Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) is a group of current and former officials of the United States Intelligence Community, including some from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the U.S. State Department's Intelligence Bureau (INR), and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It was formed in January 2003 as a "coast-to-coast enterprise" to protest the use of faulty intelligence "upon which the US/UK invasion of Iraq was based." The group issued a letter before the 2003 invasion of Iraq stating that intelligence analysts were not being listened to by policy makers.

VIPS: Potential for U.S.-Russia Confrontation in Syria Has Never Been Greater

As Syrian forces backed by Russia launch the final showdown in Syria against jihadist extremists in Idlib province, the potential for a U.S.-Russia confrontation has never been greater, as VIPS warns in this memo to the president. September 9, 2018

SU 34 fighter jet in Syria

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity SUBJECT: Moscow Has Upped the Ante in Syria   Mr. President: We are concerned that you may not have been adequately briefed on the upsurge of hostilities in northwestern Syria, where Syrian armed forces with Russian support have launched a full-out

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Intelligence Veterans Plead for Humanitarian Asylum for Julian Assange

Memorandum for: The US Embassies of Ecuador and the United Kingdom, and the U.S. State Department

From: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity

Subject: Humanitarian Asylum for Julian Assange

julian assange

For six years, WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange has been effectively imprisoned without charges at Ecuador’s London embassy. In that time, two international courts and dozens of respected legal and human rights organizations have decried actions of the UK, US and Swedish governments that confine the journalist in what now amounts to torturous

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VIPS to Trump: Intel on Iran May Actually be CATASTROPHIC

As drums beat again for war — this time on Iran—-the VIPS’ warning is again being disregarded as it was before the Iraq debacle and this time VIPS fear the consequences will be all-caps CATASTROPHIC.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents material he claims comes from on Iranian nuclear weapons development during a press conference in in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 30, 2018. (AP/Sebastian Scheiner)

August 1, 2018 MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: Intelligence on Iran Fails the Smell Test Mr. President: As the George W. Bush administration revved up to attack Iraq 15 years ago, we could see no compelling reason for war.  We decided, though, to give President Bush

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Intelligence Agency Veterans Urge Trump To Withdraw Haspel Nomination

Two dozen former U.S. intelligence officers urge President Trump to rescind Gina Haspel’s nomination to lead the CIA, citing torture that she oversaw while supervising a black site prison, as well as her role in destroying evidence.

gina haspel torture

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity SUBJECT: Request to Withdraw Nomination of Gina Haspel EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With respect, we veteran intelligence officers from CIA and other agencies urge you to withdraw the nomination of Gina Haspel for CIA director. From what is already known of her

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Intelligence Veterans Warn of Risk of U.S. – Iran Conflict Based on False Pretexts

As President Donald Trump prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week, a group of U.S. intelligence veterans offers corrections to a number of false accusations that have been leveled against Iran.

The floor of the main lobby of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

MEMORANDUM FOR:  The President FROM:  Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT:  War With Iran INTRODUCTION In our December 21st Memorandum to you, we cautioned that the claim that Iran is currently the world’s top sponsor of terrorism is unsupported by hard evidence. Meanwhile, other false accusations against Iran have

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Intelligence Agency Veterans Challenge The ‘Russia Hack’ Evidence

In a memo to President Trump, a group of former U.S. intelligence officers, including NSA specialists, cite new forensic studies to challenge the claim of the key Jan. 6 “assessment” that Russia “hacked” Democratic emails last year. 

Former FBI Director James Comey is sworn in during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: Was the “Russian Hack” an Inside Job?   Executive Summary Forensic studies of “Russian hacking” into Democratic National Committee computers last year reveal that on July 5, 2016, data was leaked (not hacked) by a person with physical

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Intelligence Veterans Pen Open Letter Casting Doubts On Syrian Conflict

Two dozen former U.S. intelligence professionals are urging the American people to demand clear evidence that the Syrian government was behind the April 4 chemical incident before President Trump dives deeper into another war.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, right, and Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman attend a joint press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 21, 2017. (Jonathan Ernst/AP)

AN OPEN MEMORANDUM FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE From: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) Subject: Mattis ‘No Doubt’ Stance on Alleged Syrian CW Smacks of Politicized Intelligence Donald Trump’s new Secretary of Defense, retired Marine General James “Mad Dog” Mattis, during a recent trip to Israel, commented on the issue of Syria’s

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