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We hope everyone had a relaxing weekend. We decided to kick off the week with a post covering “news from the weekend.” Yes, lots happens over the weekend. As such, we hope you find this post informative and that it offers the right mix of news to jump start your work week. Oh, and perhaps we did add in one entertaining (kind of) item at the end. As always, please share your thoughts and insights.

Chas Freeman Not Out of the News Cycle
The undoing of Chas Freeman continues to dominate the news cycle — in part due to him coming out and telling the BBC that he should not have used the term “Israeli Lobby” when discussing groups that were against him leading the National Intelligence Council. He went on to clarify that it was right-wing factions in Israel, which he described as the “Likud or (Avigdor) Lieberman lobby,” that aimed to bring him down.

Conspiracy Theories from The New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh?
Former Vice President Dick Cheney personally ran an “executive assassination ring,” according to Seymour Hersh of The New Yorker. And opinions have been flying all over the web about allegation. The Weekly Standard called it a “tall tale.” Former Nixon Aide John Dean went so far to say that, if true, the former VP should be charged with murder. And, finally the CIA debunks the story to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Check out the quote from the CIA PA contact: “This is utter nonsense.”

Cheney Tells CNN He’s Unhappy That Bush Did Not Pardon Libby
Speaking of Cheney, he made an appearance on John King’s CNN show “State of the Union,” and told King that he was unhappy that they left Scooter Libby “hanging in the wind.” As you all recall, a federal jury in Washington convicted Libby of lying and obstructing an investigation into who blew the cover of CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, had criticized the Iraq war. And on a separate note, he also said that Obama’s policies will make the U.S. “less safe.”

Blair’s View on Iran’s Nuke Capabilities Different than Allies
The New York Times recently ran this story about the difference between the chief of Israeli military intelligence and the DNI Blair regarding how far Iran is in developing its nuclear capabilities. In summary, Blair has a more tempered view.

Review of “Tour De Force”
Alright. Perhaps we did add in a little entertainment into this Monday morning post. But it is entertainment in the vein of spy-related movies and books. The Washington Post provided this review of the new book “Tour De Force” by Olen Steinhauer. While we have not yet read the book, it seems to be filled with all the ususal cliches about spy life, but it seems entertaining, according to the Post.

Happy Monday.

Tags: C.I.A. Tour De Force, Chas Freeman, Cheney, CNN, Dennis Blair, Intelligence Community, John King, Obama