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News you may have missed #0091

September 2, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

McCain denies private agreement with CIA torture tactic. A recently released memo suggests that Republican US Senator John McCain, famous for his stance against torture, privately agreed with a CIA six-day sleep-deprivation technique.
CIA rejects further declassifications on torture-related material. The CIA said on Monday that it would release no more documents related to the Bush administration’s torture and detention policies, because disclosing the information “will threaten national security”. The ACLU called this an affront to the Obama Administration’s policies.
Taliban kill Afghan intelligence chief. Abdullah Laghmani, who headed the National Directorate for Security (NDS) was among at least 23 people, including a number of senior officials, killed in the suicide attack. This was one of the few times that the Taliban specifically targeted intelligence officials.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Abdullah Laghmani, ACLU, Afghanistan, assassinations, CIA, declassification, John McCain, National Directorate for Security (Afghanistan), News, news you may have missed, Obama Administration, sleep deprivation, suicide bombings, Taliban, torture, United States

Taliban execute Mehsud’s family members on espionage charges

August 24, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Baitullah Mehsud

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Four relatives of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud were reportedly arrested last week by Taliban militants, who suspect them of having informed Pakistani and US intelligence about Mehsud’s whereabouts. Pakistani and US officials say they are almost certain that Mehsud was killed in an unmanned drone air strike (probably remotely operated by the CIA) earlier this month. Mehsud’s family members arrested by the Taliban include his father-in-law, Ikramuddin Mehsud, his son, Ziauddin Mehsud, his brother, Saeedullah Mehsud, and his nephew, Iqbal Mehsud. Earlier today, Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, told reporters that the Taliban have executed Mehsud’s family members, listed above, after “confirming” their espionage activities. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team, assassinations, Baitullah Mehsud, CIA, Hakimullah Mehsud, Ikramuddin Mehsud, Iqbal Mehsud, Lahore (Pakistan), News, Pakistan, Predator drones, Rehman Malik, Saeedullah Mehsud, Taliban, War on Terrorism, Ziauddin Mehsud

Former Colombian spy director surrenders in assassination probe

August 23, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Maza Marquez

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Miguel Maza Marquez, a fugitive from justice who briefly directed Colombia’s Administrative Department of Security (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, or DAS) in the late 1980s, has turned himself in at a DAS academy. His arrest was ordered in June by the office of the Colombian Attorney General, in connection with the 1989 assassination of reformist Colombian politician Luis Carlos Galán. Galán, who was the leading presidential candidate at the time of his assassination, gained his popularity by declaring himself an enemy of Colombia’s drug cartels, such as those led by Pablo Escobar and Gonzalo Rodríguez. On August 18, 1989, Galán was shot in the face during a pre-election rally in Soacha, on the outskirts of Bogota. Prosecutors investigating his assassination allege that Maza Marquez, whose Department was responsible for Galán’s bodyguards, intervened to make suspicious changes to Galán’s security detail on the night of his assassination. Some say that Maza Marquez was acting on orders from notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar himself.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Bogota (Colombia), Colombia, Colombian Liberal Party, corruption, DAS (Colombia), Gonzalo Rodríguez, Luis Carlos Galán, Miguel Maza Marquez, narcotics trade, News, Pablo Escobar

Comment: Blackwater’s role in CIA ops runs deep

August 21, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

Blackwater/Xe

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
North Carolina-based military and intelligence contractor Xe had a major role in the CIA’s rumored post-9/11 assassination program and is active today in the Agency’s Predator drone strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The New York Times and The Washington Post cited “government officials and current and former [Xe] employees” in revealing that the CIA worked briefly with Xe –formerly known as Blackwater– in the context of a top-secret program to locate and murder senior al-Qaeda leaders. According to The Washington Post, Blackwater’s role in the operation was far from consultative, and included “operational responsibility for targeting terrorist commanders [and awards worth] millions of dollars for training and weaponry”. The New York Times alleges that Blackwater’s central role in the operation was “a major reason” in CIA director Leon Panetta’s decision last June to inform Congress about the program, which CIA had kept hidden from Congressional oversight for seven years. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, assassinations, black operations, Blackwater, CIA, intelligence outsourcing, intelligence oversight, Iraq, John Kiriakou, Joseph Fitsanakis, Leon Panetta, national security, Pakistan, Porter Goss, Predator drones, R.J. Hillhouse, Taliban, United States, US Congress, War on Terrorism, Xe

News you may have missed #0069

August 17, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Book claims Mossad considered murdering Swedish journalist. The Mossad considered assassinating renowned Swedish left-wing journalist Jan Guillou in the 1970s, according to a book just published in Sweden.
Romania denies allegations it hosted secret CIA prisons. The Romanian Foreign Ministry rejects revelations in a New York Timesarticle that a downtown Bucharest building served as a major secret CIA prison after 9/11.
Iran releases on bail French woman accused of spying. Clotilde Reiss had been held in Tehran’s Evin jail since being arrested on July 1. She will now have to stay at the French embassy in Tehran while she awaits the verdict in her trial, which was heard on August 8.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, CIA, Clotilde Reiss, espionage, French embassy in Iran, Iran, Jan Guillou, Mossad, News, news you may have missed, Romania, secret prisons, Sweden, Tehran (Iran), United States

News you may have missed #0067

August 13, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

David Wise on CIA assassinations. Author of The Invisible Government and The Spy Who Got Away speaks about the long history of CIA assassinations.
These are the architects of torture in 9/11’s wake. The New York Times has published a detailed investigation into the works of Jim Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, two psychologists hired by the CIA to design an elaborate ten-stage harsh interrogation program after 9/11.
Defector recounts torture, terrorism by Uzbek government. The BBC’s Peter Marshall interviews Ikram Yakubov, a former Major in Uzbekistan’s National Security Service (SNB), who recently defected to Britain.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Bruce Jessen, CIA, David Wise, defectors, Ikram Yakubov, Jim Mitchell, Mitchell Jessen and Associates, National Security Service (Uzbekistan), News, news you may have missed, psychology, SNB (Uzbekistan), torture, UK, United States, Uzbekistan

Intelligence sources speak of clashes between rival Pakistani militias

August 12, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Mehsud

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Exactly one week after Pakistani officials announced the assassination of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, there are unconfirmed reports of serious clashes between rival armed factions in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Canadian sources are quoting unnamed intelligence officials who claim that Mehsud’s Taliban fighters are engaged in an all-out offensive against militia followers of Turkistan Bitani, a tribal warlord backed by the Pakistani government. Bitani spoke to the Associated Press saying that 90 fighters have so far died in the offensive and that at least 40 houses have been destroyed. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Baitullah Mehsud, CIA, Jandola (Pakistan), News, Pakistan, Predator drones, South Waziristan, Taliban, Turkistan Bitani, United States, War on Terrorism

News you may have missed #0065

August 12, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

CIA investigator admits to fabricating reports. CIA employee Kerry Gerdes has pleaded guilty to falsifying interview reports while performing background checks on Agency employees and potential employees.
Mehsud killed while getting leg massage, say US sources. American officials have dismissed rumors that Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban chief, is alive, and say he was killed while on the roof of his father-in-law’s home in South Waziristan.
Paris furious at French woman’s espionage confession on Iranian TV. Iranian state television has aired footage of Clotilde Reiss, a French student who was arrested in Iran last July, confessing to spying for France. Soon afterward, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced he would take time off from his holiday to make her release his priority.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Baitullah Mehsud, CIA, Clotilde Reiss, France, intelligence recruitment, Iran, Kerry Gerdes, News, news you may have missed, Nicolas Sarkozy, Pakistan, Predator drones, South Waziristan, Taliban, United States

Is Mehsud dead, and if so, who or what killed him?

August 10, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Baitullah Mehsud

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
There is confusion about the fate of Pakistan’s senior Taliban commander, Baitullah Mehsud. On August 7, the Pakistani military told the world’s media that an unmanned drone air strike (probably operated by the CIA) had killed Mehsud. The Associated Press reported that a Taliban commander in Pakistan, Kafayat Ullah, had confirmed that “Mehsud and his wife died in the American missile attack in South Waziristan”. Pakistani military officials said they were “reasonably sure” of the accuracy of these reports, but that they did not possess irrefutable “forensic evidence” of Mehsud’s death. Over the weekend, however, other Taliban leaders came forward to contest Ullah’s account. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Baitullah Mehsud, CIA, Hakimullah Mehsud, Kafayat Ullah, Maulvi Umar, News, Pakistan, Predator drones, South Waziristan, Taliban, United States, War on Terrorism

News you may have missed #0053

August 3, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

[UNCONFIRMED] Saudi opposition group claims Prince Bandar under house arrest. Saad al-Faqih, head of the Saudi opposition group Islamic Reform Movement, claims that Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the kingdom’s former ambassador to the United States, and a close ally of the Bush family and former CIA leadership, is under house arrest after reportedly trying to “provoke 200 agents working for the Saudi security service to stage a coup against King Abdullah”.
Ukrainian diplomat expelled from Russia named. An Ukrainian source has named one of the two Ukrainian diplomats to be expelled by Russia as part of the tit-for-tat row as Igor Berezkin. The expulsions follow a similar move by Ukrainian authorities who requested that Russia’s consul general in Odessa, Alexander Grachev and a senior counselor at the Russian embassy, Vladimir Lysenko, leave Ukraine over accusations that they had been involved in work in violation of their diplomatic status (i.e. espionage).
Book claims Secret Service took psychic’s advice. Ronald Kessler claims in a new book that the US Secret Service changed a motorcade route for the first President George Bush based on a psychic’s vision that he would be assassinated.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Alexander Grachev, assassinations, Bandar bin Sultan, coup plots, diplomatic expulsions, espionage, George Bush Sr., Igor Berezkin, Islamic Reform Movement, News, news you may have missed, Odessa, Ronald Kessler, Russia, Russian consulate in Odessa (Ukraine), Russian embassy in the Ukraine, Saad al-Faqih, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, US Secret Service, Vladimir Lysenko

News you may have missed #0039

July 24, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Russians suspect sabotage behind ICBM test failure. The FSB is investigating the reasons behind the test failure earlier this month of a Russian Navy Bulava-30 (SS-NX-30) sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile, which disintegrated 28 seconds after launch. The Russian Navy developed the ICBM specifically to avoid future US ballistic missile defenses.
CIA kept bin Laden son’s death secret for months. US officials think that Saad bin Laden was killed in a Predator drone strike earlier this year in Pakistan, but CIA has tried to keep the news secret, allegedly in an attempt to confuse al-Qaeda. You may recall that some time ago intelNews reported that some in US intelligence believed Saad had been given government protection in Iran.
US DNI sees signs of North Korean succession. The Open Source Center of the US Directorate of National Intelligence adds its voice to widespread speculation that Kim Jong il may be preparing to hand power to his third son, Kim Jong Un.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with al-Qaeda, assassinations, CIA, DNI, FSB, ICBM, Iran, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, News, news you may have missed, North Korea, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, R-30 Bulava missile (Russia), Russia, Russian Navy, Saad bin Laden, sabotage, US DNI Open Source Center, US Missile Defense Shield

News you may have missed #0032

July 19, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Russian spy devices found on Norwegian shores. A Russian spy buoy used for monitoring ship traffic in international waters has been discovered on a shore in Arctic Norway. Apparently, it’s the third of its kind found on Norwegian shores this year.
Analysis: Who is the CIA allowed to kill? Some aspects in the recent CIA assassination squad controversy point to the possibility that the plan “imposed no geographical limitations on the agency’s actions”. This raises the likelihood that the program would have violated national sovereignty.
Revisiting ECHELON: The NSA’s clandestine data mining program. Jason Leopold speculates that the NSA’s ECHELON program may have helped facilitate the Bush Administration’s domestic spying efforts after 9/11.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 9/11, Arctic circle, assassinations, Bush Administration, CIA, covert operations, domestic intelligence, ECHELON, maritime intelligence, maritime surveillance, News, news you may have missed, Norway, NSA, Russia, United States, warrantless communications interception

News you may have missed #0030

July 17, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

German intelligence denies Iran nuclear estimate. The BND has denied reports in the German press that it believes Iran is capable of producing and testing an atomic bomb within six months. A BND spokesperson said that the agency’s view is that Iran would not be able to produce an atomic bomb for “several years”.
Ex-CIA Director Woolsey defends CIA assassination plan. James Woolsey, the Director of the CIA during the Clinton administration has defended the principle, as well as secrecy, behind the rumored post-9/11 CIA plan to set up assassination squads and unleash them after al-Qaeda’s leadership.
India and Pakistan to share more intelligence. India and Pakistan said yesterday that they agreed to increase communication- and information-sharing. But soon afterwards India announced there would be no resumption of formal normalization talks with Pakistan until Islamabad brings those behind last year’s Mumbai attacks to justice.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2008 Mumbai attacks, assassinations, BND, CIA, Germany, India, intelligence estimates, intelligence sharing, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, James Woolsey, News, news you may have missed, nuclear proliferation, Pakistan, United States

Analysis: Why were CIA assassination squads canceled?

July 17, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

CIA HQ

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Despite all the razzmatazz surrounding the rumored secret CIA plan to set up assassination squads, several questions remain unanswered. IntelNews is among a number of websites that believe that something in the entire controversy doesn’t add up. The fact is, as I have mentioned before, the ongoing strikes by US unmanned drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan effectively amount to

deliberate assassinations of suspected terrorists, which are planned and implemented outside the framework of even elementary judicial oversight. Regardless of one’s feelings about terrorism, the democratic process […] explicitly forbids the circumvention of longstanding legal norms, which specify concrete judicial means of arrest, detention, trial and punishment of accused criminals.

So, if it is the case that the CIA is already following a policy of targeted assassinations –which often result in indiscriminate murder of civilians– then why all the fuss about the CIA assassination squad revelations? Moreover, why was the project reportedly canceled? Writing for The Los Angeles Times, Greg Miller provides a possible explanation. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Analysis, assassinations, CIA, paramilitary units, Predator drones, United States, War on Terrorism

Secret CIA program involved assassinations of suspects

July 13, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

CIA HQ

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Quoting “three former intelligence officials” The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that the secret CIA program, which recently alarmed Congress, involved summary killings and assassinations of al-Qaeda operatives. Although the plan’s details remain highly classified, it appears that the CIA sought to set up specialized assassination squads, staffed with US Special Forces personnel, in an attempt to copy the Israeli Mossad Operation Wrath of God (also known as Operation Bayonet) of the 1970s. Wrath of God, which involved targeted assassinations of individuals allegedly behind the 1972 Munich massacre, was described by Canadian journalist George Jonas in his 1984 book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team, which also formed the basis for Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film Munich. The Wall Street Journal quotes an anonymous former US intelligence official who describes the CIA plan as coming “straight out of the movies […]. It was like: Let’s kill them all”. Read more of this post