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Intelligence Studies

Studies in Intelligence Vol. 70, No. 2 (Extracts, June 2026)

Unclassified articles and reviews from Studies in Intelligence Vol. 70, No. 2 (June 2026)

Contents

Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence

We Have Been Here Before: Joseph Becker’s Computer and the AI Question by Kenneth Malphurs

The Quiet Cognitive Coup of Generative AI: Rewriting the Rules by Debora Pfaff, PhD

Historical Perspectives

Three Pillars of Identity Intelligence: A Brief History by Lara Ballard

The Enigma of Ernst Rudolf Fischer: Nazi Germany’s Oil Expert by Anand Toprani, PhD

Intelligence in Public Media

The Intelligence Intellectuals: Social Scientists and the Making of the CIA
Reviewed by Michael J. Ard, PhD

The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life [Video interview of David Cornwell, pen name John le Carre) Reviewed by Resolute Lee

The Defector: The Untold Story of the KGB Agent Who Saved MI5 and Changed the Cold War
Reviewed by Mel Miller

The Secret History of UK Security Vetting from 1909 to the Present
Reviewed by Katherina Gonzales

The Cambridge Spy Ring: The Treachery of the Five Who Got Away
Reviewed by Ian B. Ericson

The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin’s Greatest Enemy
Reviewed by John Ehrman

To open entire issue, download PDF (70 pages, 3.3 MB)

Contributors

Article Contributors

Lara Ballard served as the privacy and intelligence oversight officer for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security. She was an attorney advisor with the Office of the Legal Advisor and special adviser for privacy and technology at the Department of State.

Kenneth Malphurs is a member of CIA’s Senior Analytic Service.

Debora Pfaff, PhD, is an associate professor of research at the Ann Caracristi Institute, National Intelligence University.

Anand Toprani, PhD, is professor of strategy and policy at the US Naval War College. He is the author of Oil and the Great Powers (Oxford University Press, 2019).

Reviewers

Michael J. Ard is a retired CIA officer.

John Ehrman is a retired CIA officer and a frequent contributor of reviews of intelligence literature, both fiction and non-fiction.

Ian B. Erickson is the pen name of a CIA officer.

Katherina Gonzales is a retired CIA officer who also served at NSA and FBI.

Resolute Lee is the pen name of an ODNI officer.

Mel Miller is a Russian linguist and regular contributor to Studies in Intelligence.