News you may have missed #389
July 10, 2010 1 Comment
- Secrecy over attack on Syrian nuclear plant unjustified, says ex-CIA chief. The secrecy surrounding the Israeli attack on the nuclear plant in eastern Syria in September 2007 was justified only for the period immediately after the operation, according to the CIA head at the time, Gen. Michael Hayden. That secrecy had been meant to save Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from embarrassment that could have provoked him to retaliate, argues Hayden in an authorized scholarly journal article.
- No proof yet of Colombian spying, says Ecuador. Ecuadorean Security Minister Miguel Carvajal said Thursday that allegations that Colombian security agency DAS spied on Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and other officials is “so far just a newspaper story”. Late last month, the Ecuadorean government threatened to break off diplomatic ties with Colombia over the media revelations.
- GCHQ releases Stalin-era Soviet intercepts. A series of newly released telegrams and telephone conversations, intercepted by the UK’s General Communications Headquarters, paint a picture of Joseph Stalin’s regime in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
OT tidbits:
“Intelligence experts fear top secret files stolen by former spy Daniel Houghton could still fall into enemy hands”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7889438/Intelligence-experts-fear-secret-files-taken-by-spy-could-fall-into-enemy-hands.html
“Armed men have launched simultaneous attacks on the intelligence and security services building in Yemen’s south, killing security officials, witnesses say.”
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/07/201071474343314417.html
“Ireland seeks to block Israel access to data on EU citizens
reland is seeking to stop a European Union initiative that would enable Israel to receive sensitive information about European citizens, due to concerns about the use that Israel would make of this information, the Irish minister for justice said over the weekend.”
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/ireland-seeks-to-block-israel-access-to-data-on-eu-citizens-1.301180