News you may have missed #896

• Morocco, Spain, US collaborate to arrest ISIS suspect. The Spanish Civil Guard carried out the arrest on May 8, in collaboration with Morocco’s General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), and the FBI in the US. A preliminary investigation suggests the suspect’s approach was in line with ISIS’s “lone wolf” strategy, seeking to undermine the security of Western countries. “The detainee was making public statements about his adherence to [Islamic State] terrorist claims and his hatred of the West in social media profiles”, a statement said.
• Suspected Russian spy ship shadowed srance’s New nuclear-powered submarine. As France’s first-in-class nuclear-power attack submarine (SSN) Suffren (Qs84) continues to conduct sea trials near its base at Cherbourg, it is drawing the attention of the Russian Navy’s RFS Akademik Pashin. Officially, that Russian ship a Project 23130 replenishment tanker, but it is also believed to be a spy ship. The Akademik Pashin is among the newest vessels in the Russian Navy, and was only commissioned on January 21 of this year. The Russian presence was noted by Open Source analysts, while the suspected spy ship was monitored by both French and British warships.
• Ralph McGehee, CIA officer and critic, dies at 92 of coronavirus. McGehee served for 25 years in the CIA, serving mostly in Southeast Asia, and was awarded the CIA’s Career Intelligence Medal. But after his retirement, he became a leading critic of the CIA, arguing that the Agency’s work was counterproductive and damaged US interests, especially through covert action. His 1982 book Deadly Deceits: My 25 Years in the CIA, was described by professor Athan Theoharis as “the last of the major exposés of the era” that included the Watergate Scandal and the failed effort to rescue US hostages in Iran.

Author: Ian Allen | Date: 14 May 2020 | Permalink