Daniel N. Hoffman

Learning from the Arab Spring to defeat Iran today

Back in 2010, when I was serving as deputy chief of the CIA's Near East Division, the Arab Spring engulfed the Middle East, bringing with it levels of popular unrest not seen since the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

November 2, 2023

When a busy man makes time to support the noble cause of fighting cancer

It was a small gesture that spoke volumes. A couple of weeks ago, CIA Director William Burns was among those attending the annual Prevent Cancer Foundation gala at Washington's National Building Museum.

October 19, 2023

After Hamas shock attack, good intel more vital than ever for Israel, U.S.

Israel is reeling from Hamas' unprecedented combined air, land and sea attack, in which hundreds of Hamas terrorists infiltrated as much as 15 miles into southern Israel across Gaza's 37-mile border.

October 10, 2023

Lethal, centrally controlled autocracy like China cannot be trusted

Chinese President Xi Jinping demands unquestioning obedience to his dictatorial regime.

October 5, 2023

With Putin’s vulnerability, insider reporting on Russia matters more than ever

In the Great Purge of 1936-38, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the NKVD, the KGB's predecessor, to liquidate his real and perceived enemies in the Communist Party leadership, the Red Army and Russia's security services.

September 21, 2023

Response to Sept. 11 attacks embedded in U.S. national security strategy

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was in Tallinn, Estonia, when al Qaeda terrorists murdered nearly 3,000 people in Manhattan, at the Pentagon, and in southwestern Pennsylvania.

September 7, 2023

With U.S. gone, terrorist groups thrive again in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

Last month, the U.S. Central Command said it conducted 20 joint operations in Iraq and 11 in Syria, killing five Islamic State operatives and capturing 30 fighters.

August 24, 2023

The critical work of CIA Director William Burns

CIA Director William Burns' high-value counsel to the president and his team, especially Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, is critical for making informed foreign policy decisions.

August 10, 2023

In intelligence, allies like Ukraine are the ultimate force multiplier

During my last overseas CIA assignment as a station chief in a South Asian war zone, we worked in close partnership with our colleagues in the intelligence community, State Department and U.S. military.

July 27, 2023

How Ukraine’s campaign to defend Bakhmut weakened Putin

In May 2022, the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut found itself on the front lines of Russia's war of aggression, the unlikely focus of a ferocious offensive by Kremlin forces.

July 13, 2023

CIA officer Ric Prado’s stellar career still inspires agents today

One of the great regrets of my decadeslong CIA career is that I never had the honor of serving under the legendary CIA senior clandestine services officer Ric Prado.

June 29, 2023

Willful blindness doomed Putin’s disastrous Ukraine war from the start

Mr. Putin's only success -- amid his colossal failure to prepare his own military force for war -- has been to induce a measure of "escalation paralysis" from the Biden administration.

June 22, 2023

President Kennedy’s call, ‘let them come to Berlin,’ still has lessons to teach 60 years later

It was 60 years ago this month that President John F. Kennedy delivered his impassioned speech in defense of liberty, freedom and self-government to 1 million citizens in the then-democratic enclave of West Berlin.

June 5, 2023

Stars on the wall at CIA headquarters tell Memorial Day tale

The CIA's Memorial Wall is in the lobby of the Original Headquarters Building.

May 25, 2023

As autocrats attack journalists, the world must stand in defense of a free press

In 2018, my late wife, Kim, and I attended the White House Correspondents' Association dinner for the first time.

May 11, 2023

Why I didn’t sign the Hunter Biden laptop letter

I was one of the retired senior officials who received an email from former acting CIA Director Michael Morell asking us to sign the now-infamous Hunter Biden laptop letter.

April 27, 2023

Thoughts on Pentagon’s national security leak and what comes next

There is a lot we're still learning about the Pentagon intelligence document leak, but this much we do know: The Biden administration is confronting a significant counterintelligence flap.

April 20, 2023

With a serving of ‘sisu,’ Finland add weight to NATO’s clash with Russia

A few decades back, I had the honor of joining friends from the Helsinki Rotary Club to bring some good cheer to Finnish war veterans during the holiday season.

April 13, 2023

Yes, there’s a new Cold War — and China started it

It's time to harness the power of that bipartisan consensus against China, or our national security will suffer the gravest of consequences.

March 30, 2023

After long intelligence career, Patricia Moynihan still putting out fires

Emergency medical technicians are almost always the first to arrive and provide lifesaving medical care for the critically injured.

March 16, 2023