The Team House

We break down the return of airline hijacking concerns, suspected covert activity around RAF Fairford, drone threats, and a mysterious pneumonic plague death at a Russian research facility. We also dig into the John Chapman/SEAL Team Six controversy, the politics of valor awards, the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, and how American policy reshaped Iran’s influence across the region.
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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett
Jon's article we referenced in the show:
https://smallwarsjournal.com/2025/03/04/covert-action-in-irregular-wars/
00:00 – Start
02:12 – Eyes on Pastrami & Opening Banter
02:38 – The Return of Aircraft Hijackings
03:32 – Insider Threats & Pilot Security
05:11 – Copycat Attacks, Radicalization & AI
07:05 – Airline Security After 9/11
08:12 – Lone Wolf or Sponsored Hijacking Plot?
08:52 – What’s Really Happening Around RAF Fairford?
10:06 – How British Counterintelligence Handles Suspected Cells
11:25 – B-1 Bombers Evacuated From RAF Fairford
12:05 – Why Drone Swarms Are So Hard to Stop
13:28 – What the Fairford Threat Says About NATO
14:17 – Is America About to Heavily Regulate Drones?
16:36 – America’s Drone Startup Boom
17:39 – Why U.S. Drone Innovation Is Falling Behind
20:05 – “Escalate to De-escalate” & the Failure of Policy
22:38 – A Pneumonic Plague Death at a Russian Research Facility
24:01 – Russia’s History of Biological Weapons Programs
25:14 – Novichok, Polonium & State Assassinations
27:19 – AI, Microfluidics & the Future of Biological Warfare
29:55 – The John Chapman / SEAL Team Six Controversy
32:15 – Why Is the Chapman Story Coming Back Now?
33:03 – Sorting Through the Roberts Ridge Claims
34:25 – Does John Chapman Deserve the Medal of Honor?
35:56 – The Legal Implications of Challenging the Award
37:08 – The Optics of Attacking a Fallen Medal of Honor Recipient
40:59 – Who Financed the Upcoming Documentary?
42:29 – The Bigger Problem With GWOT Valor Awards
43:56 – The Politics Behind Medal of Honor Awards
45:26 – Revisiting the U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq
45:46 – What Were U.S. Troops Still Doing in Iraq?
46:50 – From Counter-ISIS to Containing Iran
48:20 – Did the Iraq War Make Iran Stronger?
49:43 – The Untold Intelligence War in Syria
50:16 – Timber Sycamore & the CIA’s Syria Program
52:00 – What the Episode Covered
52:23 – Why Sykes-Picot Still Shapes the Middle East
53:30 – SAS Operations in Northern Ireland

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We break down the attempted hijacking of Flydubai Flight 1073, the warning signs investigators may have missed, and whether the attack was connected to Iran or a lone-wolf extremist. We also discuss suspected IRGC-linked plots in the UK, the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, what that means for the Kurds and Iranian influence, and whether the latest troop and carrier movements signal a new round of escalation in the Middle East.
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Support the show on Patreon:⬇️
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Find Jon Hackett here:⬇️
Jon's Twitter:
https://x.com/jonathanhackett
Jon's LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett
Jon's books:
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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett
Twitter: https://x.com/jonathanhackett
Check out Mick's new podcast here:⬇️
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Andy’s book ⬇️
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00:00 – Start
00:02 – Flydubai Flight 1073 Hijacking Attempt
01:29 – How Close the Flight Came to Disaster
04:40 – The Intelligence Failures Before the Attack
06:17 – Aviation’s Worst-Case Insider Threat
07:51 – How Flydubai Missed the Warning Signs
09:46 – Was Iran Behind the Attack?
13:18 – Israel Says It Wasn’t Iran
14:26 – The Lone-Wolf Terrorism Problem
17:37 – Suspected Iran-Linked Plot in Manchester
20:29 – Is the IRGC Getting Sloppier?
22:12 – What Would Iran-Backed Attacks Mean for Britain?
24:43 – Iran’s History of Covert Attacks in the UK
26:57 – How Iran Uses Proxies and Simple Attacks
28:54 – Why Is the UK Such a Major Target?
31:15 – The U.S. Finally Pulls Out of Iraq
33:58 – Was Iraq Worth It?
35:09 – What the Withdrawal Gives Iran
37:41 – Are the Kurds the Biggest Losers?
38:59 – Why Not Leave a Small U.S. Force Behind?
41:26 – Did America Throw Away Its Position in Iraq?
44:19 – Decades of U.S. Blunders in Iraq
47:18 – What U.S. Forces Still Remain in Iraq?
49:16 – Did America Learn Anything From the Iraq War?
50:21 – Do Troops Need to Understand the Bigger Mission?
52:08 – Explaining the War to the People Fighting It
55:49 – Gold Star Families & the Cost of Endless War
57:26 – 9,000 More U.S. Troops Head to CENTCOM
58:16 – Is the U.S. Preparing to Escalate Against Iran?
58:56 – Could There Be U.S. Ground Operations?
1:00:34 – Three Carriers in the Middle East & the China Problem
1:01:24 – What the Camp David Meeting Could Mean
1:02:36 – Will the U.S. Strike the Houthis for Saudi Arabia?
1:04:05 – Closing Thoughts
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Julia Curlee looks back on a career that took her from DIA and CIA deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan to briefing senior White House officials and serving on the National Security Council. We also discuss her transition while serving at CIA, briefing Mike Pence, the politicization of intelligence, the purges that pushed her out of government, and the consequences she believes that has had for U.S. national security.              
Find Julia here: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/contributors/jcurlee
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"Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"
00:00 – Start
01:09 – Growing Up in Hawaii & Wanting to Join the CIA
04:45 – 9/11, Iraq & Getting Hired by DIA
07:39 – Embedded With a Hostage Rescue Task Force in Baghdad
10:20 – Kidnapping Networks & Funding the Iraqi Insurgency
13:09 – Kirkuk, Zarqawi & High-Value Targeting
17:30 – When Intelligence Gets Politicized
20:04 – Telling Senior Officers the Iraq War Was Going Badly
21:06 – Getting Recruited Into the CIA
24:44 – CIA Analyst Training & Returning to Iraq
26:35 – The Sadr Uprising & Fighting in Sadr City
32:54 – The Rise of ISIS & an Intelligence Failure
36:58 – Afghanistan & Briefing General Petraeus
41:08 – Tension Between CIA Assessments & the Military
43:49 – Coming Out as Trans While Serving at CIA
49:13 – Fearing She Could Lose Her Career
52:25 – Becoming the First Person to Successfully Transition at CIA
58:51 – Volunteering to Brief the First Trump White House
1:04:55 – What the Presidential Daily Brief Actually Is
1:07:45 – Briefing H.R. McMaster, Trump & Mike Pence
1:11:55 – Moving to the National Security Council
1:16:16 – Why China Is the Generational Challenge
1:18:23 – Trump’s First Term vs. His Second
1:20:26 – Becoming Acting Senior Director for Intelligence
1:20:41 – 160 Career Staffers Fired in the Opening Days
1:22:06 – The Laura Loomer Purge
1:24:29 – Why the NSC Was Gutted
1:26:27 – Returning to CIA After Being Fired From the White House
1:28:13 – Leaving the Intelligence Community & Joining Lawfare
1:31:32 – How Politicization of Intelligence Affected the Iran War
1:37:45 – John Ratcliffe, CIA Leadership & the Loss of Expertise
1:39:04 – Intelligence, Election Security & Political Pressure
1:41:21 – Concerns Over CIA Involvement in Lethal Operations
1:43:21 – Life After CIA & Writing for Lawfare
1:47:00 – Why Julia Decided to Speak Publicly

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original air date 5/13/22

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Ric Prado is a former CIA operations officer who spent more than two decades working in some of the agency’s most demanding assignments, including counterterrorism, paramilitary operations, and overseas intelligence missions. He later chronicled his career in Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior, offering a rare look at the covert side of U.S. national security.

Grab Ric's book here:
"Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior"
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Ops-Life-Shadow-Warrior/dp/1250271843

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00:00 – Start
01:19 – Escaping Castro’s Cuba as a Child
08:00 – Joining the Air Force & Becoming a Pararescueman
11:33 – Ric’s First Exposure to the CIA
15:00 – Undercover With the Contras in Honduras
23:16 – CIA Sabotage Missions Against the Sandinistas
26:31 – A Covert Mission Goes Wrong
35:23 – Running the Southern Front & the Iran-Contra Scandal
40:13 – Becoming a CIA Operations Officer
51:15 – Fighting Terrorists in the Philippines
57:35 – Ric Addresses the CIA Hitman Allegations
1:05:06 – The Original Bin Laden Task Force & North Korea Operations
1:18:08 – Building a CIA Intelligence Capability in Africa
1:22:17 – Inside CIA’s Counterterrorism Center on 9/11
1:31:55 – Building a New Post-9/11 Covert Operations Team
1:58:16 – Blackwater, Intelligence Operations & Life After the CIA
2:18:48 – How to Join the CIA & Advice for Future Officers

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We break down the suspected plot near RAF Fairford, the growing use of criminal proxies for covert action, and what the incident could mean if investigators ultimately tie it to Iran. We also discuss the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, China’s role in sustaining Iran economically, pressure on Gulf allies, and whether Washington has lost sight of the nuclear issue.
Support the show on Patreon:⬇️
https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse
Jack's news outlet:⬇️
https://thehighside.substack.com/
Find Jon Hackett here:⬇️
Jon's Twitter:
https://x.com/jonathanhackett
Jon's LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett
Jon's books:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0C5L659N5?ccs_id=e11a2062-f8d3-498e-bfd7-7d2f3869caf6
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathanhackett
Twitter: https://x.com/jonathanhackett
Check out Mick's new podcast here:⬇️
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/pub-and-porch-applied-stoicism/id1836955475
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/1k3QPmkAMwnGJxMLDwUSSd?si=n6piIu8XRcag1Z0K43A3bQ
Youtube:
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Find Mick Mulroy here: 
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Andy’s book ⬇️
https://www.amazon.com/When-Tempest-Gathers-Mogadishu-Operations
00:00 – Start
00:37 – Five Men Arrested Near RAF Fairford
02:17 – Was Iran Behind the Alleged Plot?
05:40 – How a Local Tip May Have Stopped the Attack
07:29 – IRGC Warnings About RAF Fairford
12:35 – What Was the Intended Target?
17:17 – How Iran Recruits Criminal Proxies for Covert Operations
21:07 – The Gig Economy of Espionage & Sabotage
23:56 – Iran, Hormuz & the Latest Ceasefire Maneuvering
28:01 – China Is the Key to Economic Pressure on Iran
32:48 – What Could the U.S. Offer China in Return?
39:20 – Why Washington Is Holding Back on Tougher China Sanctions
42:53 – Iran & the U.S. Settle Into a Dangerous Stalemate
47:37 – Can the U.S. Still Protect Its Gulf Allies?
50:01 – Iran’s Internal Crackdown & the Cost of the War
53:07 – What This War Is Teaching the U.S. About Cheap Weapons
55:13 – Has Washington Lost Sight of the Nuclear Issue?
59:18 – What to Watch Next in Iran, Yemen & the Gulf

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