Tim Weiner

Come for the reporting, stay for the link to my new newsletter, CODEWORD.

The Mission New York Times Bestseller * A New Yorker Best Book of 2025 * A New York Times Editors' Choice \"No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has...

Have I got a book for you! www.harpercollins.com/products/the...

Thanks for reading!

Very happy to get our story about the innocuous sounding Afghan Counterterrorism Unit (CTU) which was a 11 man, 1 woman strong compartmentalized Afghan intel org run as a proxy by the CIA. They did some pretty epic ops, this article covers the highlights of this previously undisclosed unit.

Great story.

'Who the hell hired JOHN BRENNAN’S DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT OBAMA’S CIA to work under the 2nd Trump administration as a Senior Advisor to the new Deputy Secretary of Defense?” Loomer raved on X. Rakusan was Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel's DDO at Trump's CIA, for a start. We are being ruled by fools.

Need to Know: The Mission: A Vital Look at an Intel Community Adrift Podcast Episode · The DSR Network · 07/30/2025 · 41m

On the air with DEEP STATE RADIO in a deep discussion of THE MISSION.
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The Mission New York Times Bestseller * A New Yorker Best Book of 2025 * A New York Times Editors' Choice \"No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has...

"Readers of The Mission may wonder whether spy fiction and political dramas have a future. The author certainly provides rich background for aspiring thriller writers. But he suggests that reality...is intriguing enough." — Times Literary Supplement (London)
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These are not mutually exclusive.

Here's the second edition of my newsletter, CODEWORD. There've been good CIA directors like Bill Burns. Bad CIA directors like Porter Goss. Some too damned devious for their own good like Bill Casey. But only one John Ratcliffe, who bids fair to be the worst ever.
timweiner.beehiiv.com/p/codeword

Fixed, I hopr

Fixed, I hope

beehiiv, way better

You can read all about Ratcliffe in my brand-new newsletter, CODEWORD. It's free for all on Bluesky.
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Veteran C.I.A. Official to Retire After Losing Out on London Job

“Ratcliffe is a political ideologue, and ideology is the enemy of intelligence.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/u...

"Mr. Ratcliffe wants to appoint a younger C.I.A. officer who is aligned with the agency’s new, more aggressive approach on recruiting sources and running clandestine operations," per CIA flack. Ridiculous. If you read THE MISSION, you'll see Sylvester gave 34 years to those goals with great success.

"Mr. Ratcliffe wants to appoint a younger C.I.A. officer who is aligned with the agency’s new, more aggressive approach on recruiting sources and running clandestine operations, one official said," per NYT. Ridiculous. Sylvester devoted 34 years to those missions, with great success.

Veteran C.I.A. Official to Retire After Losing Out on London Job

The CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has keelhauled the top spy, chief of the clandestine service, Tom Sylvester, in an act of self-sabotage. Two possible reasons? Sylvester spoke with me for THE MISSION. He helped Ukraine survive the Russia invasion. Watch this space.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/u...

I did, thanks!

New Post Intelligence. National security. Foreign policy. Democracy.

Welcome to CODEWORD -- my brand-new newsletter on American intelligence, national security, and foreign policy. It's free to one and all on Bluesky. First one is adapted from THE MISSION -- my new book. There's a lot more to come. timweiner.beehiiv.com/p/welcome-to...

Some personal news...really good personal news. THE MISSION will be #3 on next week's New York Times bestsellers list. Thanks to everyone who picked up a copy. If you haven't, please do! Watch this space for even better news to come on Monday.

Hey, you helped make this happen.

Some personal news...really good personal news. THE MISSION will be #3 on next week's New York Times bestsellers list. Thanks to everyone who picked up a copy. If you haven't, please do! Watch this space for even better news to come on Monday.

Thanks! best tw

Thanks and thanks again!

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The Mission \"No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has, and The Mission deserves to win Weiner a second Pulitzer.\" —The Guardian A masterpiece of r...

Pick up a copy of THE MISSION right here, direct from the publisher, for 20 percent off! This offer can't be beat.
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Rakusan is not a perp. But otoh I am not a lawyer.

The CIA’s Russian influence operation? I guess she means the “Russia hoax” – the iron-clad assessment that Russian intelligence was working to elect Trump. I will tackle this in a newsletter I’m launching soon -- CODEWORD. But there’s an unclassified word for what Loomer’s doing here. McCarthyism.

Then there’s this: “According to a new book about the CIA by Tim Weiner called "The Mission," which was published this month, Tom Rakusan is mentioned in the book as playing a pivotal role in the CIA’s Russian influence operation following President Trump's 2016 Presidential election victory.” 4/5