intelNews.org

News you may have missed #511

May 20, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

Ukraine expels two Czech diplomats for spying. Two Czech diplomats, Colonel Zdenek Kubicek and Major Petra Novotna, have been expelled from Ukraine on suspicion of spying on Ukraine’s military, Ukraine’s security service has said.
Gag order in case of Egyptian spying for Israel. An Egyptian court has imposed a gag order on the trial of Tareq Hassan, a local businessman arrested in August, and accused of spying on his country, Syria and Lebanon for Israel.
China to fund Zimbabwe military intelligence base. Zimbabwe’s defense minister Emerson Mnangagwa has announced that China will offer the country a $98 million loan to fund the construction of the “Robert Mugabe School of Intelligence” in Zimbabwe’s Mazowe Valley.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 China to fund Zimbabwe military intelligence base, 0 Gag order in case of Egyptian spying for Israel, 0 Ukraine expels two Czech diplomats for spying, Africa, China, Czech Republic, Eastern Europe, Egypt, espionage, Israel, lawsuits, Lebanon, Mazowe Valley (Zimbabwe), military intelligence, News, news you may have missed, Petra Novotna, Robert Mugabe School of Intelligence, Syria, Tareq Abdel Razeq Hussein Hassan, Tareq Hassan, Ukraine, Zdenek Kubicek, Zimbabwe

News you may have missed #510 (bin Laden edition)

May 19, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

Europe says US slow in sharing bin Laden intel. European security officials have lots of questions about the intelligence being analyzed from Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, but so far they have seen very little of it, they say.
Did Pakistani official lead US to bin Laden? There are rumors in Pakistan that the CIA was tipped off about the location of bin Laden’s hideout from a walk-in informant at the US Embassy in Islamabad.
CIA interrogates bin Laden’s wives. US intelligence officials have interrogated the three wives of Osama Bin Laden who were left behind in his compound after Navy Seals shot dead the al-Qaeda leader. The women, Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fatah al-Sada, of Yemen, and Khairiah Sabar and Siham Sabar, both of Saudi Arabia, were apparently “hostile” and uncooperative during the interrogations

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 CIA interrogates bin Laden's wives, 0 Did Pakistani official lead US to bin Laden?, 0 Europe says US slow in sharing bin Laden intel, Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fatah al-Sada, assassinations, CIA, covert operations, intelligence cooperation, interrogation techniques, Khairiah Sabar, News, news you may have missed, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Siham Sabar, United States, US embassy in Pakistan, Yemen

Did compromised laptop prompt Israel to bomb Syrian nuclear reactor?

May 18, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

Al-Kibar reactor

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
One of the Middle East’s biggest mysteries in recent years concerns Operation ORCHARD, the September 6, 2007, attack by Israeli fighter jets on a site deep in the Syro-Arabian Desert. Many observers, including former CIA Director, General Michael Hayden, have called for the secrecy surrounding the covert operation to be finally lifted. But it has been more-or-less confirmed that the attack targeted a plutonium production reactor, which was part of Syria’s secret nuclear weapons program. And officials in Tel Aviv have repeatedly hinted that Israel was behind the operation. The burning question, however, is how did Israel learn of the existence of Syria’s nuclear reactor at Al-Kibar, a secret and isolated site deep in the Syro-Arabian Desert? The authoritative account of the operation, which appeared in German newsmagazine Der Spiegel in 2009, suggested that the initial tip came from the US National Security Agency, which “detected a suspiciously high number of telephone calls between Syria and North Korea”. But it also alleged that the Mossad managed to acquire vital clues about the Al-Kibar building site by installing a stealth “Trojan horse” program on the laptop of a Syrian government official, while the latter was visiting Britain. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Al-Kibar (Syria), Al-Kibar nuclear reactor (Syria), assassinations, computer hacking, Israel, London, Michael Hayden, Mossad, News, NSA, nuclear proliferation, operation ORCHARD, Syria, Syrian nuclear program, Syro-Arabian Desert, UK, United States

News you may have missed #509 (Blackwater edition)

May 17, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

Blackwater founder sets up Emirates mercenary force. Fearing pro-democracy protesters, the United Arab Emirates has paid Blackwater founder and former CIA operative Erik Prince $529 million to set up an 800-strong undercover American-led mercenary army, staffed mostly by Colombian dogs of war.
US studies legality of US-led private army in UAE. The US state department said on Sunday that it was examining the legality of an American-led private army that is being established in the United Arab Emirates.
Ex-Blackwater members set up private spy firm. Veterans from Blackwater (now Xe Services) and former members of the US military’s ABLE DANGER intelligence data mining program, have founded a new private intelligence firm called –wait for it– Jellyfish.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Blackwater founder sets up Emirates mercenary force, 0 Ex-Blackwater members set up private spy firm, 0 US studies legality of US-led private army in UAE, ABLE DANGER, Blackwater, CIA, Colombia, data mining, Erik Prince, intelligence outsourcing, Jellyfish, mercenaries, News, news you may have missed, United Arab Emirates, Xe

Comment: Bin Laden’s Alleged ‘Magazine Stash’ May be CIA PsyOp

May 15, 2011 by intelNews 12 Comments

Osama bin Laden

By IAN ALLEN| intelNews.org |
Rumors of an alleged discovery of “a stash of pornography” in Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan have spread like wildfire since Friday, when Reuters published an “exclusive” report on the subject. The report, written by Mark Hosenball and Tabassum Zakaria, cites “current and former US officials […] who discussed the discovery […] on condition of anonymity”. According to the allegations, “[t]he pornography recovered in bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive”. The report was almost immediately picked up by several news outlets, including The New York Times, which notes that the disclosure “will be welcomed by counter-terrorism officials because it could tarnish [the al-Qaeda founder’s] legacy and erode [his] appeal”. Indeed. It appears that only Danger Room‘s Spencer Ackerman thought it wise to air a brief disclaimer to the effect that the “welcomed disclosure” may in fact be “a CIA information operation”. He has a point. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with al-Qaeda, Analysis, Anwar Ibrahim, China, Cold War, FBI, history, homosexuality, Ian Allen, J. Edgar Hoover, Julius Streicher, Kim Sung Il, Malaysia, North Korea, Osama bin Laden, propaganda, psyops, South Korea, USSR, Vasili Mitrokhin, World War II

News you may have missed #508

May 12, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

US not to withdraw Pakistan CIA chief. The US has said it will not withdraw the CIA station chief in Pakistan, despite his name being leaked to local media last week. But officials quoted by US media said the name published in Pakistani news outlets was spelled incorrectly.
CIA, not Pentagon, ran bin Laden operation. Has anyone noticed that CIA Director Leon Panetta has said a lot more about the Navy commandos’ killing of Osama bin Laden than has the Pentagon chief? The reason Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said exactly nothing about the raid is that the CIA, not the Pentagon, ran the operation.
Spy vs. spy in China. Interesting summary of the case of Glenn Shriver, an American who was arrested last year for accepting $70,000 from Chinese spies as he attempted to secure jobs with the CIA and US Foreign Service that would have allowed him to expose US government secrets.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 CIA not Pentagon ran bin Laden operation, 0 Spy vs spy in China, 0 US not to withdraw Pakistan CIA chief, assassinations, China, CIA, covert operations, espionage, Glenn Shriver, intelligence cooperation, News, news you may have missed, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, United States, US DoD

Comment: Was the Killing of Osama bin Laden Legal?

May 11, 2011 by intelNews 10 Comments

Osama bin Laden

By IAN ALLEN* | intelNews.org |
The reaction of Americans to news of the assassination of Osama bin Laden has been overwhelmingly jubilant. Many will say that the killing of al-Qaeda’s founder was justified. But was it legal? Responding to news of the killing, famed linguist and political commentator Noam Chomsky suggested that “we might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic”. Commenting from a different viewpoint, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin argues that the legal complications of arresting bin Laden would have been immense, and would have perhaps signaled “the most complex and wrenching legal proceeding in American history”. We could would add to this that the White House was probably concerned about a prolonged state of heightened security for American embassies and civilian or military installations around the world, which could have lasted for as long as bin Laden’s hypothetical trial continued —which could have been years. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Analysis, assassinations, Church Committee, CIA, Executive Order 12333, Gerald Ford, Ian Allen, Noam Chomsky, NSA, operation STELLAR WIND, Osama bin Laden, Paul P. Pillar, Terrorist Surveillance Program (STELLAR WIND), United States, US House of Representatives Select Committee on Intelligence (Pike Committee), War on Terrorism, Watergate

News you may have missed #507

May 10, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

Pakistani media reveal name of CIA station chief. Mark Carlton, the purported CIA station chief in Islamabad, was named by a Pakistani newspaper and a private television news network over the weekend, the second holder of that post in less than a year to have his cover blown by the media.
How an immigrant from Taiwan came to spy for China. Well-researched article on Tai Shen Kuo, a Taiwanese-born American citizen who is serving time in an Arizona prison for spying on the US for China.
Domestic surveillance grew in US in 2010. The level of domestic US intelligence surveillance activity in 2010 increased from the year before, according to a new Justice Department report to Congress. Moreover, the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved all 1,506 government requests to electronically monitor suspected “agents” of a foreign power or terrorists on US soil.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Domestic surveillance grew in US in 2010, 0 How an immigrant from Taiwan came to spy for China, 0 Pakistani media reveal name of CIA station chief, Arizona, China, CIA, domestic intelligence, espionage, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Mark Carlton, News, news you may have missed, Pakistan, surveillance, Tai Shen Kuo, Taiwan, United States, US Department of Justice

Attacking Iran ‘a stupid idea’ says Mossad ex-chief

May 9, 2011 by intelNews 1 Comment

Meir Dagan

By IAN ALLEN| intelNews.org |
The former director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency has described the option of a military attack by Israel on Iran’s nuclear installations as “the stupidest thing I have ever heard”. Meir Dagan, who led the Mossad from 2002 until January of this year, was speaking publicly for the first time since his retirement, at a conference held at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. He told conference participants that any military action against Iran would be “patently illegal under international law” and that it would probably not achieve its goals, since Iranian nuclear installations are deliberately dispersed in locations across that vast country. Consequently, the widespread nature of the attack could lead to a prolonged war, “the kind of thing where we know how it starts, but not how it will end”, said Dagan. His comments found their way to the front pages of most Israeli newspapers over the weekend, and were headlined in television and radio station news programs, prompting responses by several former and acting Israeli officials. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Danni Yatom, Efraim Halevy, Ehud Barak, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Israel, Jerusalem, Meir Dagan, Mossad, News

News you may have missed #506 (bin Laden edition)

May 9, 2011 by intelNews 1 Comment

Terror data key to fight, experts say. Article by Boston Herald staff writer Marie Szaniszlo, which includes quotes by intelNews‘ own Joseph Fitsanakis, and Executive Action CEO Neil Livingstone.
US Navy SEALs did not bring tape measure. The heavily armed, electronically wired SEALs didn’t come with a tape measure to get an accurate height reading of Osama bin Laden. According to reports, a Navy SEAL of about 6-feet laid out next to bin Laden’s corpse to gauge the al-Qaeda leader’s height. The corpse was “several inches taller”.
Analysis: CIA takes a victory lap after Bin Laden raid. The CIA, battered by years of setbacks and criticism, is relishing a rare public triumph after tracking down Osama bin Laden in his hideout deep inside Pakistan.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Analysis: CIA takes a victory lap after Bin Laden raid, 0 Terror data key to fight experts say, 0 US Navy SEALS did not bring tape measure, al-Qaeda, assassinations, CIA, News, news you may have missed, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, United States, US Navy, US Navy SEALs, US Special Forces

Comment: Five Surprising Truths About the Killing of Bin Laden

May 5, 2011 by intelNews 10 Comments

Osama bin Laden

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS* | intelNews.org |
For intelligence and terrorism experts, the frustrating part of Osama bin Laden’s assassination is not the lack of details on the operation, nor the diplomatic ping-pong currently taking place between America and Pakistan. Rather it is the media spectacle that has unfolded around the story ever since it first made headlines. The cacophony of conjecture that has hijacked the global news agenda is maintained by an army of talking heads, who rely on rumor and speculation to satisfy sensationalist media editors. The outcome is a sterile media circus, devoid of substance, which leaves news consumers confused and uninformed. To counter this trend, intelNews lists here five truths of critical importance about Osama bin Laden’s assassination. In summary: One, America does not have to prove it killed bin Laden. Two, bin Laden’s assassination is not a victory against terrorism. Three, it likely will not reduce —and may even increase— terrorism. Four, it will not have the slightest effect on the Taliban or the war in Afghanistan. Five, even if the Pakistani government consciously shielded bin Laden, there is not much the US can do about it. More specifically:

Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, Analysis, assassinations, Joseph Fitsanakis, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, Taliban, terrorism, War on Terrorism

News you may have missed #505 (bin Laden edition)

May 4, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

Bin Laden assassins confiscated digital devices. According to US officials, members of the US elite forces that raided Osama bin Laden’s residence in Pakistan “carried off five computers, 10 hard drives and more than 100 storage devices, such as DVDs and removable flash drives”.
Bin Laden compound was once spy agency safe house. Reports from the United Arab Emirates suggest that the compound in Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed was once used as a safe house by the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, Pakistan’s premier spy agency.
CIA says it will release bin Laden pictures. The White House says that it intends to release images of Osama bin Laden’s assassination, but warns that they are “gruesome” and “could be inflammatory”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Bin Laden assassins confiscated digital devices, 0 Bin Laden compound was once spy agency safe house, 0 CIA says it will release bin Laden pictures, al-Qaeda, assassinations, ISI, News, news you may have missed, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, United States

Analysis: Myths and Questions on bin Laden’s Assassination

May 3, 2011 by intelNews 1 Comment

Osama bin Laden

By J. FITSANAKIS and I. ALLEN | intelNews.org |
The assassination of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, has helped dispel several myths about him and the organization he founded in 1988 in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. Among them is the idea that the Saudi-born militant was leading a primitive existence in some remote hillside in Waziristan, sheltered by mountainous tribes that were supposedly loyal to him. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite his reputation as a hardened mujahedeen, bin Laden had chosen to spend his days in the unmatched comfort of a sprawling luxury compound located only an hour’s drive from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. The compound is located in a relatively wealthy suburb of the city of Abbottabad, which is also home to the Kakul Military Academy, Pakistan’s elite army training school. More importantly, the descriptions of bin Laden’s luxurious hideout fly in the face of the predominant view of al-Qaeda as an organization that knows how to blend in with its surroundings. Not only did the compound stand out, but, according to one American official, it was “eight times larger than the other homes in the town”. It featured 3,000 feet of living space, to house bin Laden, his four wives, and several advisors and guards. It appears to have been custom-built to bin Laden’s specifications in 2005, which would explain the existence of numerous built-in security features, including at least two heavily fortified security gates, seven-foot-high perimeter walls, and even solid blast-proof enclosures on all balconies. Continue reading →

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Abbottabad (Pakistan), Afghanistan, Analysis, assassinations, Barack Obama, Ian Allen, ISI, Islamabad (Pakistan), Joseph Fitsanakis, Kakul Military Academy (Pakistan), Leon Panetta, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United States

Comment: Some early remarks on bin Laden’s assassination

May 2, 2011 by intelNews 6 Comments

Osama bin Laden

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS* | intelNews.org |
It is tempting to consider the impact of Osama bin Laden’s assassination on al-Qaeda-inspired groups and, more broadly, on America’s “global war on terrorism”. Yet any such endeavor at this point would be inevitably speculative. The truth is, nobody has the slightest idea of the possible strategic spillover of bin Laden’s killing, and this includes the White House, the CIA and NATO. There are, however, some general remarks, mostly of operational nature, that can safely be made on the basis of the limited factual information that has been made available. To begin with, it appears that the assassination of al-Qaeda’s senior figurehead was conducted by ground forces, and not remotely, as has been the case with the vast majority of US assassination operations carried out in Afghanistan and Pakistan during the past several years. This potentially strengthens the argument, made frequently by Western and Pakistani officials, that significant achievements in the field of counterterrorism can only be conducted by surgical-type ground operations, based on accurate and actionable intelligence.

News you may have missed #504

April 29, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

Israel spy pleads to Obama for release. United States Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for spying for Israel, has pleaded for his release in a personal letter to President Barack Obama. The letter was apparently handed to Obama by Israeli President Shimon Peres when he visited the White House on April 5.
US-Pakistan spy feud boils over CIA drone strikes. The Pakistani government has voiced strong criticism of a fresh CIA drone attack, which has killed 26 people. But an anonymous US counterterrorism official, who spoke to the McClatchy news agency, said that “the Pakistanis should spend less time complaining to the press [about the drone strikes] and more time trying to root out terrorists within their country”.
Colombia to issue international warrant for ex-spy chief. Colombia’s Prosecutor General’s Office will issue an international arrest warrant for Maria Pilar Hurtado, former director of the country’s disgraced DAS intelligence agency, who was granted political asylum in Panama.