Daniel N. Hoffman
Columns by Daniel N. Hoffman
Battle damage assessment will determine next steps in Iran
When I joined the CIA decades ago, the first thing my fellow trainees and I learned was that there was no manual for conducting overseas espionage operations. Published July 10, 2025
Iran is down but still dangerous
A nuclear threshold state, Iran found itself in the crosshairs of the U.S. and Israel over its ballistic missile capability, proxy terrorist network and refusal to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Published June 26, 2025
The transformational power of fatherhood
I'll never forget that day decades ago when I told my father that the CIA had hired me and I would be starting work there in three months. Published June 12, 2025
The enduring lesson of ‘Operation Ghost Stories’
This June will mark 15 years since the FBI arrested 10 Russian deep undercover intelligence officers in an exquisite Justice Department counterintelligence operation code-named "Ghost Stories." Published May 29, 2025
America’s China strategy needs urgent overhaul
The US is under siege from the Chinese Communist Party but is not close to doing enough to counter, defend and deter China's multifarious threats to its national security. Published May 15, 2025
CIA must gauge how Chinese military might use lessons it is learning from Ukraine war
Last month, Ukraine produced evidence that Chinese soldiers had taken their military reconnaissance game up a notch by engaging in real warfare on European soil alongside their Russian allies. Published May 1, 2025
The CIA’s job: Recruit spies, steal secrets and deliver the high-value analysis
I'll never forget that blue ribbon day early in my CIA career, when a senior foreign intelligence officer called to tell me I needed to come to his office immediately. Published April 17, 2025
Putin’s long con: What Trump must learn from Reagan
After his final meeting in 2000 with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, President Clinton remarked that Mr. Putin is "very smart and thoughtful. I think we can do a lot of good with him." Published April 3, 2025
Remembering a wonderful wife, inspiring mother and irreplaceable friend
I intended to write this week's column about the war in Ukraine, but instead, my thoughts and my heart and soul turned to my wife, Kim, who passed away at 41 after a four-year battle with cancer on March 15, 2021. Published March 20, 2025
Does Russia want peace?
I first set foot in Russia a couple of years after the presidents of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia signed a declaration in a Belarus forest, declaring that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. Published March 6, 2025
‘X’ marks the danger spot in the battle against hostile cyber threats
In her latest book, "Get Off the X: CIA Secrets for Conquering Obstacles and Achieving Your Life's Mission," former CIA officer Michele Rigby Assad lifts the veil on overcoming setbacks we all encounter. Published February 20, 2025
Some leadership lessons for new CIA chief Ratcliffe to ponder
The stakes for our nation could not be higher as former Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe takes the helm as the 25th director of the CIA. Published February 6, 2025
Alarm bells should be ringing for new Trump team in wake of ISIS New Orleans attack
The year 2025 began with a shocking ISIS terrorist attack on the homeland when Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a truck with an Islamic State flag into a crowd, killing 15 people in New Orleans. Published January 23, 2025
Good intelligence will be vital in charting the way forward in Syria
With the shocking collapse of Bashar Assad's dictatorship in Syria, the U.S. intelligence community is once again on the hook to produce the intelligence that will inform national security policy. Published January 9, 2025
A daughter’s legacy: Connecting with family and community
For my sons and me, the most cherished part of the holiday season is gathering with our family. There is nothing more sacred than spending time with our loved ones. Published December 26, 2024
Kellogg takes on tough mission in dealing with Putin
Kudos to President-elect Donald Trump for selecting retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg for the extraordinarily complex and challenging position of special envoy to the Russia-Ukraine war. Published December 12, 2024
Trump admin to face many foreign threats
To borrow former CIA Director George Tenet's phrase describing warnings before the 9/11 attacks, the global threat landscape is "blinking red." While understandably focused on domestic priorities, the incoming Trump administration will have to deal with increasingly aggressive threats to our national security that have metastasized over the past four years. Published November 28, 2024
North Korea’s Kim should pay for his Ukraine misadventure
Having long supplied Russia with artillery and ballistic missiles to support the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, Kim Jong-un has reportedly sent 10,000 troops to fight alongside the Russian army in the Kursk region. Published November 14, 2024
CIA must serve next president without fear, favor or bias
Revolutionary War philosopher and pamphleteer Thomas Paine once wrote that "the right to vote is the right upon which all other rights depend." Published October 31, 2024
CIA would like to talk to a few good Iranians
Last month, the CIA posted instructions on social media sites on a secure means of contact via the internet for Iranians interested in sharing sensitive information with the U.S. government. Published October 17, 2024
