Company Information
Raleigh Spy Conference
Bernie Reeves, editor and publisher of Raleigh Metro Magazine (www.metronc.com) became interested in the subject of espionage after the realiz… More
<p>Bernie Reeves, editor and publisher of Raleigh Metro Magazine (www.metronc.com) became interested in the subject of espionage after the realization that intelligence is the calculus of history in the modern era. Keying back to the declassification of the Ultra Secret form World War 11, Reeves says: “We don’t know what really happened until someone declassifies something.”</p><p>Reeves founded The Raleigh Spy Conference in 2003 to dramatize the sudden and voluminous data available from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the revelations released by CIA and NSA at the Venona Conference in 1995 of formerly secret coded messages to American communists from the USSR, and to recognize the immense contribution made by scholars who have diligently researched and published seminal works critical to the re-writing of modern history caused by newly declassified information.</p><p>The first RSC featured appearances by the world’s most well known intelligence expert Christopher Andrew of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; former KGB major general Oleg Kalugin; curator of the CIA collection Hayden Peake; the wrong man in the Robert Hanssen case Brian Kelley of CIA; and researcher and author Nigel West.</p><p>In year two, Bruce Hoffman of RAND - the leading expert on Al Queada - headlined a conference with security experts discussing the connection between intelligence and terrorism as the argument raged about where to place the blame for 9-11. Former Member of Parliament Nigel West revealed the role of MI5 in uncovering IRA terrorists, Dennis Pulchinsky discussed embassy security and Hamas expert Kim Cragin revealed formerly unknown information on the profile of suicide bombers</p><p>In year three the conference turned to the scholarship of the Cold War with co-authors Harvey Klehr and John Earl Haynes; Ronald Radsoh, the former communist who authored the Rosenberg File and Red Star Over Hollywood about the influence of the Soviet Union in the film industry; Steve Usdin with new information on the Americans who helped kick-start the computer age in the USSR; and IC Smith on the emerging danger from Chinese espionage.</p><p>In year four in 2006 the RSC opened on the subject of Castro and Cuba the same week Fidel became ill. Featured were CIA Cuba expert Brain Latell; author and researcher Tim Naftali, Gene Poteat of CIA who was in the thick of the Cuban Missile Crisis; anti-Castro activist Humberto Fontova; and Miami journalist Don Bohning who has covered Cuba under Castro since his take-over in 1959. Three segments of this conference were aired by C-SPAN.</p><p>In year five the conference made international headlines with the appearance of former CIA officer Tennent Bagley who was shunned by the CIA after his book Spy Wars refuted the acceptance of KGB double agent Yuri Nosenko as a bona fide defector. Also appearing was CIA historian David Robarge who delivered the first truly complete profile of infamous counterintelligence CIA chief James Angleton. Brian Kelley revealed formerly classified details about the most famous double agent cases of the Cold War and Washington Post associate editor and espionage novelist David Ignatius related his career to events and revelations in the world of intelligence.</p><p>Year six RSC presents “Sexspionage and the Subtle Art of Seduction”, featuring the role of lady spies and the use of sex in intelligence operations. Go to www.raleighspyconference.com for details and make plans to attend what promises to be an exciting event.</p>