Distinguished Speaker Series - Douglas Laux, Former CIA

Douglas Laux is a former CIA operations officer who served multiple tours throughout the Middle East. He was in Afghanistan for the 2010 Afghan Surge, and in Kandahar during Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. His final assignment was with a top secret task force assigned to removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.
On September 11, 2001, Doug Laux was a freshman in college, on the path to becoming a doctor, but with the fall of the Twin Towers came a turning point in his life. After graduating, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), determined to get himself to Afghanistan and into the center of the action. Dropped into a remote region of Afghanistan, he received his baptism by fire. Frustrated by bureaucratic red tape, a widespread lack of knowledge of the local customs and culture, and an attitude of complacency that hindered his ability to combat the local Taliban, Doug confounded his peers by dressing like a native and mastering the local dialect, making contact and building sources within several deadly terrorist networks.
In this talk based on his New York Times bestselling book, Left of Boom: How A Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated The Taliban and Al-Qaeda, Doug describes how his new approach resulted in unprecedented successes, including uncovering the largest IED network in the world, responsible for killing hundreds of US soldiers.

[@davidstory2712]

thank you for defending me and america

[@mmaking931]

Spy games was amazing i hope they get a second season

[@shapeshiftingpanda]

his afghan assignment really did a number on him

[@timgreenglass]

cant make eye contact, arms crossed, be prepared to lie to everyone. he is an advertisement for not joining.

[@waedjradi]

Wow.

[@itsmemckee2110]

Pretty eccentric dude, but I did like his book.

[@likasgandamercado3969]

This guy is undoubtedly bright but the job probably, could have taken a toll on him. His processing of words is too slow and his reaction to questions. His years of service to CIA with the threats against his life every single day is far from easy to handle even if the person is brave or smart. Soldiers who were assigned in Afghanistan, many of them, had PTSDs and some other psych problems later on. It's an honorable job for serving the country but it also involves probable compromise of mental faculties.

[@stealthyy5679]

Nah hes just high.

[@jimnaz5267]

he sounds like Christopehr Walkins. punctution in speach excatly the same

[@sjpnnk]

I'm not understanding how the penny falls out of a drawer, unless there's a crack in the bottom😆

[@aleksandraristic1796]

You leave it on the side edge (not inside the drawer), when you pull the drawer fast, it falls down.

[@sjpnnk]

@@aleksandraristic1796 ahhhh ok

[@noamtrotsky9601]

Why does this dude look and sound blasted out of his mind on drugs

[@dawitbekele6975]

do you guys think he's on something, because I've watched his other interviews and he's not this slow or a little bit weird

[@blindatnothing]

maybe micro dosing psychadelics

[@luceatlux7087]

yeah, that third time he talked about his chance of dying being, "high... not medium... not low... not just possible..." along with a few other moments, got me to look up from my home activities.

[@noamtrotsky9601]

That’s what I noticed

[@nicknack8459]

What is this dude on?

[@GbawlZ]

Is it just me or does he sound drunk or high? He's very awkward, whoever said he was articulate is nuts--- not one of his jokes hit and he was just all over the place.

[@georgeweatherley]

What's up with this guy? Falling asleep aready..

[@hsehovic63]

PTSD

[@Garrus1995]

The Bosnian Dragon, Does he really have PTSD? I read his book and it never seemed like he ever brought that up as a possibility.

[@hsehovic63]

@@Garrus1995 yes, he does. it's in his book. when he got fed up with the agency, shortly after he got off his meds and alcohol, his doctor told him he should seek therapy. Working in a war zone takes a lot out of a man

[@Garrus1995]

You're right, he talked about how he struggled with drugs and alcohol and saw a therapist, but I never really thought it meant he had PTSD. I thought it was more to do with how much of a toll working for the Agency took on his personal life and he was just generally depressed by it all. Guess I never read closely enough to think he was struggling with PTSD.