Former CIA analyst David Kanin speaks about his experiences at the agency during the boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Kanin gives a behind-the-scenes look into the Carter administration’s decision to push a boycott in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

David B. Kanin is a Professorial Lecturer at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and Analytic Director with Centra Technology. In 2010 he retired as a senior analyst after a 31- year career with the Central Intelligence Agency.

Image: Jimmy Carter’s televised address on January 4, 1980 in which he proposed an Olympics boycott alongside other sanctions.

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