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News you may have missed #352

May 17, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

CIA rewarded extraordinary rendition supervisor. A CIA counterterrorism official who supervised the agency’s extraordinary rendition and torture of Khaled El-Masri –a German citizen who was later found to be innocent– has been promoted twice since that episode.
US Pentagon picks contractors for intel IT. The Defense Intelligence Agency has picked 11 private contractors to compete for up to $6.6 billion in information technology contracts over the next five years. They include the usual suspects, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, General Dynamics Corp, and Northrop Grumman, among others.
Alleged spy’s lawyers threaten trial boycott in Israel. Lawyers representing Israeli citizen Amir Makhoul, who is accused of spying on behalf of Hezbollah, have threatened to boycott an upcoming trial hearing unless they are allowed to meet with their client.

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Recording of candid speech by Blackwater CEO leaked

May 6, 2010 by intelNews 2 Comments

Erik Prince

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
A recording of a relatively recent candid speech given by Erik Prince, the media-shy owner of Xe Services (formerly known as Blackwater), has been obtained by The Nation magazine. The extensive recording was made on January 14, during a private talk given by Prince at the University of Michigan before a sympathetic invitation-only audience consisting of military veterans, ROTC commanders and cadets, as well as business entrepreneurs. In his talk, Prince, who last December admitted having worked as a CIA asset, advocated for the employment of private contractors by the US Pentagon to combat insurgents and “Iranian influence” in countries such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia. Writing for The Nation, Jeremy Scahill focuses on Princes views, as he conveyed them in his talk. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Afghanistan, Blackwater, CIA, covert operations, Erik Prince, intelligence outsourcing, Iran, Iraq, Jeremy Scahill, mercenaries, News, Nigeria, Pakistan, ROTC, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United States, University of Michigan, Xe, Yemen

News you may have missed #335

April 23, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Leading al-Qaeda expert to leave FBI. J. Philip Mudd, one of the US intelligence community’s leading al-Qaeda analysts, has quietly retired from the FBI, where he was the National Security Branch’s associate executive director. He will be replaced by 23-year FBI veteran Sean Joyce.
Three more domestic spying programs revealed. The US Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged the existence of three more government programs charged with spying on American citizens in the aftermath of 9/11. The programs, Pantheon, Pathfinder and Organizational Shared Space, used a variety of software tools to gather and analyze information about Americans.
NSA Utah facility contractors shortlisted. We have mentioned before that for contractors in northern Utah, where the NSA is preparing to build a million-square-foot facility, at Camp Williams, it’s party time. Five of them, including three from Utah, have now been shortlisted by the government.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Leading al-Qaeda expert to leave FBI, 0 NSA Utah facility contractors shortlisted, 0 Three more domestic spying programs revealed, al-Qaeda, Camp Williams (Utah), civil liberties, domestic intelligence, FBI, FBI National Security Branch, intelligence outsourcing, J. Philip Mudd, News, news you may have missed, NSA, ORGANIZATIONAL SHARED SPACE, PANTHEON, PATHFINDER, resignations, Sean Joyce, US Department of Homeland Security, Utah

News you may have missed #312

March 19, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Kiwi external spies to focus on domestic intel. New Zealand’s External Assessments Bureau has announced on its website that it has been renamed the National Assessments Bureau, and will conduct more work on intelligence within New Zealand. The change follows a review of the government’s three security services, which, besides the NAB, include the Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) and the Government Communications Security Bureau.
CIA’s European secrets: Clandestine prisons investigated. Interesting documentary on the CIA secret prison network in Europe, by Russia Today. Available freely on YouTube.
Pentagon official behind ‘rogue ops’ gives interview. US Air Force official Michael Furlong, who was identified last weekend as the father of a clandestine intelligence network of private contractors, set up possibly without supervision or approval by senior US Defense officials, has finally spoken to the media.

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News you may have missed #310

March 17, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Analysis: Outsourcing Intelligence. David Ignatius points out that the latest rogue operation of the US Defense Department, revealed last weekend by The New York Times, points to the increasing irrelevance of the CIA in the so-called “global war on terrorism”: “by using contractors who operate ‘outside the wire’ in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the [US] military has gotten information that is sometimes better than what the CIA is offering”, says Ignatius.
White House threatens veto on intelligence bill. The White House has renewed its threat to veto the fiscal 2010 intelligence authorization bill over a provision that would force the administration to widen the circle of US lawmakers who are informed about covert operations and other sensitive activities.
CIA’s Kiriakou authors new book. John Kiriakou, who spent 14 years working for the CIA, and has made headlines in the past for defending the practice of waterboarding in interrogations, while recognizing it is torture, has a new book out, entitled The Reluctant Spy.

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Reports of a possible rogue US DoD operation in Pakistan

March 15, 2010 by intelNews 3 Comments

Michael Furlong

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
A New York Times article published late yesterday alleges the existence of a clandestine intelligence network of private contractors, set up by a US Pentagon employee, possibly without supervision or approval by senior US Defense officials. The network, which appears to operate under the cover of an Internet-based research company, is actually used to gather intelligence on the activities and whereabouts of individuals on the CIA’s assassination list, claims the paper. What is more, the network coordinator, retired US Air Force officer Michael D. Furlong, is currently being investigated by the US Department of Defense for fraudulent dealings with private contractors. It is not clear whether these were the same contractors (mostly former CIA and US Special Forces operatives) who were employed in the undercover intelligence network uncovered by The New York Times. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Blackwater, CIA, intelligence funding, intelligence outsourcing, Jeremy Scahill, Michael D. Furlong, News, non-official-cover, Pakistan, United States, US DoD, US Special Forces, US Strategic Command, Xe

News you may have missed #302 (NSA edition)

March 5, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Former NSA tech chief doesn’t trust cloud computing. Brian Snow, the former US National Security Agency technical director, told a conference that he doesn’t trust cloud services and bluntly admonished vendors for leaving software vulnerabilities unpatched, sometimes for years.
Former key NSA official relocates to Silicon Valley. Prescott Winter, formerly chief information officer and chief technology officer at the US National Security Agency, has joined ArcSight Inc., a Silicon Valley developer of security and compliance management tools for government and private industry. Revolving doors galore!
NSA cybersecurity role worries civil liberties groups. The Obama administration’s plan to bolster US cyber security calls for greater cooperation between private companies and the National Security Agency. But civil liberties advocates are sounding alarms about the NSA’s role, because of the secretive nature of the agency and its role in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.

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News you may have missed #0267

January 25, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

US Pentagon outsources kidnap rescue missions. In the US military, few missions are considered more important than rescuing missing or kidnapped troops. So it’s more than a little odd that US forces in Iraq have decided to outsource that operation to Blackbird Technologies Inc., a private company, for $11.3 million a year.
US to give spy drones to Pakistan. The United States will provide a dozen unarmed Shadow aerial spy drones to Pakistan for the first time. As we have reported before, the Pakistanis are trying to build their own drones, but the process is taking much longer than initially planned.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with abductions, Blackbird Technologies, intelligence outsourcing, News, news you may have missed, Pakistan, rescue operations, Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle, United States

News you may have missed #0266

January 24, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Convicted US Pentagon official’s mom introduced him to Chinese spy. Retired US Air Force officer James W. Fondren Jr., who was convicted in September of selling classified US government information to China, was apparently introduced to his Chinese spy handler, Tai Shen Kuo, by his mom.
CIA contractor flying surveillance missions over Haiti. Evergreen International Aviation, a controversial Oregon-based CIA contractor, is flying at least one ScanEagle surveillance drone over Haiti, supposedly on disaster recovery duty.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with airborne surveillance, China, CIA, espionage, Evergreen International Aviation, Haiti, intelligence outsourcing, James Wilbur Fondren Jr, News, news you may have missed, ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle, Tai Shen Kuo, United States, US Air Force, US DoD

Cash register ringing for NSA’s corporate suitors

January 18, 2010 by intelNews 1 Comment

NSA HQ

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The decision by the US National Security Agency to build 5.8 million square feet of data-storage and office space by 2029 has drawn mixed reactions by intelligence observers. But for businesses in northern Utah, where the NSA is preparing to build a million-square-foot facility, at Camp Williams, it’s party time, in the middle of a crippling word-wide economic recession. The gigantic government Agency, which is tasked with worldwide communications surveillance, as well as communications security, will build the billion-dollar facility within the next two years, and is already consulting with building contractors. But how does one do business with the notoriously secretive NSA? Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Camp Williams (Utah), databases, intelligence outsourcing, lobbyists, Maryland, News, NSA, Shawn Justice, United States, Utah

Comment: Is CIA Lying About its Blackwater Contacts?

January 8, 2010 by intelNews 11 Comments

Blackwater logo

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
After CIA director Leon Panetta revealed last summer that private contractor Blackwater was part of a covert CIA hit squad, tasked with summary killings and assassinations of al-Qaeda operatives, the CIA vowed to sever its contacts with the trigger-happy security firm. But did it do so? It doesn’t look like it. Last November, it became known that the company, (recently renamed Xe Services) remains part of a covert CIA program in Pakistan that includes planned assassinations and kidnappings of Taliban and al-Qaeda suspects. More recently, it was revealed that two of the seven Americans who died in the December 30 bomb attack at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan, were actually Blackwater employees subcontracted by the CIA.

News of CIA/Blackwater hit squad upset German government

January 7, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

M. Darkazanli

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
German politicians have finally caught up with the startling revelations of Blackwater founder and CEO, Erik Prince, who last month told Vanity Fair that he worked as a CIA spy, carrying out secret missions with the help of a Blackwater hit squad. The Vanity Fair article revealed that, among other targets, the squad planned to assassinate Mamoun Darkazanli, an alleged al-Qaeda financier living in Hamburg, Germany. But did anyone in Washington think to ask the German government whether it was OK for a Blackwater/CIA assassination team to run around the country, planning extrajudicial murders of alleged al-Qaeda members? Apparently no, says German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, adding that the revelation has upset members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, as well as opposition Social Democrats and Greens, who are now demanding a special investigation into the matter. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, black operations, Blackwater, Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Erik Prince, George Little, Germany, Green Party (Germany), Hamburg (Germany), intelligence outsourcing, News, Social Democratic Party (Germany), United States, War on Terrorism, Xe

Controversy over head of Obama’s terrorism watch-list review

December 31, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

John Brennan

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A veteran CIA official appointed to review the US government’s defective terrorism watch-list system, was actually involved in designing it, and later helped sustain it through a lucrative private-sector contract. John O. Brennan was appointed by President Barack Obama on Sunday to head a “comprehensive interagency review” of travel security measures, after it was revealed that the father of Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the Christmas Day airline bomb plot suspect, had notified the CIA about his son’s activities. It turns out, however, that not only was Brennan part of the US National Counterterrorism Center team that designed the terrorism watch-list system, but he also helped sustain it while heading the Analysis Corporation, a scandal-prone private contractor charged with overseeing the watch-list system. Politico’s Carol Lee and Laura Rozen are among the very few reporters who have connected the dots on Brennan. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Analysis Corporation, Barack Obama, CIA, databases, intelligence outsourcing, John Brennan, News, surveillance, Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, Umaru AbdulMutallab, United States, US National Counterterrorism Center

News you may have missed #0222

December 15, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

UN investigates claims Iran using Taiwan as nuclear conduit. United Nations officials are investigating intelligence claims that Iran has established a smuggling network using front companies in Taiwan to acquire equipment that it could use to make nuclear weapons.
Blackwater tied to secret CIA raids, say employees. “There was a feeling that Blackwater eventually became an extension of the agency”, said one former top CIA officer. IntelNews regulars will remember that we described last summer’s revelations of Blackwater’s participation in US special operations as “just the tip of the iceberg”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Blackwater, CIA, intelligence outsourcing, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, mercenaries, News, news you may have missed, nuclear proliferation, Taiwan, United Nations, United States, weapons smuggling, Xe

Blackwater CEO admits he was CIA agent

December 6, 2009 by intelNews 5 Comments

Erik Prince

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The founder and CEO of private security company Blackwater has revealed he worked as a CIA spy and carried out a number of secret missions before being fired by the Obama administration. Erik Prince, who heads Blackwater Worldwide, recently renamed Xe, gave a rare interview to Vanity Fair magazine, in which he revealed that his relationship with the CIA was not only that of an operations contractor, but also that of an asset, that is, a spy. Prince’s revelation will not surprise seasoned intelligence observers; as I commented last August, it had become increasingly difficult to distinguish any operational demarcations between the CIA and the company formerly known as Blackwater. However, the mercenary company’s leading role in controversial CIA plans to assassinate high-level foreign officials was seen as a step too far by the new CIA leadership of Leon Panetta. Read more of this post