The former CIA counterterrorism officer John Kiriakou looks at counterterrorism scenes in movies and TV and breaks them down for realism.

Kiriakou explains the counterterrorism efforts done to directly address the September 11 attacks — commonly known as 9/11 — such as the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, which ultimately led to his killing, in "Zero Dark Thirty," featuring Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, and Chris Pratt; and the CIA's interrogation techniques — such as waterboarding and sleep deprivation — to detainees, such as the Al-Qaeda members Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in "The Report," starring Adam Driver. He breaks down the plausibility of weapons used by terrorists, such as the use of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nerve agents, in "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," with Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg; and the cyberterrorism attack in "Skyfall," featuring Daniel Craig and Judi Dench. Kiriakou looks at more counterterrorism strategies, such as the drone attack in "Homeland" S4E1 (2014), starring Claire Danes; and the collaboration of intelligence agencies in "Body of Lies," featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crow, and Oscar Isaac. He also reacts to the depiction of other real-life terrorist attacks, such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks in "Hotel Mumbai," starring Dev Patel; the Munich Massacre, which involved the Palestinian militant organization Black September, in "Munich," with Daniel Craig and Eric Bana; and the depiction of the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight 814, which landed in Kandahar International Airport in Afghanistan — then a stronghold of the Taliban — in "IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack" E5 + E6 (2024).

Before 9/11, Kiriakou served as a counterterrorism operations officer in Athens, Greece; and after the 9/11 attacks, Kiriakou was appointed chief of counterterrorist operations in Pakistan, where he oversaw a series of military raids on Al-Qaeda safe houses, resulting in the capture of numerous Al-Qaeda members, including leading the raid that captured Abu Zubaydah — who was then believed to be Al-Qaeda's third-highest-ranking member. He left the CIA in 2004, and in 2007, he went public with his information about the CIA's "enhanced interrogation techniques," a program of systematic torture of detainees. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of revealing information that identified a covert agent. He went on to become a senior investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a terrorism consultant for ABC News. He has written various books and teaches and speaks around the country, focusing on the CIA, terrorism, torture, and ethics in intelligence operations.

You can follow Kiriakou on LinkedIn:

Here is a link to Kiriakou's books.

The Biden administration has renewed a controversial sanctions waiver that will allow Iran access to some $10 billion in payments from Iraq – an action that came just two days after President-elect Trump emerged victorious on Election Day.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken again extended the waiver for humanitarian trade, which permits Iran to access accounts in Iraq and Oman. However, Republican critics have said that allowing the Iranian regime access to these funds frees up money Iran can use to support terrorism in the Middle East or advance its nuclear program.

"On November 7th, the department did renew Iraq's electricity waiver for the 23rd time since 2018. It was done so for an additional 120 days," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel confirmed last week. 

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"We remain committed to reducing Iran's malign influence in the region. Our viewpoint is that a stable, sovereign and secure Iraq is critical to these efforts," he added, pointing out that this sanctions waiver began in 2018 during the first Trump administration. 

Congress has passed several sanctions targeting Iran that give the president authority to temporarily suspend, or "waive" the sanctions if the president determines doing so is in the interests of U.S. national security. 

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The waiver is set to expire after Trump takes office in January. It is unclear whether the Trump administration would again extend the sanctions relief. The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, argued Tuesday that the sanctions waiver allows Iran to fund proxy terror groups that have attacked U.S. forces in the Middle East.

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"The House voted to eliminate these waiver authorities — twice. But the Biden administration is still waiving the sanctions, putting more money in the Iranian regime’s pockets to fund its terrorist proxies and nuclear weapons program," McCaul posted on X. 

"The U.S. should not be subsidizing Iran’s malign activities."