Nada Bakos

Nada Bakos is a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst and targeting officer whose career placed her at the center of significant counterterrorism operations in American history. Bakos joined the CIA as an analyst in the Counterterrorism Center, where she became a key member of the team analyzing the relationship between Iraq, al-Qaeda, and the 9/11 attacks.

During the war in Iraq, Bakos served as Chief Targeting Officer, tracking Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq and a central figure in the development of the Islamic State. She led efforts to locate Zarqawi and contributed to intelligence reports delivered to the White House, Congressional leaders, and the Department of Defense. Bakos’s work inspired the lead character in the Academy Award-nominated film "Zero Dark Thirty," which depicts the operation to capture Osama bin Laden. Zarqawi was ultimately killed in a targeted strike by U.S. military forces.

Bakos chronicled her career in the memoir "The Targeter: My Life in the CIA, Hunting Terrorists and Challenging the White House," detailing her progression from analyst to targeting officer and her role in assessing links between Iraq, al-Qaeda, and 9/11. She was featured in the HBO documentary "Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden" and the PBS Frontline documentary "The Secret History of ISIS."

After leaving the CIA, Bakos applied her expertise in national security and risk assessment at Starbucks Corporation, developing strategic communications plans to address global business risks. She later served as a Senior Fellow in the Program on National Security at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, contributing to the "Life After the Caliphate" project, which analyzed ongoing threats from ISIS affiliates after the group's territorial losses in Iraq and Syria. Bakos continues to focus on national security, illicit networks, and regional stability.

Bakos is recognized as a national security expert with extensive experience in global intelligence, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and foreign policy. She has appeared as a commentator on CNN, ABC, FOX, MSNBC, BBC, and CBC, and has been a resource for journalists at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. As a keynote speaker, Bakos addresses topics including security and defense, government, cybersecurity, military affairs, and women in technology, drawing on her experience in American intelligence and global security.