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News you may have missed #0276

February 2, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

CIA mum on Panetta’s trip to Israel. Politico’s Laura Rozen reports that the CIA director met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Mossad chief Meir Dagan. But nobody in Washington or Jerusalem will say precisely what was discussed. Why is it that every time Panetta flies to Israel, it has to be a covert visit?
CIA raises language requirements for senior staff. “Under the new policy”, said CIA director Leon Panetta, “promotions to SIS [Senior Intelligence Service] for most analysts and operations officers will be contingent on demonstrating foreign language competency. If an officer is promoted to SIS and does not meet the foreign language requirement within one year, he or she will return to their previous, lower grade”.

Filed under A specialized intelligence blog written by experts Tagged with Benjamin Netanyahu, CIA, Ehud Barak, Israel, languages, Leon Panetta, Meir Dagan, Mossad, News, news you may have missed, secret meetings, United States

News you may have missed #0145

October 16, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Alleged Norwegian spies appeal Congo sentence. Two Norwegian citizens arrested last May in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on spying charges have begun an appeal against their sentence. The DRC has ordered Norway to pay $60 million in reparations for the spying incident, but Oslo says the two men had no ties to the Norwegian government.
Mother of Israeli-handled spy sues government. The mother of Muhamad Said Sabr, an Egyptian nuclear engineer convicted in 2007 of spying for Israel, has filed a damage suit against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ambassador to Egypt Shalom Cohen. She claims mental damage as a result of her son’s being recruited by the Mossad.
Pakistan defends spy agencies after week of carnage. Pakistan defended its intelligence agencies Tuesday after a bloody week which saw 125 people killed in a wave of attacks blamed on Taliban militants. Interior Minister Rehman Malik alleged the country’s spy services “foiled at least a hundred attacks before they were carried out”. But local media have reported that the threat to army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi was known in advance by police.

Filed under A specialized intelligence blog written by experts Tagged with Benjamin Netanyahu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Israel, lawsuits, Mossad, Muhamad Said Sabr, News, news you may have missed, Norway, Nuclear Energy Authority of Egypt, Pakistan, Rawalpindi, Rehman Malik, Shalom Cohen, Taliban

CIA silent on rumors of Panetta’s secret visit to Israel

May 18, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Several news outlets have pointed to The London Times as the source of the revelation that CIA Director Leon Panetta secretly visited Israel earlier this moth. In reality, the source of the report is not The Times, but Israel National Radio, which aired the news early on Thursday morning. The report was promptly picked up by Agence France Presse (AFP) and issued in French and English later on the same day. According to AFP, US President Barack Obama sent Panetta to Jerusalem in search of high-level assurances from the new Israeli government of President Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel “would not launch a surprise strike on Iran”. The same report stated that Panetta received assurances from both President Netanyahu and Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, that “Israel does not intend to surprise the US on Iran”. It is important to note that the Israelis’ assurances pertain solely to their obligation to notify Washington prior to launching a strike on Tehran, and in no way rule out such an attack. Therefore they fall significantly short of US requirements. Read more of this post

Filed under A specialized intelligence blog written by experts Tagged with Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, CIA, Ehud Barak, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Israel, Israel National Radio, Leon Panetta, News, United States

Charges dropped against AIPAC lobbyists involved in Franklin spy case

May 4, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
As intelNews reported on April 23, based on a tip by The Washington Post, it has been announced that the two American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbyists involved in the Lawrence Franklin spy case in the US will escape trial. Lawrence Anthony Franklin was a US Defense Department analyst who in 2006 was given a 12-year prison sentence for handing classified US military information to Israeli agent Uzi Arad, Israeli Embassy official Naor Gilon, as well as to Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, both former AIPAC lobbyists. But on Friday US Justice Department prosecutors dropped all charges against the two former AIPAC members due to “significant reservations about the case”, even though several Department officials believe that Rosen and Weissman “acted imprudently”, according to The New York Times. As IntelNews has learned, the decision was taken despite significant objections from FBI officials, who desperately pressured the Department to go forward with the trial until the very last minute. Read more of this post

Filed under A specialized intelligence blog written by experts Tagged with AIPAC, Benjamin Netanyahu, FBI, Israel, Keith Weissman, Lawrence Anthony Franklin, lawsuits, Naor Gilon, News, Steve Rosen, United States, US Department of State, Uzi Arad

Comment: AIPAC agents accused of spying may walk scot-free

April 23, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

Jane Harman

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The controversy over Democratic Representative Jane Harman’s alleged telephone deal with a suspected agent of Israel is still raging. One of its unfortunate side effects has been to shift media attention away from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) involvement in the Lawrence Franklin spy case, and focus instead on Washington micro-politicking. But what about the two former AIPAC lobbyists who are technically at the center of the Harman imbroglio? Read more of this post

Filed under A specialized intelligence blog written by experts Tagged with AIPAC, Alberto Gonzales, Ben-Ami Kadish, Benjamin Netanyahu, communications interception, espionage, Hillary Clinton, Israel, Jane Harman, Joseph Fitsanakis, Keith Weissman, Lawrence Anthony Franklin, NSA, Sallai Meridor, Steve Rosen, United States, US Army, US Department of Justice, US Department of State, Uzi Arad

Israeli ex-spy barred from the US wants US visa

March 19, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Uzi Arad

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
On March 9, I wrote about an interesting diplomatic incident in which the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, met in Israel with Uzi Arad, a former Mossad agent who is currently barred from entering the US for his involvement as a co-conspirator in the Lawrence Franklin spy case. Lawrence Anthony Franklin was a US Defense Department analyst, who in 2006 was given a 12-year prison sentence for handing classified US military information to Israeli officials and two lobbyists of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). On Tuesday, The Washington Times finally discovered that Uzi Arad is barred from entering the United States. The paper even headlined its article “exclusive”; hmmm…they must not read intelNews, or Ha’aretz for that matter. What is new in The Times‘ piece is the somewhat predictable revelation that, for nearly two years, Israeli officials and pro-Israel Americans have been pressuring the US State Department to grant Uzi Arad a visa, so that he can once again enter the United States. Read more of this post

Filed under A specialized intelligence blog written by experts Tagged with AIPAC, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hillary Clinton, Israel, Lawrence Anthony Franklin, Likud, News, United States, US Department of State, Uzi Arad

Clinton met with Israeli spy barred from entering US

March 9, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

Uzi Arad

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Much was made last week of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Israel, during which she met several of the key players in Israel’s new rightwing government. Among those was Benjamin Netanyahu, Chairman of Israel’s conservative Likud Party and the country’s new Prime Minister-Designate. Remarkably, however, when Clinton and her aides walked into Mr. Netanyahu’s office on March 4, they found there several of his advisors, including Uzi Arad, a 25-year veteran of Israel’s Mossad who is currently barred from entering the US for his involvement as a co-conspirator in the Lawrence Franklin spy case. Lawrence Anthony Franklin was a US Defense Department analyst, who in 2006 was given a 12-year prison sentence for handing classified US military information to Uzi Arad, Naor Gilon, an Israeli Embassy official in Washington, as well as to Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, both lobbyists with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Read more of this post