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With all the new surrounding the Intelligence Community these days, we have decided to extend the “Monday Morning News Kick Off” post to Tuesday this week. Frankly, there is just too much happening to do one-off news posts. So, today, we have compiled several breaking news stories that surely will be of interest. From revelations that the CIA attacker was a double-agent to a front-page NY Times story about the CIA working with climate scientists, we have all the latest news in one spot for you. So, as we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

Al Qaeda Double Agent: Role in CIA Attack Points to Group’s Reach
The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents and a Jordanian spy in Afghanistan Dec. 30 was an Al Qaeda double agent, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday, quoting American intelligence officers. News of the bomber’s identity has raised concerns about the risk of infiltration of US facilities and intelligence setups. The revelation comes at the same time as a US think tank report that critiques the CIA’s intelligence work in Afghanistan, describing its officials as “clueless.” Read the full Christian Science Monitor article here.

US Military Chief Brands Afghan Intelligence Mission ‘Clueless’
America’s deputy chief of military intelligence in Afghanistan has issued a damning indictment of the work of US spy agencies, calling them clueless and out of touch with the Afghan people. Major General Michael Flynn described US spies as “ignorant of local economics and landowners, hazy about who the powerbrokers are and how they might be influenced… and disengaged from people in the best position to find answers”. The bleak assessment of the intelligence community’s role in the eight-year-old war came in a report issued by the Center for New American Security, a US think tank. It comes less than a week after the CIA suffered one of the most damaging blows in its history, when a suicide bomber killed seven of its operatives at Camp Chapman, a high security CIA base near Khost in eastern Afghanistan. Read the full Times Online article here.

C.I.A. Is Sharing Data With Climate Scientists
The nation’s top scientists and spies are collaborating on an effort to use the federal government’s intelligence assets — including spy satellites and other classified sensors — to assess the hidden complexities of environmental change. They seek insights from natural phenomena like clouds and glaciers, deserts and tropical forests. The collaboration restarts an effort the Bush administration shut down and has the strong backing of the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In the last year, as part of the effort, the collaborators have scrutinized images of Arctic sea ice from reconnaissance satellites in an effort to distinguish things like summer melts from climate trends, and they have had images of the ice pack declassified to speed the scientific analysis. Read the front-page NY Times article here.

President Will Push Today for Intelligence Community to Constantly Challenge Its Assumptions
President Obama convenes a meeting of national security officials in the Situation Room today to look at the events leading to Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab’s attempt to blow up Northwest Flight #253 on Christmas Day. His purpose for today’s meeting is clear: what went wrong? And how can the U.S. government make sure it never happens again? White House sources say President Obama will present concrete reforms. ABC News has learned that one component will deal with examining and updating the assumptions of the intelligence community and making those assumptions more flexible. Read the full ABC News story here.

Afghan Bombing Casualties Identified
Although there are still no more than sketchy reports regarding what actually transpired during the bombing that occurred in a CIA base in Afghanistan, a feature contained additional information regarding some of the men who lost their lives in the tragic incident. One of the casualties in the CIA attack is Ohio native Scott Michael Roberson. The 39-year-old was said to be employed as a security officer for the CIA, according to his sister, Amy Messner. Roberson was hoping to come home in time for the birth of his and his wife Molly’s first child in February. His wife was notified by the government of his demise last Wednesday, and the CIA has reportedly given the family permission to share news of his death. Read the full Navy Seals Blog post here.

Tags: Afghan War, Al Qaeda, CIA, CIA bombing, GEOINT, geospatial intelligence, Intelligence Community, Major General Michael Flynn, President Obama, USGIF