Former CIA Targeter: Hunting Terrorists After 9/11 | Brittany Butler

Former CIA targeting officer Brittany Butler joins us to discuss her path from a small town in Georgia to the CIA, where she helped build target packages against extremist networks in Iraq and Afghanistan. She breaks down what targeting officers actually do, the realities of working with detainees and liaison partners, and how the fight evolved from AQI toward ISIS and Taliban senior leadership.<br />Brittany also talks about burnout, leaving the agency to focus on family, her work supporting Afghan women, and how those experiences shaped her spy novels The Syndicate Spy and The Patriot’s Daughter.<br />Grab Brittany's book here:<br />https://a.co/d/0j2KhEeK<br />Today's Sponsors:<br />GhostBed ⬇️<br />https://www.ghostbed.com/house<br />FOR 10% off! <br />Blue Chew ⬇️<br />https://bluechew.com/<br />Get 1 month free when you buy 2 of BlueChew Gold with code "HOUSECALL"<br />Quince⬇️<br />go to: https://www.quince.com/house<br />for free shipping and 365 day returns <br />For ad free video and audio and access to live streams and Eyes On Geopolitics...JOIN OUR PATREON! <br />https://www.patreon.com/c/TheTeamHouse<br />To help support the show and for all bonus content including:<br />-live shows and asking guest questions <br />-ad free audio and video<br />-early access to shows<br />-Access to ALL bonus segments with our guests<br />Subscribe to our Patreon! ⬇️<br />https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse<br />Support the show here:⬇️<br />https://www.patreon.com/TheTeamHouse<br />___________________________________________________<br />PRE ORDER JACK'S NEW BOOK "THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN" <br />⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️<br />https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803651/the-most-dangerous-man-by-jack-murphy/paperback/<br />Subscribe to the new EYES ON podcast here:⬇️<br />https://www.youtube.com/@EyesOnGeopoliticsPod/featured<br />__________________________________<br />Jack Murphy's new book "We Defy: The Lost Chapters of Special Forces History" ⬇️<br />https://www.amazon.com/We-Defy-Chapters-Special-History-ebook/dp/B0DCGC1N1N/<br />——————————————————————<br />Or make a one time donation at: ⬇️<br />https://ko-fi.com/theteamhouse<br />Social Media: ⬇️<br />The Team House Instagram:<br />https://instagram.com/the.team.house?utm_medium=copy_link<br />The Team House Twitter:<br />https://twitter.com/TheTeamHousePod<br />Jack’s Instagram:<br />https://instagram.com/jackmcmurph?utm_medium=copy_link<br />Jack’s Twitter:<br /> https://twitter.com/jackmurphyrgr?s=21<br />Team House Discord: ⬇️<br />https://discord.gg/wHFHYM6<br />"Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"<br />00:00 — Start / Britney Butler joins The Team House<br />02:06 — Growing up in Georgia and wanting a life overseas<br />02:39 — Embassy internship in Paris and first getting noticed by CIA<br />07:57 — Applying to CIA and going through the recruitment process<br />10:06 — Lifestyle polygraphs, clearance stress, and “confessing” too much<br />14:15 — From case officer track to CIA targeting officer<br />15:09 — The post-9/11 rise of targeting officers<br />16:16 — Training as a targeter and learning the job under pressure<br />19:09 — Iraq: building target packages against Sunni extremist networks<br />21:21 — Sitting across from detainees and calling out their lies<br />23:48 — Why people joined terrorist groups: coercion, money, and ideology<br />27:19 — AQI, Iraq, and seeing the threat evolve toward ISIS<br />28:22 — Moving to Afghanistan-Pakistan and targeting senior leadership<br />32:46 — Taliban safe haven, Pakistan, and why the war wasn’t going away<br />37:10 — Kill/capture, recruitment, drone strikes, and how targeting changed<br />37:46 — Liaison missions and high-threat meetings without U.S. security<br />41:44 — Marriage, family, and balancing CIA work with home life<br />45:25 — Burnout, maternity leave, and deciding to leave the agency<br />48:11 — Afghan women’s rights work and the start of her writing career<br />52:24 — The Syndicate Spy and writing women into power in the Middle East<br />55:46 — The Patriot’s Daughter, Russia, disinformation, and civil war fiction<br />59:16 — CIA tradecraft in fiction and publication review<br />01:01:00 — Book tour, where to find Britney, and closing questions<br />01:02:20 — Khost, UBL, fallen CIA officers, and final reflections<br /><br /><br />Become a supporter of this podcast: <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss">https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-team-house--5960890/support</a>.