As a former senior intelligence officer, I have learned to pay attention to the oddities, the small, unexplained details that make the hairs rise on the back of your neck. So when a US C-17 Globemaster was spotted flying from Latvia into Moscow last week, my curiosity was immediately piqued. When it emerged that the passenger was no routine diplomat but John Ratcliffe, the director of the CIA, I sat up properly.
CIA chiefs do not drop into Moscow for a fireside chat. The last comparable visit was by William Burns in November 2021, sent in a last-ditch attempt to warn
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