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News you may have missed #293

February 22, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

US DHS monitors websites. According to a document released by the US Department of Homeland Security, Cryptome, Wired‘s Danger Room blog, and WikiLeaks, are among websites the DHS systematically monitors “in order to provide situational awareness and establish a common operating picture”. IntelNews wants to take this opportunity to say ‘hi’ to members of the DHS lurking around.
Russian spy lived in Dayton, stole secrets. Iowa-born and -bred communist and US Army engineer, George Koval, was a master at blending in. And, as it turns out, he was also a master spy for the Soviet Union. He did just that while working on the Manhattan Project in Dayton for six months in 1945.
Niger army suspends constitution. No word yet in Niger about the elections promised by the military coup plotters who appear to have staged a successful coup. For those who may not know, in international politics, Niger means uranium –lots of it. It’s also worth asking what ten agents of Bulgaria’s counterterrorism unit were doing in Niger on the day of the coup.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Bulgaria, Cold War, coup plots, Dayton (Ohio), energy resources, espionage, George Koval, history, Internet, MANHATTAN project, News, news you may have missed, Niger, Ohio, OSINT, uranium, US Department of Homeland Security, USSR

News you may have missed #0272

January 29, 2010 by intelNews 1 Comment

Outcry in Turkey over revealed coup plot. Turkish daily Taraf has revealed a military coup plot, which included detailed plans to trigger chaos in the country with the ultimate goal of a military takeover. This appears to be a new plot, not associated with the ongoing Ergenekon coup plot investigation.
US jails Sri Lankan LTTE operatives. A US federal court has sentenced Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam and Sahilal Sabaratnam to 25 years in prison for trying to purchase almost $1 million worth of high-powered weaponry for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which the US considers a terrorist organization.
Czechoslovakian spy lookout to be opened to public. The bell tower on St. Nicholas’ Church in Prague, where 20 years ago the Czechoslovakian secret police, the StB, kept a hidden lookout on activities outside nearby embassies, especially that of the US, is to be opened to the public later this year.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cold War, coup plots, Czechoslovakia, Ergenekon, history, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, LTTE, News, news you may have missed, Prague (Czech Republic), Sahilal Sabaratnam, Sri Lanka, StB (Czechoslovakia), Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam, Turkey, United States, US embassy in Czechoslovakia, weapons smuggling

News you may have missed #0232

December 25, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Ahmadinejad says US fabricated nuclear documents. The Iranian President dismisses this document on Iran’s alleged nuclear intentions as “fabricated and distributed by the US”.
US to recognize Honduran elections despite low turnout. The Honduras Supreme Electoral Tribunal says that less than 50% of voters participated in the country’s November 29 election, which was boycotted by ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya. But the United States has said it will recognize the new government regardless of the low turnout.
Interviewing Kim Philby and drinking with the KGB. Tribune magazine’s web editor recalls how he tried to get an interview with British defector to the USSR Kim Philby, and how he nearly became a source for the KGB, in the process.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cold War, coup plots, defectors, forgery, H.A.R. "Kim" Philby, history, Honduras, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, KGB, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Manuel Zelaya, News, news you may have missed, United States, USSR

News you may have missed #0219

December 14, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Kennedy considered supporting 1963 coup in S. Vietnam, documents show. New audio recordings and documentation unearthed by George Washington University’s National Security Archive, show that US President John F. Kennedy supported a military coup against the US-backed South Vietnamese regime of Ngo Dinh Diem, even though he recognized the planned coup had no chance of a political success. See previous intelNews coverage for more Vietnam War-related declassified items.
Speak Farsi? Israel’s Shin Bet is interested. Israel’s Shin Bet internal intelligence agency is advertising jobs for speakers of the Iranian language Farsi. Israeli intelligence agencies appear to have similar problems with those faced by their US counterparts.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cold War, coup plots, declassification, Farsi, history, intelligence recruitment, Iran, Israel, John F. Kennedy, languages, News, news you may have missed, Ngo Dinh Diem, Shin Bet, Vietnam, Vietnam War

News you may have missed #0210

December 8, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Turkey arrests secret service officials over coup allegations. The head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization’s (MİT) branch in the city of Erzincan, identified only as Ş.D., and two other regional MİT officials, are under arrest in connection with the ongoing investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine network charged with plotting to overthrow the Turkish government.
European Union gives CIA access to Europe bank records. Some have condemned the agreement, due to come into force in two months’ time, because it contains no reciprocal arrangement under which European authorities can easily access the bank accounts of US citizens in America.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with CIA, coup plots, databases, economic espionage, Ergenekon, Erzincan (Turkey), EU, MİT (Turkey), News, news you may have missed, Turkey, United States

Thatcher’s son was informant for South African spy service

November 10, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Sir Mark Thathcer

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The son of Britain’s former Prime Minister, Margaret (now Baroness) Thatcher, has admitted turning informer to a South African intelligence agency, in connection to a coup plot in central-west Africa which he was accused of having helped finance. In 2004, Sir Mark Thatcher was arrested by members of an elite anticorruption squad in South Africa, for his alleged role in a failed coup against Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the longtime dictator of energy-rich Equatorial Guinea. Several South African and European mercenaries, including Simon Mann, a British former Special Forces officer, and Nick du Toit, a South African arms dealer, were arrested in Zimbabwe during the planning stages of the failed coup. It soon became understood that the plotters wanted to replace Obiang with exiled opposition leader Severo Moto Nsa, probably in return for access to lucrative oil contracts. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Africa, Armenia, coup plots, energy resources, Equatorial Guinea, informants, Margaret Thatcher, News, Nick du Toit, SASS, Severo Moto Nsa, Simon Mann, Sir Mark Thatcher, South Africa, South African Secret Service, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, UK, Zimbabwe

News you may have missed #0169

November 6, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

An intel officer’s view on Fort Hood shooter. “Delve into Malik Nadal Hasan’s social network and check with intelligence sources to find out if he had ever had contact with [militant] organizations around the world”.
Coup rumors circulating in Paraguay. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo has ordered the replacement of top military commanders, a day after publicly dismissing rumors circulating about a military coup. Did someone say “Honduras“?
US embassy in Panama looking for spy cameras. Why is the US embassy in Panama City looking for “wireless spy cameras disguised as baseball hats, jackets, pens and handbags”?

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with coup plots, Fernando Lugo, Fort Hood, Killeen (Texas), Malik Nadal Hasan, military bases, News, news you may have missed, Panama, Paraguay, surveillance, United States, US Army, US embassy in Panama

News you may have missed #0166

November 4, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

JFK Library releases new evidence on Diem assassination. This is a crucial new piece of the puzzle, for the release includes actual tape recordings of White House meetings, when US President Kennedy considered requests from South Vietnamese generals for US backing of the military coup that eventually ended Saigon leader Ngo Dinh Diem’s rule and life. See here for other recent declassifications on the Vietnam War.
The US intelligence community writes the book on collaboration. More praise for Intellipedia, the US intelligence community’s version of Wikipedia, which has grown markedly since its formal launch in 2006.
Israel admits spying on Lebanon. Israel has openly admitted to collecting intelligence in Lebanon, an uncharacteristically frank admission, which comes after Lebanon busted what has been described as the largest Israeli spy operation in the Arab world.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Al-Alam spy ring, assassinations, coup plots, declassification, espionage, intelligence cooperation, Intellipedia, Israel, John F. Kennedy, Lebanon, News, news you may have missed, Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnam, Vietnam War

News you may have missed #0165

November 4, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

UK demands Russians deliver spy assassin. David Miliband, Britain’s foreign secretary pressed Russia during a visit to Moscow on Monday to turn over Andrey Lugovoi, the main suspect in the 2006 killing in London of Russian former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. But, as before, Russia rejected the demand on legal grounds.
Analysis: Confusion in US intelligence secrecy policy. The decision last week by the Director of National Intelligence to declassify the FY2009 budget for the National Intelligence Program is inconsistent with other ODNI classification actions and highlights the confusion over the proper scope of national security secrecy that prevails in the US intelligence community today.
Equatorial Guinea pardons Western coup plotters. Four whites jailed for leading an alleged 2004 coup attempt in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea have been unexpectedly pardoned. They include Simon Mann, a British former Special Forces officer, and Nick du Toit, a South African mercenary. The Guinean government cited…”Jesus Christ” in making the decision to pardon the coup plotters.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Alexander Litvinenko, Analysis, Andrey Lugovoy, assassinations, coup plots, David Miliband, declassification, DNI, Equatorial Guinea, intelligence budget, KGB, London, mercenaries, News, news you may have missed, Nick du Toit, Russia, Simon Mann, South Africa, UK

Venezuela announces arrest of Colombian “spies”

October 28, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Cardenas

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
The government of Venezuela announced yesterday the arrest of an undisclosed number of Colombian intelligence agents, who were allegedly “captured carrying out actions of espionage”. The announcement was made by the Venezuelan deputy foreign minister, Francisco Arias Cardenas, who claimed that the detainees were all members of Colombia’s scandal-prone and soon-to-be-dismantled DAS intelligence agency. Cardenas gave no further details yesterday, but said that the Venezuelan government would “soon produce evidence” to back up its claims. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with bribing, Colombia, coup plots, DAS (Colombia), espionage, Francisco Arias Cardenas, Hugo Chávez, News, Rafael García, Venezuela

News you may have missed #0137

October 11, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Colombian paramilitaries active in Honduras. United Nations human rights officials have voiced concern at reports that right-wing paramilitaries from the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia are active in Honduras following the military coup. Last September it was revealed that the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia also participated in the planning of the failed 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela.
Lawsuit probes US government spying on GTMO attorneys. In Wilner v. National Security Agency, the Washington DC-based Center for Constitutional Rights argued on Friday that the US government must disclose whether it has records related to wiretapping of Guantánamo attorney conversations without a warrant.
France arrests CERN worker with alleged al-Qaeda links. France has arrested a researcher at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) for suspected links with the al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (al-Qaeda’s North African wing). CERN, Europe’s particle physics lab, is known for a particle collider that aims to recreate conditions of the Big Bang.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Africa, al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda Organization in Islamic Maghreb, Center for Constitutional Rights, CERN, Colombia, coup plots, France, Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp, Honduras, lawsuits, News, news you may have missed, NSA, scientific intelligence, United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, United States, wiretapping

Ex-President Carter says US knew about 2002 Venezuela coup

September 21, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Jimmy Carter

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that the US was aware of plans for a 2002 military-civilian coup against the government of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, and that it may have even provided assistance to the coup plotters. In an interview to Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, published yesterday, Carter said there was “no doubt that in 2002 the United States had at the very least full knowledge about the coup, and could even have been directly involved”. The coup attempt took place on April 11, 2002, when President Chávez was illegally detained by the coup plotters, who also dissolved the Venezuelan National Assembly and the Supreme Court, and voided the country’s Constitution. But the move ended in failure 47 hours later, after key sectors of the military and parts of the anti-government opposition refused to side with the coup leaders. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Chile, Colombia, coup plots, Hugo Chávez, Jimmy Carter, News, United States, Venezuela

Colombian ex-spy details coup plot against Venezuela

September 8, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

Rafael García

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The former director of information technology at Colombia’s Administrative Department of Security (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, or DAS) has revealed details of what he claims was a Colombian-assisted coup against the Venezuelan government. Speaking on Colombia’s Noticias Uno television station, former DAS official Rafael García said the Colombian government of Álvaro Uribe was the main supporter of a 2004 attempt to topple the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez. García, who was fired from DAS three years ago, after being caught taking bribes from right wing paramilitaries and drug barons, said Colombia recruited 120 Colombian paramilitary members of Northern Bloc, a militia unit of the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, which operates mostly along the Venezuelan-Colombian border. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Alvaro Uribe, CEDICE (Venezuela), Colombia, corruption, coup plots, DAS (Colombia), Fernando Londoño Hoyos, Hugo Chávez, News, Northern Bloc (Colombia), Rafael Alonso, Rafael García, Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, Venezuela, war on drugs

CIA documents reveal secret aspects of Vietnam War

August 30, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

CIA report cover

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The CIA has released a six-volume internal history of its involvement in Vietnam prior to and during the Second Indochina War (usually referred to in the US as the Vietnam War). The release of the documents’ is the long-awaited result of a Freedom of Information Act request by intelligence historian and National Security Archive research fellow John Prados. The documents, which are available online in the National Security Archive’s Electronic Briefing Book No. 283, detail the CIA’s activities in Vietnam from the early 1950s, and provide what appears to be the most complete account to-date of the Agency’s operations during the US war in South and North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cambodia, CIA, Cold War, coup plots, declassification, history, informants, John Prados, Kennedy Administration, Laos, News, Ngo Dinh Diem, Ngo Dinh Nhu, North Vietnam, Second Indochina War, South Vietnam, United States, Vietnam, Vietnam War

News you may have missed #0082

August 27, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

The spy who prayed. Profile of As’ad Said Ali, deputy chief of Indonesia’s National Intelligence Agency, who is actively involved in Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization.
Shadowy Turkish group used journalists as spies. Ergenekon, a shadowy ultranationalist network with strong links to the Turkish armed forces, which planned to topple the Turkish government, used journalists to spy on its high-profile targets, according to court documents.
CIA sacked Baghdad station chief after deaths. The CIA removed its station chief in Iraq and reorganized its operations there in late 2003, following “potentially very serious leadership lapses” that included the deaths of detainees in US custody.