Michelle Van Cleave, formerly the US National Counterintelligence Executive and for many years a friend and colleague of many at The Institute of World Politics, has provided a call to arms in the shadowy struggle against foreign spies active in the United States.
Writing in the February 8, 2009 Washington Post, Ms. Van Cleave remarks: "In 2003, when I began my three years as the first congressionally mandated national counterintelligence executive … Washington seemed ready to transform the fight against foreign espionage into a focused, coherent enterprise. But today, this vital national security mission is on life support."
Her essay proceeds to deliver a recitation of the serious threat to US interests posed by foreign spies operating domestically, and explains the shortcomings of the conventional American response to foreign espionage.
Ms. Van Cleave, one of the nation's foremost experts on matters of intelligence and the law, frequently speaks as a guest in IWP courses. She is also a senior research fellow at the National Defense University.