Jim Olson

Imagine living a lie for 31 years. That’s what James Olson and his wife Meredith did while spying for the CIA. Spying for his country was the furthest thing from his mind when Olson, a farm boy from Iowa, received a mysterious phone call that changed his life forever. In his presentation, Olson takes you inside the real world of being a CIA spy. He describes the rigorous training they receive and the difficult dilemmas that they face in the field on a daily basis. Olson explains how the global war on terror affects everyone and that the country needs to know that the United States will be hit again within its borders. The United States needs spies to protect the country and its vital interests.

James Olson, former CIA Chief of Counterintelligence, will describe his undercover career in the CIA, including how he was recruited, the training he received, the risks he and his wife faced (she was also a CIA operative), and the effect of this undercover lifestyle on their marriage and children. Mr. Olson will also discuss the role of the CIA in the current Global War on Terrorism and other current issues affecting the safety and security of American citizens. Finally, Mr. Olson will take the audience on an actual espionage operation he and his wife carried out in Moscow at the height of the Cold War. Time will be left at the end for Q&A

James Olson, former CIA Chief of Counterintelligence, will discuss how our country’s security has been undermined by treachery from within.  He will do so in the context of four Americans he knew and worked with who passed secrets to the Russians in return for money, ego, or sex.  This topic will be relevant to anyone concerned about the insider threat and the need to protect sensitive information.  There will be time at the end for questions from the audience on any subject related to national security

James Olson, the former Chief of Soviet Operations at the CIA, spent his 31-year undercover career at the CIA focused on Russia.  He first started tracking Vladimir Putin when Putin was a lieutenant colonel in the KGB in East Germany in the 1980s.  Mr. Olson will share with the audience his knowledge of Putin and describe the many assassinations and atrocities for which Putin has been responsible, most recently in Ukraine, but also in Chechnya, Syria, and elsewhere.  This is the story of a monster, a man with no respect for human life, international law, or national sovereignty.  Mr. Olson will draw on his personal operational experiences in Moscow to highlight how Putin and the KGB have operated.  He will leave time at the end for questions from the audience.

James Olson, a 31-year veteran of the CIA’s clandestine service, faced many issues in his career that raised moral and spiritual concerns.  He lived in a murky world of deception, manipulation, and coercion as he conducted espionage and covert action operations for our country.  For starters, Jim lied to his parents, children, and friends for thirty-plus years about who he was and what he was doing.  He and his wife Meredith, who was also in the CIA, engaged in activities that as Christians they would not normally do, but they believed they were doing those things for a greater good and for the legitimate defense of our country.  Not everyone agrees.  Can targeted killings, blackmail, kidnapping, and waterboarding, as examples, ever be morally justified?  Jim speaks often to religious groups of all denominations about the challenges of trying to reconcile one’s faith with work as a CIA spy.  He engages his audiences in a stimulating discussion of what is a timely, difficult, and important topic.  Jim is the author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying.