Marc Polymeropoulos
@mpolymer1.bsky.social
Once worked at a 3 letter alphabet soup govt agency. TBI Survivor. MSNOW ntl security contributor. Leadership speaker. Obsessive RedSox fan. Heavy Metal aficionado. Dive bars. 🇺🇸🇬🇷
Pinned
Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount.
The art of agent-running | @mpolymer1.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The art of agent-running | @mpolymer1.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The art of agent-running
Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount.
engelsbergideas.com
My latest, on agent-running
Reposted by Marc Polymeropoulos
Thoughtful comments from former CIA Middle East hand @mpolymer1.bsky.social supporting @andy-milburn.bsky.social’s analysis of IDF conduct in Gaza (which predictably is coming under attack on Twitter from those you’d expect to attack it).
January 31, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Thoughtful comments from former CIA Middle East hand @mpolymer1.bsky.social supporting @andy-milburn.bsky.social’s analysis of IDF conduct in Gaza (which predictably is coming under attack on Twitter from those you’d expect to attack it).
I’m back from travels! Lots to talk about in foreign policy world today- on 8 am bloc on this lovely frigid Sat morning in DC with @theweekendmsnow.bsky.social
January 31, 2026 at 10:45 AM
I’m back from travels! Lots to talk about in foreign policy world today- on 8 am bloc on this lovely frigid Sat morning in DC with @theweekendmsnow.bsky.social
🔥 Sad to say that the @CrisisRoomPod podcast is coming to a close on Global. To all the listeners in UK and around the world – thanks for a wild ride! We pulled no punches+made news on occasion. To my cohosts @markurban.bsky.social and Amber Rudd-you made me smarter, our friendship means a ton. 🫡🙏🇺🇸🇬🇧
In this, the final regular episode, Amber, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social take a look at which crises are on the horizon, from tensions between Israel & Turkey to the future of Venezuela
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
January 30, 2026 at 10:51 AM
🔥 Sad to say that the @CrisisRoomPod podcast is coming to a close on Global. To all the listeners in UK and around the world – thanks for a wild ride! We pulled no punches+made news on occasion. To my cohosts @markurban.bsky.social and Amber Rudd-you made me smarter, our friendship means a ton. 🫡🙏🇺🇸🇬🇧
Back from travels across the pond. On @ms.now today 1030 am bloc. Venezuela and Iran front and center per Rubio testimony, plus some of my observations how Europe hates us (not everyone, but sadly, most…)
January 29, 2026 at 8:36 AM
Back from travels across the pond. On @ms.now today 1030 am bloc. Venezuela and Iran front and center per Rubio testimony, plus some of my observations how Europe hates us (not everyone, but sadly, most…)
My latest, in @engelsbergideas.bsky.social
For decades, American power was underpinned by ideals that inspired allies and adversaries alike. But the 'City on the Hill' now shines less brightly.
After American exceptionalism | Marc Polymeropoulos (@mpolymer1.bsky.social)
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aft...
After American exceptionalism | Marc Polymeropoulos (@mpolymer1.bsky.social)
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/aft...
After American exceptionalism
For decades, American power was underpinned by ideals that inspired allies and adversaries alike. But the 'City on the Hill' now shines less brightly.
engelsbergideas.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:39 PM
My latest, in @engelsbergideas.bsky.social
Extraordinary reporting. Validation for the victims. Massive questions for a corrupted analytic intelligence community, whose head was buried in the sand. That’s the story.
January 13, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Extraordinary reporting. Validation for the victims. Massive questions for a corrupted analytic intelligence community, whose head was buried in the sand. That’s the story.
Reposted by Marc Polymeropoulos
Do you have a burning question you’d like Amber, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social to answer in the next Q&A episode? 🤔
Drop your suggestions below 👇🏻 or email us at thecrisisroom@global.com ✉️
#QnA #Questions #Podcast
Drop your suggestions below 👇🏻 or email us at thecrisisroom@global.com ✉️
#QnA #Questions #Podcast
January 13, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Do you have a burning question you’d like Amber, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social to answer in the next Q&A episode? 🤔
Drop your suggestions below 👇🏻 or email us at thecrisisroom@global.com ✉️
#QnA #Questions #Podcast
Drop your suggestions below 👇🏻 or email us at thecrisisroom@global.com ✉️
#QnA #Questions #Podcast
I’m up! Heading to the studio soon. No better place to be on a Monday morning, talking foreign policy with the great @alivitali.bsky.social !! ☕️☕️☕️☕️
The start of another busy week with @waytooearly.bsky.social. Here’s Monday:
☀️ Alex Tabet
☕️ Akayla Gardner
⛅️ Moses Small
🌞 Mychael Schnell
🌅 @mpolymer1.bsky.social
We’re up, why are you? Email waytooearly@ms.now with your reasons! #waytooearly
☀️ Alex Tabet
☕️ Akayla Gardner
⛅️ Moses Small
🌞 Mychael Schnell
🌅 @mpolymer1.bsky.social
We’re up, why are you? Email waytooearly@ms.now with your reasons! #waytooearly
January 12, 2026 at 10:17 AM
I’m up! Heading to the studio soon. No better place to be on a Monday morning, talking foreign policy with the great @alivitali.bsky.social !! ☕️☕️☕️☕️
On @msnownews.bsky.social 540am tomorrow, on Iran and Syria....
January 12, 2026 at 1:50 AM
On @msnownews.bsky.social 540am tomorrow, on Iran and Syria....
Just kick me right in the nuts. Full throttle… I want to vomit. 😡😡😡
BREAKING: Alex Bregman and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a five-year, $175M contract, a source tells @ken-rosenthal.bsky.social.
January 11, 2026 at 12:20 PM
Just kick me right in the nuts. Full throttle… I want to vomit. 😡😡😡
First, it would be national security malpractice to sit back and do nothing. Cyber at a minimum. Ultimately, I think it all depends on which faction within the administration wins out – essentially it’s about the Vance vs Rubio wings. The isolationists vs the neocons. And who has Trump’s ear last…
This would be a worthy and sensible intervention, if it is possible. "The Pentagon has the ability to intervene with either lethal force or nonlethal options, such as cyberattacks that curtail Iran’s ability to limit internet access for protesters" www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
Trump officials consider military options as Iranian protests spread
Iran’s supreme leader has warned the government would not “back down,” as rights groups fear the communications blackout in place could presage a brutal crackdown.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 11, 2026 at 12:13 PM
First, it would be national security malpractice to sit back and do nothing. Cyber at a minimum. Ultimately, I think it all depends on which faction within the administration wins out – essentially it’s about the Vance vs Rubio wings. The isolationists vs the neocons. And who has Trump’s ear last…
There are a number of potentially enormous foreign policy issues breaking all at once, critical junctures- in Iran, Venezuela, Russia/Ukraine, and Gaza. (Do I add Greenland?) I can’t remember a confluence of near or current crises like this in some time...
January 11, 2026 at 12:07 PM
There are a number of potentially enormous foreign policy issues breaking all at once, critical junctures- in Iran, Venezuela, Russia/Ukraine, and Gaza. (Do I add Greenland?) I can’t remember a confluence of near or current crises like this in some time...
Reposted by Marc Polymeropoulos
“This is not regime change”
After Trump’s capture of Venezuela’s President Maduro, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social explain why appointing Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is not a victory for the Venezuelans
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
#Trump #Maduro #Venezuela
After Trump’s capture of Venezuela’s President Maduro, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social explain why appointing Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is not a victory for the Venezuelans
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
#Trump #Maduro #Venezuela
January 9, 2026 at 2:53 PM
“This is not regime change”
After Trump’s capture of Venezuela’s President Maduro, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social explain why appointing Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is not a victory for the Venezuelans
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
#Trump #Maduro #Venezuela
After Trump’s capture of Venezuela’s President Maduro, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social explain why appointing Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is not a victory for the Venezuelans
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
#Trump #Maduro #Venezuela
On @msnowreports.bsky.social tomorrow 540 am for great foreign policy chat…. ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️
January 9, 2026 at 12:19 AM
On @msnowreports.bsky.social tomorrow 540 am for great foreign policy chat…. ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️
Reposted by Marc Polymeropoulos
“Agent-running is all about people…. it’s about a case officer and an agent in a safehouse, a car meeting, or even conducting a dead drop. The safety of the agent, the sanctity of the operation, is paramount.”
Great @mpolymer1.bsky.social essay:
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
Great @mpolymer1.bsky.social essay:
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The art of agent-running
Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount.
engelsbergideas.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:43 PM
“Agent-running is all about people…. it’s about a case officer and an agent in a safehouse, a car meeting, or even conducting a dead drop. The safety of the agent, the sanctity of the operation, is paramount.”
Great @mpolymer1.bsky.social essay:
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
Great @mpolymer1.bsky.social essay:
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
Reposted by Marc Polymeropoulos
Is NATO’s worst nightmare becoming reality? Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace joins Amber, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social to dissect Trump's threats to Greenland and the possibility of sending UK troops to Ukraine
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
#Venezuela
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
#Venezuela
January 8, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Is NATO’s worst nightmare becoming reality? Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace joins Amber, @markurban.bsky.social & @mpolymer1.bsky.social to dissect Trump's threats to Greenland and the possibility of sending UK troops to Ukraine
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
#Venezuela
Listen to The Crisis Room on @globalplayer.com 🎧
#Venezuela
Reposted by Marc Polymeropoulos
Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount.
The art of agent-running | @mpolymer1.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The art of agent-running | @mpolymer1.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The art of agent-running
Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount.
engelsbergideas.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount.
The art of agent-running | @mpolymer1.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The art of agent-running | @mpolymer1.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
My latest, on agent-running
Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount.
The art of agent-running | @mpolymer1.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The art of agent-running | @mpolymer1.bsky.social
engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...
The art of agent-running
Agent-running is all about people. The safety of agents – who often treat their case officers as confessional, priest-like figures – is paramount.
engelsbergideas.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:15 PM
My latest, on agent-running
Heading in to DC studio monday morning 7am
@msnownews.bsky.social ☕️☕️☕️☕️ ..... more on the IC/SOF raid that nabbed Maduro, policymakers (as is often the case) screwing up great tactical successes with lack of planning for the day after, and maybe a comment or two on the Redsox off season? 😉
@msnownews.bsky.social ☕️☕️☕️☕️ ..... more on the IC/SOF raid that nabbed Maduro, policymakers (as is often the case) screwing up great tactical successes with lack of planning for the day after, and maybe a comment or two on the Redsox off season? 😉
January 4, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Heading in to DC studio monday morning 7am
@msnownews.bsky.social ☕️☕️☕️☕️ ..... more on the IC/SOF raid that nabbed Maduro, policymakers (as is often the case) screwing up great tactical successes with lack of planning for the day after, and maybe a comment or two on the Redsox off season? 😉
@msnownews.bsky.social ☕️☕️☕️☕️ ..... more on the IC/SOF raid that nabbed Maduro, policymakers (as is often the case) screwing up great tactical successes with lack of planning for the day after, and maybe a comment or two on the Redsox off season? 😉
On @msnownews.bsky.social 2pm bloc to discuss Venezuela... in particular, the CIA-JSOC fusion (built over the last two decades in the GWOT, but now relevant globally). Plus a bit on almost immediate Trump fumbling of post strike outcomes...it's all about oil, throwing Nobel winners under the bus.
January 4, 2026 at 2:04 PM
On @msnownews.bsky.social 2pm bloc to discuss Venezuela... in particular, the CIA-JSOC fusion (built over the last two decades in the GWOT, but now relevant globally). Plus a bit on almost immediate Trump fumbling of post strike outcomes...it's all about oil, throwing Nobel winners under the bus.
On tomorrow morn 7am bloc…. @theweekendmsnow.bsky.social … major foreign policy issues from Venezuela to Iran. ☕️ ☕️☕️☕️☕️
January 3, 2026 at 2:52 AM
On tomorrow morn 7am bloc…. @theweekendmsnow.bsky.social … major foreign policy issues from Venezuela to Iran. ☕️ ☕️☕️☕️☕️
On @ms.now 830 am this morn…. Lots ntl security issues to discuss on this New Year’s Eve… (though I do really want to talk about the RedSox, 41 days until pitchers and catchers report to Ft Myers! 😉) @mikebarnicle.bsky.social @jonlemire.bsky.social @joe-scarborough.bsky.social
December 31, 2025 at 12:17 PM
On @ms.now 830 am this morn…. Lots ntl security issues to discuss on this New Year’s Eve… (though I do really want to talk about the RedSox, 41 days until pitchers and catchers report to Ft Myers! 😉) @mikebarnicle.bsky.social @jonlemire.bsky.social @joe-scarborough.bsky.social
My first love foreign policy wise is the middle east, and definitely I geek out on Israeli politics, both internal and external. My comments today on the Trump-Bibi meeting.....
President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago today. The two are expected to focus on the ceasefire in Gaza.
www.ms.now/ana-cabrera-...
www.ms.now/ana-cabrera-...
Trump to meet with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago today over Gaza ceasefire
President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago today. The two are expected to focus on the ceasefire in Gaza. MS NOW Reporter Alex Tabet has more details from outsid...
www.ms.now
December 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
My first love foreign policy wise is the middle east, and definitely I geek out on Israeli politics, both internal and external. My comments today on the Trump-Bibi meeting.....