Former CIA Officers Talk Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Iran, China on Restricted Handling w/ Glenn Corn

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

🔥 New Podcast Drop! This exclusive crossover episode introduces my brand-new show Restricted Handling 🔒 — hosted by me - Ryan Fugit - and former CIA Chief of Station Glenn Corn 🕵️‍♂️.

🎯 Combat Story fans — don’t worry. That show will continue strong under decorated Marine Sniper & Recon Operator AJ Pasciuti 🦅. But if you crave deeper dives into intelligence, military operations, and high-stakes geopolitics, Restricted Handling is your new must-listen.

🕵️ What’s Restricted Handling?

In the Intelligence Community, “Restricted Handling” refers to certain intel only shared with those who absolutely need it. Here, you’ll get human-enabled + AI-powered daily briefings plus exclusive deep dives with former CIA officers into:

Russia 🇷🇺 & Ukraine 🇺🇦 war updates
China’s global ambitions 🇨🇳
Iran, Israel, the Middle East 🇮🇷
Espionage & spycraft 🕵️‍♀️
Military strategy & special operations 🪖
Geopolitical flashpoints 🌍
Big economic power plays 💰

These aren’t academic think pieces — they’re firsthand accounts from those who’ve operated in the shadows shaping global events.

💡 Key Takeaways from This Episode:

🇺🇦 Trump’s evolving stance on Ukraine — and what it signals.
💰 Secondary sanctions targeting India and others to pressure Russia.
🏛️ Why summit locations reveal hidden diplomatic strategies.
⚰️ The human and psychological toll of the Ukraine war.
🌏 Armenia’s pivot to the West and U.S. role in peace talks.
🇱🇧 Hezbollah’s political struggles in Lebanon.
🇮🇷 Iran’s limited ability to respond to recent conflicts.
🕵️ Rising global espionage activity.
🪖 Wagner Group’s disruptive operations in Africa.

📅 Chapters:

00:00 — Introduction: The Global Geopolitical Chessboard ♟️
02:13 — Trump’s Ukraine Policy Shift
04:53 — Sanctions, Allies, and Economic Warfare
07:30 — Russia’s Economic Pressures
10:17 — The Politics of Summit Locations
14:22 — War’s Human Cost
16:16 — Armenia & Azerbaijan Conflict
20:27 — U.S. Peace Negotiations Role
26:06 — Middle East Power Shifts
31:44 — Hezbollah’s Declining Influence
34:26 — Iran’s Regional Weakness
40:12 — Espionage & Counterintelligence Battles
44:08 — Wagner Group in Africa

🔗 Listen to Restricted Handling Daily: [Spotify Link]

📌 Hashtags for Discovery:

#RestrictedHandling #CombatStory #CIA #Espionage #Russia #Ukraine #Geopolitics #MilitaryOps #Intelligence #NationalSecurity #SpyStories #GlobalSecurity

Transcript

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0:00.0	All right. This used to be the mad minute. It's now restricted handling. If you know what that is,
0:06.2	you know, and this is RH. Content is not, but it's coming to you from two former CIA officers,
0:14.0	one who had a distinguished career over 30 years and did a whole lot of very cool things, including
0:19.9	multi-chief of station,
0:21.6	corn.
0:22.6	And then the other is me who shouldn't even be in the same room.
0:26.6	Yeah, I know, a couple CIA guys talking about what's going on, Russia, the least, maybe a little China here and there.
0:36.6	Right now we're recording August 8th, end of the day on Friday.
0:41.6	It's supposed to be the ultimatum that Trump had delivered for Putin for coming to the negotiating table.
0:48.7	Putin seems to be up to similar antics where he's doing a little bit of work there and maybe talking about a summit,
0:59.5	are we going to see additional sanctions, and maybe some big meeting next week.
1:03.4	So I think that's probably where we start, Glenn. That's got to be number one on people's radar. Like, how are you seeing this engagement and Putin's positioning for it?
1:08.7	Before we do that, can I ask you a question?
1:11.3	Yeah.
1:15.4	You're talking about your background, so we should also mention your combat veteran,
1:16.4	U.S. Army.
1:24.7	And you just turned over your baby, your amazing podcast that a lot of people love.
1:26.2	So congratulations on that.
1:29.3	And thank you for maybe I guess before on combat story. But everybody I talked to about that podcast, they applaud, of course, the guests,
1:35.6	but the moderator, the host. That is kind. We used to call it at the agency, Glenn, when we did a
1:42.1	handover between two, like an incoming and outgoing.
1:45.1	Did they call that left seat, right seat ride or no? No, well, we got like the warm turnover or
	...

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