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News you may have missed #0198

November 29, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Walesa libel trial over spy claim starts in Poland. A libel trial has started in Poland over allegations that former President Lech Walesa once worked as a communist spy.
Japanese abductee’s son releases correspondence with North Korean ex-spy. The son of Yaeko Taguchi, a Japanese woman abducted thirty years ago by North Korean agents, has released personal letters he exchanged with Kim Hyun-Hee, a North Korean former spy, who told him his mother is still alive.
Israeli police arrest…Mossad spy apprentice. A trainee of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service was arrested by Israeli police during a spying exercise in Tel Aviv, after he was spotted behaving suspiciously. Interestingly, “[t]he Mossad never warns Israel’s uniformed security services in advance of its exercises in a bid to give the training an element of reality”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with abductions, defectors, Israel, Japan, Kim Hyun-Hee, lawsuits, Lech Walesa, Mossad, News, news you may have missed, North Korea, Poland, Tel Aviv, Yaeko Taguchi

Analysis: Interim report on Obama’s intelligence reforms

November 28, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

M.A. Goodman

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
It has been nearly a year since US President Barack Obama initiated his plan to reform the CIA and its tattered relations with the rest of the US intelligence community. How is he doing so far? Not great, says Melvin Goodman, a former CIA analyst, in a well-argued article on the subject. On the one hand, Obama has been successful and “deserves high grades” for addressing the CIA’s renditions, detentions and interrogations programs, argues Goodman. On the other hand, the President has avoided taking a strong leadership role in addressing the major problems of the CIA, including “appoint[ing] leaders willing to address the culture of cover-up that exists at the CIA and to make the necessary strategic changes”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Analysis, Center for International Policy, CIA, corruption, extraordinary rendition, Johns Hopkins University, Melvin A. Goodman, Obama Administration, torture, United States

News you may have missed #0197

November 27, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Pakistani spy agencies looking into oil, gas deals. At least two premier Pakistani intelligence agencies, Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence, have started investigations into multi-million dollar oil and gas transactions involving government-owned Pakistan State Oil.
Intelligence Community plans workforce of the future. Interesting take on future recruiting goals by Dr. Ron Sanders, Chief Human Capital Officer in the US intelligence community.
Update on French ex-spy v. Dubai World Corp. legal saga. Dubai World Corporation and former French intelligence officer Herve Jaubert, who escaped from the United Arab Emirates using his cache of spy tricks, are still at it in court.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Dubai World, energy resources, France, Herve Jaubert, intelligence recruitment, ISI, lawsuits, News, news you may have missed, Pakistan, Pakistan State Oil, Pakistani Military Intelligence, Ron Sanders, United Arab Emirates, United States

Blackwater aids US covert assassination, kidnapping ops

November 27, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Jeremy Scahill

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Private mercenary firm Blackwater (recently renamed Xe) is part of a covert US program in Pakistan that includes planned assassinations and kidnappings of Taliban and al-Qaeda suspects. Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill published earlier this week in The Nation magazine an in-depth study of the controversial firm’s role in the outsourced operation, which was first revealed by The New York Times and The Washington Post last August (see previous intelNews commentary). The close operational association between US Special Forces, the CIA, and the private mercenary firm is well known, largely thanks to Scahill’s prior work. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with abductions, assassinations, Blackwater, CIA, intelligence outsourcing, Jeremy Scahill, mercenaries, News, Pakistan, United States, US Special Forces, War on Terrorism

NSA bugging more widespread than thought, says ex-analyst

November 26, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

Wayne Madsen

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A former NSA analyst and US Navy intelligence officer has alleged that the National Security Agency’s (NSA) domestic spying program was more widespread than originally thought, and that it was authorized by the Bush Administration prior to 9/11. Wayne Madsen, who authors the Wayne Madsen Report, says the NSA consulted with US telecommunications service providers about aspects of its STELLAR WIND program in as early as February 27, 2001, several months prior to the events of 9/11. STELLAR WIND was a massive domestic surveillance program involving spying on US citizens. Under the guidance of the office of the US Attorney General, the NSA was systematically allowed to circumvent the standard authorization process under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court, composed of 11 federal judges, and thus conduct what is known as warrantless wiretapping within the United States, which is illegal. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Bush Administration, domestic intelligence, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, James Bamford, News, NSA, operation STELLAR WIND, Russell Tice, telecommunication service providers, Terrorist Surveillance Program (STELLAR WIND), United States, warrantless communications interception, Wayne Madsen, whistleblowing

News you may have missed #0196

November 25, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Legal problems facing CIA are no laughing matter. They include two criminal investigations by the US Justice Department, persistent inquiries by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as legal challenges from “war on terrorism” detainees.
Aussie computer networks “most certainly” spied on. The Australian federal government’s computer network has “almost certainly” been targeted by cyber-spies from other countries, according to attorney general Robert McClelland. “In some incidents nation states [are responsible]”, he told reporters.
US still considering extraditing Philippine spy. A judge has yet to rule on whether Michael Ray Aquino, a former Philippine National Police intelligence officer who served prison time for passing classified US government documents to the Philippine opposition, will be extradited to face murder charges back home. See here for more on this strange case.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Australia, CIA, cyberespionage, extraditions, intelligence oversight, Michael Ray Aquino, News, news you may have missed, Philippines, Philippines National Police, Robert McClelland, United States, US Department of Justice, US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Germany arrests Chinese informants for spying on exiles

November 25, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Chinese consulate

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
German federal and local detectives yesterday raided the homes of four Chinese residents of Munich, who are suspected of spying on the city’s Uighur Chinese community on behalf of the government in Beijing. The four were charged after German counterintelligence agents spotted them holding secret meetings with a Chinese diplomat operating out of China’s consulate in Munich (photo). Munich has the world’s largest Uighur population outside of China, and is home to the World Uighur Congress, which Beijing views as an anti-Chinese organization. The Uighur people are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia, and are primarily concentrated in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Babur Mehsut, China, Chinese consulate in Munich, Germany, immigration intelligence, informants, Munich (Germany), News, SAPO (Sweden), Sweden, Uighurs, World Uighur Congress, Xinjiang (China)

News you may have missed #0195

November 24, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

CIA releases massive collection of Soviet military documents. The CIA has released a massive selection of sensitive Soviet journal articles, translated into English, which it acquired by various means from 1961 to 1984. Most are from the restricted Soviet journal Military Thought.
Did the CIA attempt to prevent Gagarin’s lunar flight from happening? Interesting question explored by Peter Pesavento in the latest issue of Space Chronicle, a journal of the London-based British Interplanetary Society.
GCHQ head’s holiday details leaked online. The head of the British government’s ultra-secret listening agency GCHQ is reviewing his security after personal details were put on the internet by a spookbuster. Thankfully, no Speedo photos this time.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cold War, declassification, GCHQ, history, Iain Robert Lobban, Internet, military intelligence, News, news you may have missed, Soviet space program, UK, United States, USSR, Vostok 1, Vostok 3KA-3, Yuri Gagarin

South Africa busts Shin Bet operation, expels Israeli agent

November 24, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

El Al logo

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The South African government has expelled an Israeli intelligence agent posing as an airline worker, after the discovery of a major Israeli undercover operation at the Oliver R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. The operation was uncovered by Carte Blanche, South African television’s most respected investigative news program, based on testimony by Jonathan Garb, a former guard at El Al, Israel’s national airline, who became a whistleblower after being fired from his job. Garb told Carte Blanche that El Al offices in South Africa and around the world have acted as fronts for Shin Bet, Israel’s General Security Service, for a long time. He also told the program that Shin Bet officers in Johannesburg used their El Al employee cover status to infiltrate the airport and gather information on black and Muslim South African travelers to Israel. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Africa, ANC, covert operations, diplomatic expulsions, El Al, intelligence covers, Israel, Johannesburg (South Africa), Jonathan Garb, News, OR Tambo International Airport, racial profiling, Shin Bet, South Africa, whistleblowing

News you may have missed #0194

November 24, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Ex-Monaco spymaster renews lawsuit on principality. Robert Eringer, who until recently was spymaster to prince Albert II of Monaco, and is now suing him for €360,000 ($542,000) in alleged unpaid income, has filed a new lawsuit against the principality itself, to prevent Albert II from invoking head-of-state immunity.
WWII spy photos declassified after 60 years. A collection of astonishing World War II air surveillance photos from Britain’s Aerial Reconnaissance Archives can now be seen by the public for the first time.
US couple accused of spying for Cuba pleads guilty. As expected, Walter and Gwendolyn Myers, who were arrested by the FBI last summer on charges of spying for Cuba for over 30 years, have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with aerial reconnaissance, Aerial Reconnaissance Archives (UK), airborne surveillance, Cuba, declassification, espionage, Germany, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, history, lawsuits, Monaco, Monaco Intelligence Service, News, news you may have missed, photographic intelligence, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Robert Eringer, UK, United States, Walter Kendall Myers, World War II

CIA chief has ‘confrontational’ meeting with Pakistani spymaster

November 24, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

A.S. Pasha

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
There is almost no coverage in the US media of CIA director Leon Panetta’s trip to Pakistan —in sharp contrast to the Pakistani and Indian press, where his visit made national headlines over the weekend. A scheduled meeting with Ahmed Shuja Pasha, director of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was undoubtedly among Panetta’s most important engagements in Islamabad. According to Pakistani media accounts, the meeting between the two men —the second in less than two months— was confrontational and marred by serious differences between the ISI and the CIA —two agencies that rarely see eye-to-eye lately. Citing “well-placed sources”, Pakistani daily The Nation said that the ISI spymaster “expressed his disappointment” to Panetta about the CIA’s “dismal role in countering terrorism” in Pakistan and its “failure to provide concrete actionable information” to the Pakistani secret services. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Afghanistan, Ahmed Shuja Pasha, CIA, India, intelligence cooperation, ISI, Leon Panetta, Milt Bearden, News, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United States, US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

News you may have missed #0193

November 23, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Colombian rebels say US spying on Venezuela from bases. Colombia’s National Liberation Army, the smaller of the country’s two main guerrilla groups, has echoed Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s recent claims that the new US bases in Colombia will be used for “electronic spying” against Caracas.
Hawaii resident accused of spying for China to stand trial. Noshir Gowadia is not insane and is legally able to stand trial, a US federal prosecutor asserted on Friday.
British communications spy agency to recruit via Xbox Live. The General Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain’s version of the US National Security Agency, says it is trying to attract 18- to 34-year-olds to its ranks. It’s not the first time it has resorted to gaming.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with China, Colombia, ELN (Colombia), gaming, GCHQ, Hawaii, Hugo Chávez, intelligence recruitment, military bases, National Liberation Army of Colombia, News, news you may have missed, Noshir Gowadia, UK, United States, Venezuela, Xbox, Xbox Live

French spies saw Hitler danger in 1924, document shows

November 23, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Hitler in 1924

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
At the same time when British intelligence was employing Benito Mussolini, and US diplomats were describing segments of the German Nazi party as “moderate [with] appeal to all civilized and reasonable people”, French intelligence reports were identifying Adolf Hitler as a “fascist […] demagogue” and “the German Mussolini”. This emerges from a 1924 report by an anonymous French intelligence operative, which is due to be declassified along with thousands of similar documents currently stored in the French National Archives, according to French newspaper Le Monde. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, France, French National Archives, Germany, history, Italy, News, Paris (France), UK, United States, World War I, World War II

News you may have missed #0192

November 23, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Ex-agent reveals botched CIA operation in Siberia. Former CIA operative Mike Ramsdell has described a botched post-Cold War CIA operation in Siberia, which almost cost him his life. Another, apparently unrelated, botched CIA operation in Siberia was revealed last August.
How secret Operation WEDGE ended Czechoslovak communism. “There are dozens of conspiracy theories about the Eastern European revolutions of 1989: that it was all the work of the CIA, the KGB, or a cabal of Western banks with mafia connections. Most are hokum. But in Czechoslovakia there really was a conspiracy behind the theory”.
Secret US-Japanese nuclear deal comes to light. IntelNews has previously discussed this secret arrangement, which reportedly allows US military vessels and aircraft carrying nuclear weapons to enter Japanese territorial waters, as long as Japan is protected by the US nuclear umbrella.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with CIA, Cold War, Czechoslovakia, espionage, history, Japan, KGB, Mike Ramsdell, News, news you may have missed, nuclear proliferation, Operation WEDGE, Russia, Siberia, United States

Analysis: Cyprus-Russia-Israel Arms Affair Points to Wider Questions

November 22, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

TOR-M1 radar

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Diplomatic observers were surprised in November 2008, when the then Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to meet his Cypriot counterpart, Dimitris Christofias, during the latter’s official visit to Moscow. Considering the traditionally close bilateral ties between Russia and Cyprus, the excuse from President Putin’s office, that he was too busy attending his United Russia party’s national conference, appeared unconvincing. An article published recently in Greek-Cypriot newspaper O Politis, traced the cause of the Russian President’s apparent snub to a 2007 attempt by the Cypriot government to hand over parts of a Russian-made missile system to Israel. The paper said the Cypriot plan was hatched in response to a request by Israeli intelligence officials, who were interested in acquiring technical insights into the Russian-made TOR-M1 surface-to-air missile defense system. The Israelis were concerned about the TOR-M1 because Iran was also said to be using a variant of the same system, which features a radar apparatus unknown to Israel, the United States or NATO. On the website of the Research Institute for European and American Studies, I explain what this alleged breach of trust between traditional Greek ally Cyprus and Russia may mean for the wider geostrategic balances in the east Mediterranean. Read article →