Matt Fulton

It’s me, hi | Occasional spy novelist and screenwriter | Co-host, @SecretsAndSpies Podcast

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

It’s 2045 and Barak Ravid just tweeted that a deal with Iran is imminent.

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

But does a president deserve such a DNI if he very clearly does not wish to have one?

[Gregg Nunziata @greggnunziata]

The president deserves a DNI who will competently advance the Administration's foreign policy and intelligence priorities, within the bounds of the law and the Constitution. These people exist. It does not seem Mr. Pulte is one of them.

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

Let’s just turn Liberty Crossing into a Spirit Halloween now. It’s time.

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

Breaking news: President Trump is appointing Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, tapping a political supporter who heads a federal mortgage regulation agency but has no intelligence experience. https://t.co/zkHY2ouvbM

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

Listen here: https://t.co/LstISGl9F6

Watch us on YouTube: https://t.co/p3PtQkoctI

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

New on @secretsandspies. Gabbard's out as DNI, but the real story is how her tenure revealed what this administration truly wants from its intelligence community. Plus, the Beijing summit fallout, a Chinese spy pitch on Capitol Hill, and more. Links below.

[Sarah Adams @sarahadams]

This Memorial Day, we remember not only the men and women whose names are etched into stone, but also the quiet professionals whose sacrifices may never be publicly known. In recent weeks, another star was added to the wall at Central Intelligence Agency headquarters, a solemn reminder that some gave everything in silence, far from recognition, applause, or headlines.

Having worked alongside many of these individuals, I have seen firsthand the weight they carry and the sacrifices they make, not for recognition, but because they believed deeply in protecting this country and the people in it. Some spent years away from their families. Some operated in places where even a small mistake meant they would never come home. Some gave their lives, and much of what they did may remain classified forever.

Many Americans will never know their names. They will never hear the stories of the officers, targeters, analysts, and sources who stood in the shadows to stop attacks, track terrorists, warn of threats, and protect our homeland from enemies most people will never see. Yet their work mattered every single day.

Today, we honor all of the fallen, including those whose families carry their grief quietly, often unable to fully speak about the service and sacrifice of the person they lost. The stars on that wall are not just symbols. Each one marks a life dedicated to protecting this nation in silence. Behind every star is a story of sacrifice, courage, and a family that carries that loss forever.

We remember them. We honor them. And we owe them far more than most will ever know.

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

I shit myself, but I managed to clean it up a bit and moved some furniture to cover that one spot on the rug. The haters and naysayers who said I couldn’t better start applauding now.

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

NYT JUST SAID IRAN AGREED TO NOT CHARGE A TOLL IN THE STRAIGHT OF HORMUZ

IF TRUE, THIS IS A MASSIVE WIN FOR TRUMP!

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

For Bibi, this is the geopolitical equivalent of De Niro in Heat deciding to turn around minutes from LAX because he just has to whack Waingro, too.

[Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz]

It’s hard to overstate how deeply Netanyahu views this moment as a possible personal and political defeat. A U.S.–Iran agreement under Trump would be a major blow to him mainly diplomatically, but above all politically.

For years, Netanyahu built his political identity around being “Mr. Iran,” the leader who insisted that only pressure, deterrence, and force could stop the Iranian regime. And now, after multiple rounds of operational successes but one resounding strategic failure, and after finally succeeding in drawing the United States into direct confrontation with Iran, he may be forced to accept an agreement that not only legitimizes the very regime he sought to weaken, but also exposes the collapse of his long-standing Iran doctrine.

His approach was based on the belief that more pressure, more military power, and tighter coordination between Israel and the United States would eventually either force Iran into submission or destabilize the regime itself. Instead, the result has been a more radicalized, more resilient, and more dangerous Iran, one that even Washington now hesitates to confront militarily again.

If this confrontation ends with an agreement, an even bigger strategic question emerges: what future American president would be willing to commit U.S. forces to another major Middle Eastern conflict after seeing the political and military costs of this one?

Netanyahu had what may have been his greatest opportunity to prove his central strategic theory: that a close Israeli-American military partnership could fundamentally reshape Iran and perhaps even threaten the regime’s survival. By every indication, that assumption failed.

Against this backdrop, reports of a tense conversation between Trump and Netanyahu become much easier to understand. They also help explain the extraordinary level of pressure now coming from Jerusalem, and the extent to which Netanyahu is trying to persuade, or pressure, the administration not to move toward a deal with Tehran.

The bottom line is that a U.S.–Iran agreement would not only signal the failure of the military confrontation Netanyahu pushed for, but also the collapse of the broader strategic doctrine he has championed since entering Israeli politics, all on the eve of what could be the most critical election of his career.

In that sense, the next Israel’s leadership need to learn the fundamental lessons of this war. More than ever, this conflict demonstrates the urgent need for Israel to develop a different long-term strategy for dealing with Iran and especially to understand the following:

Israel’s confrontation with Iran will not bring normalization with the Arab world, nor will it resolve Israel’s most fundamental security challenges, first and foremost, the Palestinian issue.

The belief that regime change in Iran would transform Israel’s position in the Middle East was always detached from reality. In fact, the consistent opposition of Gulf leaders and major Arab states to further escalation against Iran has demonstrated this repeatedly throughout the conflict.

Israel will not be able to use the “Iran card” as a substitute for addressing the core political issues shaping the region. Anyone arguing that military confrontation with Iran alone can unlock normalization is mistaken and, more importantly, misleading others about the strategic reality of the Middle East.

Because despite the undeniable tactical and operational achievements of the campaign, this failure may ultimately leave Israel facing a more dangerous strategic reality, one that has not fundamentally improved its position in the Middle East.

#IranWar‌

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

“SECWAR” was always just Hegseth’s new drag persona and the last three months should make that abundantly clear.

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

President MbS?

[Middle East and North Africa Breaking News @MENA_BRKNews]

President Trump on Truth Social: "An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed"

#Iran

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

Listen here: https://t.co/1UnpVmLjit

Watch us on YouTube: https://t.co/lfARlCjxJr

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

My conversation with Brian Finucane on the constitutional wreckage behind the Iran war, how decades of executive overreach made Operation Epic Fury possible, and why Congress keeps letting it happen. Links below.

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

New office is coming together well.

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

I’ve been putting a new writing studio together and got some gems up on the wall today.

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

Not beating the allegations with this.

[The Atlantic @TheAtlantic]

Exclusive: FBI Director Kash Patel has distributed “Ka$h”-branded bottles of bourbon to bureau staff and civilians, multiple people in Patel’s orbit tell @S_Fitzpatrick. https://t.co/tTWqxTEYus

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

Doing a seance tonight so I can show this to the restless spirit of one our Chinese agents who was probably dragged into the courtyard of an MSS building and shot circa 2011 because of a fake Star Wars fan site some nerds ran out of Langley's basement.

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

Listen here: https://t.co/yn5eMXJs8A

Watch on YouTube: https://t.co/DTXUVgc4xf

[Matt Fulton @FultonMatt]

60 days into the Iran War, a shaky ceasefire, diplomacy stalled, and Hegseth’s Pentagon may be lying to the president about how it's going. Plus, Orbán's end, and an accident kills two CIA officers in Mexico. All in our new Espresso Martini on @SecretsAndSpies. Links below.

[Mark S. Zaid @MarkSZaidEsq]

Two of my CIA (former) clients who especially know what they're talking about.