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Analysis: CIA “cronyism, favoritism” prompts resignations

September 14, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Art Brown

By IAN ALLEN| intelNews.org |
Rumors emerged last week that the leading candidate to head the CIA’s station in Kabul, Afghanistan, has no experience in the Middle East or south Asia, and speaks no local languages. This is despite a bitter bureaucratic turf battle between the CIA leadership and the office the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to find the best-suited person for the job. Why is it still so hard, after nearly eight years in Afghanistan, for the CIA to find qualified senior managers? Jeff Stein of SpyTalk says it’s because skilled staff are demoralized and frustrated by the Agency’s chronic inefficiencies. He quotes an anonymous former senior counterterrorism officer who claims that escalating “cronyism and favoritism” are coupled by the lack of any serious “effort to address […] massive senior leadership problems”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Art Brown, Arthur Keller, CIA, CIA Kabul Station, DNI, intelligence recruitment, intelligence reform, Kabul (Afghanistan), News, turf wars, United States

Lost notebook reveals plans for New Zealand spy agency reshuffle

September 9, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Nicky Hager

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Plans for a possible radical reshuffling of New Zealand’s intelligence infrastructure were revealed yesterday, with the discovery of a notebook belonging to a government official. The notebook was dropped on a busy Wellington street by an employee of New Zealand’s Treasury Department, who was returning from a classified presentation on the future of the country’s intelligence agencies. It was recovered by Julian Robins, a political correspondent for Radio New Zealand, who proceeded to reveal the notebook’s contents. According to Robins, the government appears to be seriously considering merging the three separate intelligence agencies, which currently operate on different missions, in order to improve synergy and save money. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with AUSCANZUKUS, EAB (New Zealand), External Assessments Bureau (New Zealand), GCSB (New Zealand), intelligence cooperation, intelligence reform, John Key, Julian Robins, New Zealand, New Zealand Department of Treasury, News, Nicky Hager, NZSIS (New Zealand), Radio New Zealand, UKUSA

Comment: CIA Insiders Issue Torture Probe Warnings

September 1, 2009 by intelNews 4 Comments

A.B. Krongard

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Sensing that a government probe into its post-9/11 practices is around the corner, the CIA has employed its usual practice of issuing public warnings through friendly news outlets. Several Agency insiders appear to have simultaneously decided to break their customary silence. Speaking to The Washington Post, they sternly warned that “[m]orale has sagged at the CIA” because of the rumored government investigation into torture of detainees and other controversial intelligence projects.

News you may have missed #0076

August 24, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Revealing CIA report published today. The CIA is expected to come under some of its toughest scrutiny for years, after the publication today of a report detailing the agency’s use of mock executions, and the threatening of detainees with power drills and guns during interrogations.
North Korean spy director meets South Korean officials. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met a delegation of visiting North Korean officials on Sunday, including Kim Yang Gon who heads the United Front Department (UFD), an intelligence agency under the Korean Worker’s Party (KWP) of the DPRK.
Changes imminent at South African spy agency. The administration of President Jacob Zuma intends to move to restructure South Africa’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the country’s primary domestic spy organization. In July, a former member of South Africa’s ministerial Review Commission on Intelligence warned that a steadily declining culture of accountability in the country’s spy services is threatening the country’s constitutional order.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with CIA, intelligence reform, Kim Yang Gon, Korean Workers' Party (North Korea), Lee Myung-bak, National Intelligence Agency (South Africa), News, news you may have missed, North Korea, South Africa, South Korea, torture, United Front Department (North Korea), United States, War on Terrorism

Spy services threaten South African democracy, warns researcher

July 23, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Laurie Nathan

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A former member of South Africa’s ministerial Review Commission on Intelligence has warned that a steadily declining culture of accountability in South Africa’s spy services is threatening the country’s constitutional order. Laurie Nathan, who is currently a research fellow at the University of Cape Town and the London School of Economics, has written an article for Chatham House’s The World Today magazine, in which he summarizes the results of the Commission’s a study into the South African intelligence services. According to Nathan, the study found a “striking absence of executive policy on many critical intelligence issues” and “major weaknesses in control and oversight systems” of intelligence practices. Read more of this post