Joseph Fitsanakis | intelNews.org

Comment: Did Russian Intelligence Hack Climate-Change Emails?

December 7, 2009 by intelNews 16 Comments

Tomsk, Siberia

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS* | intelNews.org |
For over a fortnight, the world’s news services have focused on the so-called ‘Climategate’, the hundreds of University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit emails that were hacked from the university’s server and leaked onto the Internet. The stolen emails, some of which date back to 1996, have reignited conspiracy theories about the role of human activity in climate change. But there is surprisingly little discussion about who hacked into the university’s server and stole the personal emails.

Analysis: Cyprus-Russia-Israel Arms Affair Points to Wider Questions

November 22, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

TOR-M1 radar

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Diplomatic observers were surprised in November 2008, when the then Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to meet his Cypriot counterpart, Dimitris Christofias, during the latter’s official visit to Moscow. Considering the traditionally close bilateral ties between Russia and Cyprus, the excuse from President Putin’s office, that he was too busy attending his United Russia party’s national conference, appeared unconvincing. An article published recently in Greek-Cypriot newspaper O Politis, traced the cause of the Russian President’s apparent snub to a 2007 attempt by the Cypriot government to hand over parts of a Russian-made missile system to Israel. The paper said the Cypriot plan was hatched in response to a request by Israeli intelligence officials, who were interested in acquiring technical insights into the Russian-made TOR-M1 surface-to-air missile defense system. The Israelis were concerned about the TOR-M1 because Iran was also said to be using a variant of the same system, which features a radar apparatus unknown to Israel, the United States or NATO. On the website of the Research Institute for European and American Studies, I explain what this alleged breach of trust between traditional Greek ally Cyprus and Russia may mean for the wider geostrategic balances in the east Mediterranean. Read article →

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias, Greece, Iran, Israel, Joseph Fitsanakis, RIEAS, Russia, TOR-M1, Vladimir Putin, weapons trade

Comment: Why the Italian Convictions of CIA Officers Matter

November 6, 2009 by intelNews 5 Comments

Sabrina De Sousa

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
An Italian court has convicted 22 CIA officers and a US Air Force officer involved in the abduction of a Muslim cleric from Milan in 2003. All but three Americans tried in the case received jail sentences ranging from five to eight years, for kidnapping Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr in broad daylight and for illegally renditioning him to Egypt, where he says he was brutally tortured before being released without charge. As intelNews has previously reported, it is extremely unlikely that the US will agree to extradite the convicted abductors to Italy. Washington has formally invoked the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, arguing that the offenders were operating “in the course of official duty” and fall therefore under US, not Italian, jurisdiction. But the convictions are important nonetheless, for three reasons.

Analysis: Spy agencies disagree on status of Iran’s nuclear program

October 5, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

M. Ahmadinejad

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Western intelligence agencies agree that Iran’s ultimate aim is to fortify its military posture with nuclear weapons. Putting aside, however, the broad concurrence of opinion about Iran’s long-term goal, very little is clear about the immediate status of the country’s nuclear program. Iran maintains that its goal is peaceful; namely to invest in nuclear energy so as to free up large quantities of oil for exports. It is important to stress that the consensus among America’s intelligence agencies is that this is in fact Iran’s immediate goal. This was pronounced in the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), a publicly available annual report cooperatively authored by the heads of all 16 US intelligence agencies. The 2007 report stated “with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program”. The reality is that the existence of Iran’s second uranium enrichment plant –of which, incidentally, Western and Israeli intelligence agencies have been aware for years– does not necessarily contest the findings of the 2007 NIE. IntelNews editor Dr. Joseph Fitsanakis explains why this is so on the website of the Research Institute for European and American Studies. Read article →

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2007 NIE, France, Germany, IAEA, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Joseph Fitsanakis, NIE, nuclear espionage, nuclear proliferation, Qum (Iran), RIEAS, UK, United States

US Looks Away from Worsening Philippines Rights Record

October 1, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Lumbera

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS and IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Just days after Filipino prizewinning poet and dramatist Bienvenido Lumbera caught a Naval Intelligence Security Force agent spying on him outside his home, another Filipino intellectual has come forward with allegations of government spying. Pedro “Jun” Cruz Reyes, professor of creative writing at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, said he has been the subject of surveillance investigations by government agents since 2006. Such incidents are not a new phenomenon in the Philippines. In 2005, the US State Department noted in its annual human rights report that the Philippines National Police was the country’s “worst abuser of human rights” and that government security elements often “sanction extrajudicial killings and vigilantism”. However, the report adds that these practices are utilized “as expedient means of fighting crime and terrorism”, which may explain why no discernable action has been taken by US authorities to prevent them. In an article published today in The Foreign Policy Journal we examine the recent record of US-Philippine relations. Continue reading at The Foreign Policy Journal →

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2009 National Intelligence Strategy, Abu Sayyaf Group, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bienvenido Lumbera, Bill Coultrup, Bill Nelson, Blackwater, Bush Administration, China, CIA, Cold War, Diliman (Philippines), diplomacy, domestic intelligence, Ferdinand Marcos, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Hannival Mondido Guerrero, human rights, Ian Allen, Iraq, Joseph Fitsanakis, Kuwait, Leon Panetta, Major Non-NATO Ally, Manila (Philippines), Moro ethnic group, Morocco, NATO, Naval Intelligence Security Force (Philippines), News, Pedro 'Jun' Cruz Reyes, Philippines, Philippines National Police, Quezon City (Philippines), Ramon Farolan, Robert Gates, Timothy Keating, United States, US Department of State, US DoD, US Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines

Comment: How did Iran know US planned to reveal nuclear facility?

September 28, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Barack Obama

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The question may be confusing at first, but it makes perfect sense, considering the series of events. Late last week the US put together a secret plan to reveal to the world that Iran has built a previously undeclared nuclear facility to enrich uranium. However, on the morning of September 25, that is, just hours before US President Barack Obama made the revelation, Iran pre-emptied him with a formal letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, in which it volunteered the information that it has built a facility inside a mountain near the city of Qum. Now, we know that US and other Western intelligence agencies have known about the existence of that nuclear facility for many years. However, from an intelligence point of view, the revelation of the site is secondary to the issue of how Iran came to know about the US President’s plan to reveal its existence. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Barack Obama, CIA, diplomacy, espionage, IAEA, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Joseph Fitsanakis, News, Qum (Iran), secret meetings

Comment: Daring US Raid in Somalia is Risky Policy

September 17, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

Saleh Nabhan

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The political aftereffect of a recent raid by US Special Forces in southern Somalia may be more significant than its outcome. The operation, which took place in the early hours of Monday, killed a number of al-Qaeda-linked militants and captured at least two, according to local witnesses. Unnamed US officials said that among the dead is Saleh Ali Nabhan, a 30-year-old Kenyan al-Qaeda operative who is said to have participated in the 2002 attack on an Israeli-owned resort in his homeland, among other acts. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Africa, assassinations, black operations, blowback, covert operations, Dennis Cutler Blair, DNI, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Islamic Courts Union, Islamist extremism, Joseph Fitsanakis, Kenya, Pakistan, Predator drones, Saleh Ali Nabhan, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, Somalia, US Special Forces, War on Terrorism

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

Comment: Not So Fast, Cyberwarriors! [updated]

July 14, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

Hoekstra

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Rep. Peter Hoekstra wants to launch a cyberwar against North Korea. The Republican from Michigan, who heads his party’s delegation on the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, urged the US government last Thursday to “launch a cyber attack” or at least increase international sanctions on Pyongyang. Hoekstra urged this in response to a series of mysterious cyber-attacks that paralyzed major South Korean and US government websites for three days earlier this month. And he’s not alone. Last Friday, ABC News technology pundit Michael Malone effectively echoed Hoekstra and warned that “enemies of freedom everywhere” could use cyberterrorism to kill untold numbers of Americans by remotely controlling “fetal monitoring systems, surgical equipment, robotic bomb demolition equipment and ICBMs”. But South Korean cybersecurity specialists, who intensely monitor North Korean information systems, and were the ones who actually informed their US counterparts of the unfolding cyber-attacks on July 4, are not so sure that Pyongyang was behind the attacks. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with cybersecurity, cyberterrorism, cyberwar, Joseph Fitsanakis, Michael Malone, National Intelligence Service (South Korea), North Korea, Pete Hoekstra, South Korea, United States, US House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

The CIA in Iran Today: A Realistic Assessment

July 13, 2009 by intelNews 4 Comments

Iran protestors

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
It is hardly surprising to witness the sudden cessation of the US media frenzy that placed Iran under the microspore last month. And yet I believe that now, as the regime in Tehran is redeploying its machinery of social control, is the perfect time to calmly and sensibly provide a rational assessment of what really took place in Iran in June, as well as the US involvement, if any. The CIA’s past shenanigans in Iran are by now widely known and understood –particularly by the Iranians themselves, who, regardless of their feelings toward the present regime in Tehran, are suspicious of collaborating with US agencies. But what is the US involvement in fomenting unrest in Tehran today? More importantly, to what extent can the CIA’s ongoing covert activities in the Middle East be said to have played a role in last June’s seemingly spontaneous popular uprising in Tehran? With this question in mind, I wrote The CIA in Iran Today: A Realistic Assessment, which you can now read in Jeremy Hammond’s Foreign Policy Journal. Here’s a tip: for the CIA’s intelligence directorate analysts, the recent unrest in Iran was more like 1979 than 1953. Read article →

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with CIA, covert operations, espionage, intelligence failures, Iran, Joseph Fitsanakis

Comment: Board overseeing US intelligence practices still without members

June 19, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Mike McConnell

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Intelligence insiders in the US are beginning to wonder why US President Barack Obama has yet to appoint any members to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB). The PIAB, first established in 1956 by President Eisenhower, is tasked with conducting executive oversight of US intelligence practices. Its sensitive role is accentuated by its main focus, which is to alert the White House about US intelligence activities that may be illegal or may in any way go beyond Presidential authorization. This part of its mission makes the Board extremely critical in ensuring adequate executive oversight of the US intelligence community. But now, lacking any members whatsoever, the PIAB is being managed by its administrative staff and is in a sort of “autopilot” mode, according to its counsel, Homer Pointer, who spoke to the Federation of American Scientists’ Secrecy News. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Barack Obama, intelligence oversight, Joseph Fitsanakis, Mike McConnel, PIAB (US), President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (US), United States

Analysis: The changing landscape of communications intelligence

April 27, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS and IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Joseph Fitsanakis and Ian Allen have authored a new scholarly paper on communications intelligence, focusing specifically on the use of telephony intelligence in the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza conflict. The paper, entitled Cell Wars: The Changing Landscape of Communications Intelligence, is available (.pdf) on the website of the Research Institute on European and American Studies. We argue that the 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza conflict featured a series of innovative approaches to communications intelligence, which included utilizing civilian telephone networks to achieve tactical and psychological objectives. The “cell war” between the IDF and Hamas is indicative of an ongoing global struggle between asymmetrical insurgents and state actors to control large-scale telecommunications structures. “Cell wars” have been taking place for quite some time in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, and several other nations, including the United States. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2008-2009 Israel-Gaza conflict, Gaza Strip, Hamas, Ian Allen, IDF, Israel, Joseph Fitsanakis, Palestine, RIEAS, telecommunications, telephony

Comment: AIPAC agents accused of spying may walk scot-free

April 23, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

Jane Harman

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The controversy over Democratic Representative Jane Harman’s alleged telephone deal with a suspected agent of Israel is still raging. One of its unfortunate side effects has been to shift media attention away from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) involvement in the Lawrence Franklin spy case, and focus instead on Washington micro-politicking. But what about the two former AIPAC lobbyists who are technically at the center of the Harman imbroglio? Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with AIPAC, Alberto Gonzales, Ben-Ami Kadish, Benjamin Netanyahu, communications interception, espionage, Hillary Clinton, Israel, Jane Harman, Joseph Fitsanakis, Keith Weissman, Lawrence Anthony Franklin, NSA, Sallai Meridor, Steve Rosen, United States, US Army, US Department of Justice, US Department of State, Uzi Arad

International mercenary cell uncovered in Bolivia

April 20, 2009 by intelNews 5 Comments

Eduardo Flores

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Last month, the Bolivian government expelled a senior “diplomat” from the US embassy in La Paz, whom it accused of covertly supporting efforts to depose the country’s leftist president, Evo Morales. This past week, Bolivian authorities announced they had foiled operations by a major international anti-government mercenary group operating out of the city of Santa Cruz, a hotbed of anti-government activity in the country’s wealthy eastern provinces. Three of the unit’s members, a Bolivian of Croatian descent, an Irishman and a Romanian, were killed by Bolivian security forces; two others, a Hungarian and another Bolivian of Croatian descent, were captured and are now in custody. What were the plans of the covert unit, and who is behind it? Read article →

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 1991-1995 Croatian War of Independence, Alvaro Garcia Linera, assassinations, Árpád (or Arpak or Ariad) Magyarosi, Barack Obama, Bolivia, Branko Gora Marinković Jovicević, C-4, Croatia, Eduardo Rózsa Flores, Előd (or Elődöt) Tóásó, Evo Morales, First International Platoon (Croatia), Hotel Las Americas (Bolivia), Hungary, Ireland, Jorge Hurtado Flores, Joseph Fitsanakis, Julio Terrazas, La Paz, Lake Titicaca, Marcos Farfán, Mario Tadik (or Tadić) Astorga, mercenaries, Michael Martin Dwyer, Prvi Internacionalni Vod (Croatia), PVI (Croatia), Romania, Santa Cruz (Bolivia), United States, Victor Hugo Escobar

Analysis: Strange Case of Philippine Spy in US Gets Stranger

April 3, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Aquino

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A Philippine former intelligence officer, who was arrested in New York for passing classified US documents to his Philippine contacts, has had his sentence reduced by a US court. Michael Ray Aquino was apprehended in 2005 and charged with collaborating with an FBI intelligence analyst who spied on the US. Aquino’s recent history is complicated. For several years, he worked for the (now defunct) Philippines National Police Intelligence Group (NPIG), where he quickly rose to the post of Deputy Director, under the Presidency of Joseph Estrada. In 2001, however, when Estrada was ousted from the Presidency amidst extensive corruption allegations, Aquino was one of several military and intelligence officials who were removed by the new government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Soon afterwards, Aquino was among several suspects charged with the politically motivated murder of Salvador “Bubby” Dacer, a well-known public relations manager who had helped oust Estrada. The ousted intelligence officer escaped justice by fleeing with his family to the US, in 2001. Read article →