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Brian O'Neill

Brian O'Neill

The Conversation

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Security clearances don’t determine whom a president can trust – they reveal risks the president may not know

Security clearances don’t determine whom a president can trust – they reveal risks the president may not know

A report that one of Trump’s aides went a year without routine vetting raises a question a former CIA executive knows well: What is that process for?

11.09.2026 5

The Conversation

Brian O'Neill

The Pentagon is using polygraphs to hunt leakers, but the tests are more theater than fact

The Pentagon is using polygraphs to hunt leakers, but the tests are more theater than fact

A CIA veteran explains that a polygraph campaign is not likely to eliminate leaks, but it may divert investigative energy from essential security...

10.09.2026 7

The Conversation

Brian O'Neill

Declassified intelligence is not the same as proof

An international affairs professor with nearly 30 years of experience in the US intelligence community – including at the CIA and NSA – explains...

20.07.2026 10

The Conversation

Brian O'Neill

The war in Iran – again – points to the strategic shortcomings of assassination as policy of foreign affairs

Targeted killings can disrupt an adversary, but they rarely lead to collapse — especially when the target is a nation-state like Iran.

21.05.2026 40

The Conversation

Brian o'neill