Mark Stout
@markstout.bsky.social
Intelligence historian, former intelligence officer. Also live on the borderlands of military history. Former Historian at the International Spy Museum. University educator. I wish I were in Seattle. The cat is Boadicea.
Reposted by Mark Stout
Fucking hell policy by truth social post and also, well, this is rapidly moving deteriorating just like Trump et al Regime
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Donald Trump says airspace above and around Venezuela is closed
President made declaration in a social media post, after FAA last week warned airlines of ‘worsening security situation’
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Fucking hell policy by truth social post and also, well, this is rapidly moving deteriorating just like Trump et al Regime
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Mark Stout
NEW: The New York Times got a State Dept. cable telling diplomats to destroy visas that had been approved and printed to give to Afghans. And diplomats are told to do scheduled interviews but not grant visas. US shuts all legal entry routes for Afghans. Our story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/u...
Trump Pauses All Asylum Applications and Halts Visas for Afghans
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 4:02 AM
NEW: The New York Times got a State Dept. cable telling diplomats to destroy visas that had been approved and printed to give to Afghans. And diplomats are told to do scheduled interviews but not grant visas. US shuts all legal entry routes for Afghans. Our story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/u...
Reposted by Mark Stout
It is unfathomable that the USG lawyers would sign off on a no-survivors boat strike (no get of jail free card).
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
November 28, 2025 at 7:22 PM
It is unfathomable that the USG lawyers would sign off on a no-survivors boat strike (no get of jail free card).
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
There's clear precedent dating back to World War II trial of Germans for that very act, which lawyers know well.
The Peleus World War II War Crimes Trial
www.usni.org/magazines/na...
Reposted by Mark Stout
This is getting REALLY interesting…
Another Indiana Republican Senator makes it clear he’s still opposing the GOP push to re-gerrymander the state. dailyjournal.net/2025/11/26/s...
November 29, 2025 at 4:05 AM
This is getting REALLY interesting…
Reposted by Mark Stout
It's Black Friday. You might as well pre-order the first mainstream published version of the Church Committee Report. Abridged to its most essential findings, this 1975 report reads like the very best investigative journalism mixed with a spy novel covering assassinations, surveillance, sabotage.
The Church Committee Report: Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State
Revelations from the Bombshell 1970s Investigation Into the National Security State
bookshop.org
November 29, 2025 at 3:40 AM
It's Black Friday. You might as well pre-order the first mainstream published version of the Church Committee Report. Abridged to its most essential findings, this 1975 report reads like the very best investigative journalism mixed with a spy novel covering assassinations, surveillance, sabotage.
Reposted by Mark Stout
Operation Condor: A Network of Transnational Repression 50 Years Later nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...
Operation Condor: A Network of Transnational Repression 50 Years Later
Washington, D.C., November 26, 2025 - On General Augusto Pinochet’s 60th birthday, November 25, 1975, four delegations of Southern Cone secret police chieftains gathered in Santiago, Chile, at the inv...
nsarchive.gwu.edu
November 28, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Operation Condor: A Network of Transnational Repression 50 Years Later nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...
Reposted by Mark Stout
@edinburghup.bsky.social is having a 50% off sale. This means that my The President’s Kill List is only £12.99. Bargain. edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-pre...
The President’s Kill List
The President’s Kill List
edinburghuniversitypress.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:16 PM
@edinburghup.bsky.social is having a 50% off sale. This means that my The President’s Kill List is only £12.99. Bargain. edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-pre...
Reposted by Mark Stout
Hagueseth
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Hagueseth
Reposted by Mark Stout
BREAKING: there’s an important special election in Tennessee on Dec 2.
Beware: Republicans are sending mailers to Democrats reminding them to vote on Dec 3 - the day AFTER the election.
Beware: Republicans are sending mailers to Democrats reminding them to vote on Dec 3 - the day AFTER the election.
November 28, 2025 at 7:44 PM
BREAKING: there’s an important special election in Tennessee on Dec 2.
Beware: Republicans are sending mailers to Democrats reminding them to vote on Dec 3 - the day AFTER the election.
Beware: Republicans are sending mailers to Democrats reminding them to vote on Dec 3 - the day AFTER the election.
Reposted by Mark Stout
⭐ Discover our #ExhibitionoftheWeek!
🕵️ Dive into espionage, hidden messages, and daring missions at “Spies, Lies and Deception” at IWM North. Visit for free starting 29 November!
buff.ly/5KbHkQb
#IWMNorth #SpiesLiesAndDeception
🕵️ Dive into espionage, hidden messages, and daring missions at “Spies, Lies and Deception” at IWM North. Visit for free starting 29 November!
buff.ly/5KbHkQb
#IWMNorth #SpiesLiesAndDeception
Spies, Lies and Deception
Discover over 100 years of intrigue, deceit and real-life secret agents.Spies, Lies and Deception is a free, family-friendly exhibition at IWM North about deception and espionage from the First World…
buff.ly
November 28, 2025 at 12:00 PM
⭐ Discover our #ExhibitionoftheWeek!
🕵️ Dive into espionage, hidden messages, and daring missions at “Spies, Lies and Deception” at IWM North. Visit for free starting 29 November!
buff.ly/5KbHkQb
#IWMNorth #SpiesLiesAndDeception
🕵️ Dive into espionage, hidden messages, and daring missions at “Spies, Lies and Deception” at IWM North. Visit for free starting 29 November!
buff.ly/5KbHkQb
#IWMNorth #SpiesLiesAndDeception
Reposted by Mark Stout
Sgt William A. Hartman, , Co F, 107th Engineers, 32nd Div, AEF, by Joseph Cummings Chase, 1919, #NAMH.
The portrait is one of a series of #DSC winners the artist created for the #USArmy after the #GreatWar. Like so much #FWW art, it is not of public display. #combatart #fwwhist #combatengineer
The portrait is one of a series of #DSC winners the artist created for the #USArmy after the #GreatWar. Like so much #FWW art, it is not of public display. #combatart #fwwhist #combatengineer
November 27, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Sgt William A. Hartman, , Co F, 107th Engineers, 32nd Div, AEF, by Joseph Cummings Chase, 1919, #NAMH.
The portrait is one of a series of #DSC winners the artist created for the #USArmy after the #GreatWar. Like so much #FWW art, it is not of public display. #combatart #fwwhist #combatengineer
The portrait is one of a series of #DSC winners the artist created for the #USArmy after the #GreatWar. Like so much #FWW art, it is not of public display. #combatart #fwwhist #combatengineer
Reposted by Mark Stout
CSE Chief Caroline Xavier interviewed by Wesley Wark
thewalrus.ca/canada-fight...
thewalrus.ca/canada-fight...
Canada Fighting “Billions” of Attacks a Day, Cyber Agency Says | The Walrus
In an exclusive interview, CSE chief Caroline Xavier warns adversaries are growing faster, smarter, and more aggressive
thewalrus.ca
November 27, 2025 at 5:55 PM
CSE Chief Caroline Xavier interviewed by Wesley Wark
thewalrus.ca/canada-fight...
thewalrus.ca/canada-fight...
Reposted by Mark Stout
I've been thinking about prosopography. Because why not dip I to Lewis Namier and Charles Beard of an evening?
@sandbaggerone.bsky.social do you think a collective biography approach to British Intel has legs?
@sandbaggerone.bsky.social do you think a collective biography approach to British Intel has legs?
November 27, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I've been thinking about prosopography. Because why not dip I to Lewis Namier and Charles Beard of an evening?
@sandbaggerone.bsky.social do you think a collective biography approach to British Intel has legs?
@sandbaggerone.bsky.social do you think a collective biography approach to British Intel has legs?
This statement is way outside of CIA’s lane and erosive of the ethical norm that intelligence should be non-partisan. If that norm vanishes, intelligence loses a very large portion of its value.
CIA statement about the Afghan man identified as the gunman who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington
November 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This statement is way outside of CIA’s lane and erosive of the ethical norm that intelligence should be non-partisan. If that norm vanishes, intelligence loses a very large portion of its value.
Reposted by Mark Stout
Russian nationals among 4 people arrested in France over espionage investigation www.nbcnews.com/world/europe...
Russian nationals among 4 people arrested in France over espionage investigation
The breakup of the alleged intelligence-gathering operation came as French President Emmanuel Macron warned about Russian destabilization efforts targeting France, a key backer of Ukraine in the nearl...
www.nbcnews.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Russian nationals among 4 people arrested in France over espionage investigation www.nbcnews.com/world/europe...
Reposted by Mark Stout
We're enjoying our co-founder @markstout.bsky.social's latest review. This definitely sounds like a memoir worth reading.
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
Stout on "Spymaster: The Memoirs of Gordon M. Stewart, CIA Station Chief in Cold War Germany" | H-Net
Spymaster: The Memoirs of Gordon M. Stewart, CIA Station Chief in Cold War Germany.Edited by Thomas Boghardt, Boston, MA, DeGruyter Oldenbourg, 2024, 212 pp., $US 61.95 (hardcover), ISBN 978-3-11-1348...
networks.h-net.org
November 26, 2025 at 11:00 PM
We're enjoying our co-founder @markstout.bsky.social's latest review. This definitely sounds like a memoir worth reading.
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
networks.h-net.org/group/discus...
Reposted by Mark Stout
If you’re a Dennis Showalter fan, you need this book. Period.
Dad LOVED stuff like this. As an educator he also believed that connecting contemporary things like Star Wars to how history works as a field was critical for undergrads.
He would have loved this project
Dad LOVED stuff like this. As an educator he also believed that connecting contemporary things like Star Wars to how history works as a field was critical for undergrads.
He would have loved this project
For those who enjoy ebooks on Kindle, it seems that 'Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire' is *massively* discounted today down to $1.99 in the US and £7.99 in the UK. Which feels like a pretty good deal really.
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
November 26, 2025 at 8:11 PM
If you’re a Dennis Showalter fan, you need this book. Period.
Dad LOVED stuff like this. As an educator he also believed that connecting contemporary things like Star Wars to how history works as a field was critical for undergrads.
He would have loved this project
Dad LOVED stuff like this. As an educator he also believed that connecting contemporary things like Star Wars to how history works as a field was critical for undergrads.
He would have loved this project
None of the consequential SecDefs would have bothered with silliness like this. Think McNamara, Brown, Weinberger, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gates. No way. The thought wouldn’t even have occurred to them.
November 25, 2025 at 6:08 PM
None of the consequential SecDefs would have bothered with silliness like this. Think McNamara, Brown, Weinberger, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gates. No way. The thought wouldn’t even have occurred to them.
Reposted by Mark Stout
Paul Ritchie obituary: MI6 officer on front line of post-Soviet threats
www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...
www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...
Paul Ritchie obituary: MI6 officer on front line of post-Soviet threats
Senior agent at the forefront of transforming an agency focused on espionage into a global organisation capable of tackling modern-day threats, dies aged 63
www.thetimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Paul Ritchie obituary: MI6 officer on front line of post-Soviet threats
www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...
www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...
Reposted by Mark Stout
The Commission’s new “intelligence cell” could backfire, pulling analysis into a political space and making EU states share less, not more. Our Euractiv piece explains why trust, not expansion, is the real bottleneck. @dvanp.bsky.social @evamichaels.bsky.social
www.euractiv.com/opinion/von-...
www.euractiv.com/opinion/von-...
Von der Leyen’s 'intelligence cell' will only fuel fragmentation and mistrust | Euractiv
The need to improve intelligence capacity is undeniable. But von der Leyen’s chosen method reflects a familiar instinct: using crisis logic to expand the Commission’s authority
www.euractiv.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:25 AM
The Commission’s new “intelligence cell” could backfire, pulling analysis into a political space and making EU states share less, not more. Our Euractiv piece explains why trust, not expansion, is the real bottleneck. @dvanp.bsky.social @evamichaels.bsky.social
www.euractiv.com/opinion/von-...
www.euractiv.com/opinion/von-...
Reposted by Mark Stout
and "Espionage and destructive activities of the communist and Soviet secret services on the territory of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes (Yugoslavia) in the 1920s and 1930s" by Andrzej Krzak... We've got a handful of book reviews as well, noted in in the next post...
October 29, 2025 at 6:04 PM
and "Espionage and destructive activities of the communist and Soviet secret services on the territory of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes (Yugoslavia) in the 1920s and 1930s" by Andrzej Krzak... We've got a handful of book reviews as well, noted in in the next post...
Reposted by Mark Stout
Eli Zeira, Israeli intelligence chief vilified for failing to foresee 1973 Yom Kippur War – obituary www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
Eli Zeira, Israeli intelligence chief vilified for failing to foresee the 1973 Yom Kippur War
He accused Mossad of being misled by their top spy, and later leaked his identity: Nasser’s son-in-law Ashraf Marwan
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Eli Zeira, Israeli intelligence chief vilified for failing to foresee 1973 Yom Kippur War – obituary www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...
Reposted by Mark Stout
November 24, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Reposted by Mark Stout
Soviet ideology called for the emancipation of women, but reality often fell short. Soviet women did serve in the Red Army, but life during WWII was more than the heroic tales we know today. This week, we spoke to Regina Kazyulina about gender and survival.
patreon.com/posts/fraternization-144312034
patreon.com/posts/fraternization-144312034
November 24, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Soviet ideology called for the emancipation of women, but reality often fell short. Soviet women did serve in the Red Army, but life during WWII was more than the heroic tales we know today. This week, we spoke to Regina Kazyulina about gender and survival.
patreon.com/posts/fraternization-144312034
patreon.com/posts/fraternization-144312034
Reposted by Mark Stout
BBC News - How Jodrell Bank kept an eye on Cold War Soviet missile launches - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How Jodrell Bank kept an eye on Cold War Soviet missile launches
How did a giant radio telescope in Cheshire help the West monitor the Soviet Union's nuclear missiles?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 10:33 AM
BBC News - How Jodrell Bank kept an eye on Cold War Soviet missile launches - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...