Uploaded August 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Host Michael Ard leads a curated conversation with Jack Devine, former Acting Director of CIA's operations outside of the United States on "Spying and Covert Action Made Simple."
Jack Devine is a founding partner and President of The Arkin Group LLC, which specializes in international crisis management, strategic intelligence, investigative research and business problem solving. He is a 32-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (“CIA”). Mr. Devine served as both Acting Director and Associate Director of CIA’s operations outside the United States from 1993-1995, where he had supervisory authority over thousands of CIA employees involved in sensitive missions throughout the world. In addition, he served as Chief of the Latin American Division from 1992-1993 and was the principal manager of the CIA’s sensitive projects in Latin America.
Between 1990 and 1992, Mr. Devine headed the CIA’s Counternarcotics Center, which was responsible for coordinating and building close cooperation between all major U.S. and foreign law enforcement agencies in tracking worldwide narcotics and crime organizations. From 1985-1987, Mr. Devine headed the CIA’s Afghan Task Force, which successfully countered Soviet aggression in the region. In 1987, he was awarded the CIA’s Meritorious Officer Award for this accomplishment.
Mr. Devine’s international experience with the U.S. government included postings to Latin America and Europe. During his more than 30 years with the CIA, Mr. Devine was involved in organizing, planning and executing countless sensitive projects in virtually all areas of intelligence, including analysis, operations, technology and management.
He is the recipient of the Agency’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal and several meritorious awards. He is a recognized expert in Intelligence matters and has written Op-Ed articles for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs Magazine, The World Policy Journal, Politico and The Atlantic Monthly. He has also made guest appearances on National Press Club, CNN, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, CSPAN, Bloomberg News as well as the History and Discovery channels, PBS, NPR and ABC Radio.
Learn more about the JHU MS in Intelligence Analysis:
https://advanced.jhu.edu/academics/graduate/ms-intelligence-analysis/
Host Michael Ard leads a curated conversation with Jack Devine, former Acting Director of CIA's operations outside of the United States on "Spying and Covert Action Made Simple."
Jack Devine is a founding partner and President of The Arkin Group LLC, which specializes in international crisis management, strategic intelligence, investigative research and business problem solving. He is a 32-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (“CIA”). Mr. Devine served as both Acting Director and Associate Director of CIA’s operations outside the United States from 1993-1995, where he had supervisory authority over thousands of CIA employees involved in sensitive missions throughout the world. In addition, he served as Chief of the Latin American Division from 1992-1993 and was the principal manager of the CIA’s sensitive projects in Latin America.
Between 1990 and 1992, Mr. Devine headed the CIA’s Counternarcotics Center, which was responsible for coordinating and building close cooperation between all major U.S. and foreign law enforcement agencies in tracking worldwide narcotics and crime organizations. From 1985-1987, Mr. Devine headed the CIA’s Afghan Task Force, which successfully countered Soviet aggression in the region. In 1987, he was awarded the CIA’s Meritorious Officer Award for this accomplishment.
Mr. Devine’s international experience with the U.S. government included postings to Latin America and Europe. During his more than 30 years with the CIA, Mr. Devine was involved in organizing, planning and executing countless sensitive projects in virtually all areas of intelligence, including analysis, operations, technology and management.
He is the recipient of the Agency’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal and several meritorious awards. He is a recognized expert in Intelligence matters and has written Op-Ed articles for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs Magazine, The World Policy Journal, Politico and The Atlantic Monthly. He has also made guest appearances on National Press Club, CNN, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, CSPAN, Bloomberg News as well as the History and Discovery channels, PBS, NPR and ABC Radio.
Learn more about the JHU MS in Intelligence Analysis:
https://advanced.jhu.edu/academics/graduate/ms-intelligence-analysis/

![Analyzing Hard-Target Countries.
This video addresses the challenge of intelligence analysis and research on hard-target countries and rogue states [such as North Korea], where limited access, state secrecy, controlled media, and misinformation make reliable assessment difficult. It shows how government, intelligence, and foreign policy analysts can use structured analytic tradecraft to interpret incomplete information, identify malign influence campaigns, and produce actionable judgments for national security decision-making.
Learn more about the MS in Inside Intelligence program: https://advanced.jhu.edu/academics/graduate/ms-intelligence-analysis/
Want to be notified about upcoming editions of Inside Intelligence? Subscribe to our newsletter, Advanced Notice:
https://advanced.jhu.edu/about/aap-events/events-newsletter/
#IntelligenceAnalysis #NationalSecurity #AnalyticTradecraft #Misinformation #GeopoliticalRisk #ArtificialIntelligence #StrategicAnalysis #PoliticalAnalysis #OpenSourceIntelligence #ForeignInfluence Analyzing Hard-Target Countries.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lTN7rLrg9tU/mqdefault.jpg)








