The Five Eyes: An Alliance of Total Trust
In contrast to the friction with countries like France, Kiriakou detailed the unique and privileged relationship the U.S. shares with its core partners in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance: the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Unlike the limited cooperation with France, the Five Eyes nations have granted each other “cart blanche” to share information and access. Kiriakou noted that members of foreign intelligence services from these countries literally have personnel sitting next to their U.S. counterparts at agencies like the CIA and NSA. This arrangement signifies a level of total trust that is simply not extended to any other nation, including France, which remains a key NATO partner but not a recipient of all U.S. intelligence.
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