34 Years as a CIA Case Officer Douglas London, The Recruiter

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Douglas London is a retired Senior CIA Operations Officer and author of The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence.

London’s overseas work involved spotting and identifying targets, building relationships over weeks or months, and then pitching them to work for the CIA—all the while maintaining various identities, a day job, and a very real wife and kids at home.

He served predominantly in the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and Africa, including three assignments as a Chief of Station, the President’s senior intelligence officer at post, and Chief of Base in a conflict zone. Assignments at CIA Headquarters included executive positions at CIA's Counterterrorism Center, Information Operations Center, and Near East and South Asia Division. London was decorated with the CIA’s Career Intelligence Medal, the McCone Award, and multiple unit and individual citations.

He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, and a Non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute.  

The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence captures the best stories from London's life as a spy, his insights into the challenges and failures of intelligence work, and the complicated relationships he developed with agents and colleagues. In the end, London presents a highly readable insider’s tale about the state of espionage, a warning about the decline of American intelligence since 9/11 and Iraq, and what can be done to recover.