015: Investing in Offensive and Defensive Capabilities with Michael Morell

This week, The Unfair Fight welcomes Michael Morell, former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). During his 33-year career at the CIA, Michael served as Deputy Director for four years, where he managed the Agency’s day-to-day operations, represented the Agency at the White House and Congress, and maintained the Agency’s relationships with intelligence services and foreign leaders around the world. Michael also served twice as Acting Director, leading the CIA when Leon Panetta was named Secretary of Defense and again after David Petraeus left government. 

Michael talks about his beginnings with the CIA and what made him want to be an intelligence officer analyst. He shares stories from his time in the field as George W. Bush’s first daily intelligence briefer and serving overseas as the liaison between CIA analysts and British intelligence analysts. Morell also discusses if he thinks we are investing enough into our defensive and offensive capabilities, and why it’s critical that we be supremely intentional with our geopolitical dynamics.