US intelligence agencies using ‘wide range’ of spy tools to monitor coronavirus
February 28, 2020 Leave a comment
United States intelligence agencies are using “a wide range” of tools, ranging from open-source collection to communications interception and human intelligence, to collect desperately needed data about the spread of the coronavirus, according to sources. As of late last week, some of the most dependable data on the spread of the virus, known as COVID-19, came from military channels of information, according to Yahoo News’ National Security and Investigations Reporter Jenna McLaughlin.
Writing last Friday, McLaughlin cited “two sources familiar with the matter”, who said that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency’s Global Issues Mission Center were collecting and analyzing real-time data on the coronavirus. The spread of the disease was also being monitored by the National Center for Medical Intelligence, which assesses the impact of disease outbreaks on American and foreign military personnel, said McLaughlin. She added that the intelligence generated by these agencies was being channeled to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services, which lead the White House’s Task Force on COVID-19.
A major concern of the US Intelligence Community is that the Chinese, Iranian and other governments around the world may not be sharing comprehensive data on the spread of the virus and its impact. “No data means spying”, one unnamed source told McLaughlin. According to Reuters’ Mark Hosenball, US intelligence agencies have been using “a wide range of intelligence tools”, including human intelligence and electronic communications interception to track the spread of COVID-19. A major question that US intelligence agencies are trying to answer is whether governments like China’s or Iran’s have effective “continuity operations” plans in place, which relate to preserving the main functions of government during a major national disaster.
According to Hosenball, there is pessimism among US intelligence experts about the ability of developing countries around the world to respond to a massive COVID-19 outbreak. One example is India, whose dense population and rudimentary public-health infrastructure raises serious concerns about the government’s ability to protect the country’s population from a major pandemic. The report adds that there “deep concern” in US government circles about the possibility that Iran may be covering up the details about the spread of COVID-19.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 28 February 2020 | Permalink
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US Pentagon insists it can continue to function despite COVID-19 outbreak
March 5, 2020 by Joseph Fitsanakis Leave a comment
During a press conference on Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he was “fully confident” that the Pentagon could perform its functions uninterrupted by the spread of the coronavirus. He added that he was expecting to receive a proposal early next week about how the Pentagon —the world’s largest office building, staffed by 20,000 employees— could prevent or mitigate the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, he said, the Pentagon’s National Military Command Center —designed for a nuclear attack— would be able to sustain the Department of Defense’s employees “for weeks at a time, if they have to be locked down inside the building if we have some type of outbreak”.
He did not comment on reports from last week, according to which senior American military commanders expressed concerns about the state of the country’s military readiness by the end of March. Late on Thursday, the US European Command announced the early termination of a joint military exercise that was underway in Israel, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. A few days earlier, Pentagon officials canceled a joint military exercise in South Korea. Meanwhile, leading US defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced on Thursday that it had halted production at its F-35 plants in Italy and Japan. The company said that production at its factories in Texas continued uninterrupted.
Defense Secretary Esper said yesterday that the US military’s worldwide efforts on COVID-19 were being coordinated by US Norther Command, which was preparing for “short- and long-term scenarios, domestic and international situations”. He did not elaborate on that statement. Also on Thursday, the Pentagon announced that it had started administering coronavirus screenings to all new and potential recruits for all branches of the Armed Forces.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 05 March 2020 | Permalink
Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with biosecurity, biosurveillance, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Mark Esper, News, United States, US DoD