Foreign Relations & International Law Intelligence

Lawfare Daily: The Spy Who Changed the Cold War in the Middle East

Michael Feinberg, Ben Macintyre
Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 7:00 AM
How did a Cold War intelligence coup change the Middle East?

Senior Editor Michael Feinberg sits down with author and journalist Ben Macintyre to discuss his new book, “Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy,” which details a little known intelligence coup from the Cold War that changed the strategies of great powers in the Middle East.

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Michael Feinberg is a former Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he spent the overwhelming majority of his career combatting the PRC’s intelligence services. He is a recipient and multiple times nominee of the FBI’s highest recognition, the Director’s Award for Excellence, as well as numerous other Bureau honors and ODNI commendations. Prior to his service with the FBI, he was an attorney in both private and public practice. The opinions presented here are entirely his own and not those of the U.S. government.
Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (UK) and a bestselling author. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.
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