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