Sir Richard Dearlove

I am currently taking a course on the history of U.S. and British intelligence. Last night Sir Richard Dearlove came to speak to us. He was the head of MI6 (Britain's external intelligence agency) during the 9/11 attacks. He talked to us about the future of the intelligence community and answered some questions. He told us about the flight he took on Sept 12, 2001 to the United States. Their plane was the only one allowed into American airspace that day, and they took off before they even had clearance to land. It was incredible to hear someone of his knowledge and experience talk to us about these things. He even said that there is undeniable evidence that Saddam Hussein attempted to buy yellowcake (a uranium concentrate key in the process of building nuclear weapons) from the Egyptians, that it would be unreasonable not to use intelligence even if it was gained by torture, and that he had been misquoted when the media said he had said that the U.S. was basing its intelligence around its policies. Just another amazing experience that happens on a regular basis here in Cambridge.