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Daniel N. Hoffman

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Daniel N. Hoffman

Daniel N. Hoffman is a retired clandestine services officer and former chief of station with the Central Intelligence Agency. His combined 30 years of government service included high-level overseas and domestic positions at the CIA. He has been a Fox News contributor since May 2018. He can be reached at danielhoffman@yahoo.com.

Columns by Daniel N. Hoffman

Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg speaks to reporters at Trump Tower, Nov. 15, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

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.

December 12, 2024

Donald Trump, his Cabinet and foreign threats around the globe. (Illustration by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times)

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.

November 28, 2024

The United States catching North Korea illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

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.

November 14, 2024

CIA serving the president and following the Constitution illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

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."

October 31, 2024

Iranians talking to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

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.

October 17, 2024

Putin targets America's news media outlets illustration by Greg Groesch / The Washington Times

Russian dictator Putin brazenly targets America’s news media outlets

We have the ancient Roman poet Virgil to thank for the phrase "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."

October 3, 2024

Chinese spies near Democrats illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Chinese spies are lurking in or around the offices of our elected leaders

Earlier this month, the FBI arrested Linda Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from China, who had served for a time as the deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

September 19, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Putin is at war with democracy, and democracy must win

President Vladimir Putin has stated publicly that he believes Russia's invasion of Ukraine amounts to a proxy war against NATO.

September 5, 2024

Prisoner swap between United States and Russia illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Prisoner swap with Russia was a success

Earlier this month, the U.S. and Russia completed their largest prisoner swap ever involving 24 people.

August 22, 2024

CIA officers and Cuba's Havana syndrome illustration by Greg Groesch / The Washington Times

CIA officer’s sacrifice shows need to crack Havana syndrome mystery

Havana syndrome was first detected in 2016, when U.S. diplomats serving in Cuba reported experiencing vertigo, headaches, fatigue and hearing loss.

August 8, 2024

Preservation of the NATO Treaty Illustration by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

Why a strong NATO is more important than ever

At the NATO summit last month, for the first time the alliance had publicly and explicitly confronted the new "axis of tyranny" -- the deepening collaboration between Russia, North Korea, China and Iran.

July 25, 2024

Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine war illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Putin, having miscalculated, is increasingly desperate

There's a popular expression in Finland that best characterizes Russian President Vladimir Putin's national security strategy: "Hata ei lue lakia" -- "In desperate times, law does not matter."

July 11, 2024

A lesson for politics and politicians illustration by Alexander Hunter/ The Washington Times

Being curious and not judgmental

"Be curious, not judgmental."

June 27, 2024

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and nuclear weapons illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Don’t let Putin bolster weak hand in Ukraine with nuclear bluff

Seeking to buttress his self-proclaimed image as the defender of a besieged Russia, President Vladimir Putin told voters that the Kremlin would be ready for nuclear war with the West.

June 13, 2024

Cancer and heartbreak illustration by Greg Groesch / The Washington Times

Profiles in courage as Rees family confronts cancer — again

A few days ago, I learned that my friend Erik Rees' wife, Stacey, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She will undergo surgery and radiation on June 4.

May 30, 2024

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Ronald Reagan illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Speaker Johnson offers a lesson in the power of intellectual honesty

Training in clandestine operations in the earliest days of my CIA career was a formative experience, and not just because I learned how to recruit spies and steal secrets.

May 16, 2024

U.S. support of Israel, Iran deterrence and national security illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Iran-Israel clashes show tricky dynamics of deterrence

Speaking at the George W. Bush Presidential Center last month, CIA Director William Burns declared that Iran's recent unprecedented attack on Israel had "turned out to be a spectacular failure."

May 2, 2024

Americans in prisoner swap with Russia illustration by Greg Groesch / The Washington Times

Bringing back Americans unlawfully detained in Russia

After the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian President Vladimir Putin nominally resigned from the KGB with the rank of lieutenant colonel. But he never really left the KGB.

April 18, 2024

Putin's blame game on Ukraine illustration by Linas Garsys / The Washington Times

Putin’s failed blame game in terror attack exposes brittle regime

Even before the terrorists who slaughtered concertgoers at Moscow's Crocus City Mall were apprehended, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused the government of Ukraine of being responsible.

April 4, 2024

Iran, Russia, North Korea and China targeting America's cyberspace illustration by Alexander Hunter/The Washington Times

Perils in cyberspace expand as dictators unite against U.S.

One of the more ominous consequences of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the most destructive land war in Europe since World War II, has been the tectonic shift in the geopolitical landscape it has caused.

March 21, 2024