Former CIA spy James Olson shares stories at Cumberland luncheon

“I believe that the greatest and most powerful country in the world – ours – must have the very best intelligence in the world to protect its citizens,” Olson said. “America needs spies.”

Over the next three decades, Olson and his wife, Meredith, whom he met in the CIA, went on several spy missions for the CIA as a “tandem couple” after years of training in hand-to-hand combat, secret writing and wiretapping.

Olson said from his first conversation with CIA agents while he was in college, he was sworn to secrecy.

“During all of those years, my parents did not know that I was in the CIA. Meredith’s parents did not know. None of our friends knew,” said Olson, who said he revealed he was an agent only to pursue his position at Texas A&M. “No one suspected a thing.”

Olson said the dangers of working as a spy was highlighted while the couple was in Vienna with their three children. The pair was doing aggressive operations against Iranian terrorists operating in the area.

“Somehow those Iranian terrorists found out that the CIA was behind the problem and I, Jim Olson, was the CIA chief stationed in Vienna. Those Iranian terrorists sent us a letter,” he said. “They wanted us to know that they knew where we lived. I’ll never forget that letter. It was a death threat – a serious death threat.”

Olson said the CIA offered to relocate the family, but he said Meredith refused to be shaken by the threats. However, the ordeal forced the couple to inform their oldest son, who was 16 at the time, about their roles in the CIA and the threats made against the family.

Olson noted the dangers of being a spy don’t end when the career is over. He discussed a visit he received from CIA agents while at Texas A&M.

He said the agents informed him that a newly enrolled student was an undercover al-Qaida terrorist and a raid of the student’s residence revealed he was potentially targeting Olson.

Olson also identified China as the major long-term threat.

“What the Chinese intelligence service is doing inside the United States right now is outrageous. They’re recruiting our citizens. They’re stealing our technology. They’re interfering in our elections and they’re using cyber to attack our databases. They’re even in our electrical grid,” Olson said.

Olson said Russia’s threat is higher than it was during the Cold War.

“Vladmir Putin is obsessed with America,” said Olson, who said the CIA had been monitoring Putin since he was a lieutenant colonel in the KGB. “We already knew back then who he was. We knew he was a killer. We knew he was a ruthless man with absolutely no scrutiny.”

Despite the gloomy outlook, Olson said he believed whatever threat emerges would be eliminated.

“We face very, very serious threats to our country’s safety and security, but we will prevail,” he said. “We will prevail over our enemies above all because our best young people, like every previous generation in America, are stepping forward in droves to answer the great challenge of every threat of their generation.”