Spying to Save His Country: How and Why Col. Ryszard Kuklinski Risked His Life and Became the Most Important Warsaw Pact Spy for the West
Polish Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski was one of the Cold War's most prolific and important agents. Over a ten- year period he provided the US with tens of thousands of classified Soviet and Warsaw Pact documents. This talk will address the course of the Colonel's efforts, describing his motivation and his contribution to US and NATO understanding of Soviet plans for war in Central Europe. This highly principled man eventually came to the US where he was made an American citizen by the Director of Central Intelligence, an authority that had not been used until this case. He continued to comment on Poland's efforts to break out from under Soviet control and was posthumously promoted to General by a grateful and free Polish government. This is a truly inspiring story of personal risk and sacrifice.
Aris Pappas retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service. His CIA work centered on analysis of the Soviet military. He was the Assistant National Intelligence Officer for General Purpose Forces during the first Gulf War, providing daily briefings to the entire membership of Congress. He later became Chief of the CIA’s Soviet Theater Forces Division. In addition to his analytic assignments, Mr. Pappas served on rotation to the FBI, attended the Centennial Class of the US Navy War College, played a key role in Continuity of Government operations post-9/11, and worked closely with one of the CIA’s most highly regarded human sources. He served on the DNI’s Intelligence Community Strategic Studies Group and taught a post-graduate course on “Intelligence and War” at Johns Hopkins University. He co-founded IntelligenceEnterprises, LLC where he served on the “Kerr Commission,” the first investigation and critique of the performance of intelligence prior to the start of the war with Iraq. Mr. Pappas later served as Senior Director of the Microsoft Institute for Advanced Technology in Governments. He is a commercial instrument rated pilot, an avid scale modeler, and currently volunteering as a docent at the National Air & Space Museum.
Agenda:
12:30-1:00. Participants arrive; they may get their beer or other drink at this time.
1:00-1:10. Jason Hall, Executive Director of the Cold War Museum, introduces the Museum and Aris Pappas.
1:10-2:15. Aris presents on Col. Kuklinski and his importance to Western intelligence and military communities.
2:15-3:00. Q&A opportunity for the audience.
3:00-3:15 Audience members may claim their beer or other drink at this time or buy additional drinks.
3:15-4:15 The Museum (next door) will be open for event participants, with staff providing a tour for those interested.
