news you may have missed | intelNews.org

News you may have missed #0234

December 27, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

CIA insider speaks about US “war on terrorism”. Henry Crumpton, a CIA operative who spent years on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan, says “[t]his is not going to be a war that we [the US] win, certainly in a conventional sense, anytime soon […. W]e must be the insurgents”, he says.
CIA operative says US should have shielded her in Italy kidnap case. Sabrina De Sousa is a CIA operative who was involved in the 2003 kidnapping of Muslim cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr by the CIA in Milan, Italy. Now she says the US should have shielded her from conviction in an Italian court by invoking her “diplomatic” immunity.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with abductions, Afghanistan, CIA, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, Henry Crumpton, Italy, Milan (Italy), News, news you may have missed, Pakistan, Sabrina De Sousa, War on Terrorism

News you may have missed #0233

December 26, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Lithuanian report uncovers two CIA secret prisons. There was not just one, but two CIA secret prisons in Lithuania between 2004 and 2005, according to a Lithuanian parliamentary report that was concluded this week. The Lithuanian government continues to deny involvement.
Break the CIA in two? A veteran CIA analyst suggests breaking the CIA in two parts, because “covert action and analysis do not belong together in the same agency –never have, never will”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with CIA, Eastern Europe, extraordinary rendition, intelligence reform, Lithuania, News, news you may have missed, Ray McGovern, secret prisons, United States

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 #0231

December 24, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Chinese honey trap methods net another victim. This time it was M.M. Sharma, an Indian diplomat posted with India’s mission in China, who reportedly had an affair with “a Chinese female spy”. She managed to gain access to his personal computer and “peruse [classified] documents without any restraint”. London’s ex-deputy mayor, Ian Clement, must feel better knowing he is not alone.
NSA’s $1.9 billion cyber spy center a power grab. Extensive –if a little ‘light’– analysis of the US National Security Agency’s planned new data storage center in Utah, by Chuck Gates of Deseret News.
Connecticut police spying on Democratic Party activists? Kenneth Krayeske, a political activist and free-lance journalist is suing the Connecticut State Police, claiming that officers engaged in “political spying [by using] cloaked Connecticut State Police addresses [to] subscribe to e-mail bulletin boards and lists […] that contain political information relating to the Green Party, the Democratic Party” and independent political activists.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Analysis, Camp Williams (Utah), China, civil liberties, Connecticut, Connecticut State Police, databases, Democratic Party (US), domestic intelligence, espionage, Green Party (US), honey traps, Internet, Kenneth Krayeske, M.M. Sharma, News, news you may have missed, NSA, Pakistan, political activism, Utah

News you may have missed #0230

December 23, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

Ukrainians claim netting ‘spies among diplomats’. In the last 6 months of 2009, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has “exposed 7 spies among diplomats”, according to its director, Valentyn Nalyvajchenko. He apparently cited “a case of a Russian spy who was charged with obtaining defense industry secrets for a Chinese special service”. If anyone out there has information on this case, please contact us.
France launches new spy satellite. France has launched a military spy satellite, Helios 2B, part of a boost in spending on independent surveillance. The satellite can reportedly tell whether a truck convoy is moving or halted and whether a nuclear reactor is operational or not.
Seized N. Korean weapons destined for Middle East: US spy chief. An illicit North Korean arms shipment seized in Thailand last week was destined for the Middle East, US director of national intelligence Dennis Blair, has claimed. Blair’s comment, which was meant to tout improved cooperation among America’s 16 intelligence agencies, was the first official confirmation of the US role in the case.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with China, Dennis Cutler Blair, DNI, espionage, France, Helios 2B, News, news you may have missed, North Korea, Russia, satellite reconnaissance, Security Service of Ukraine, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Valentyn Nalyvajchenko, weapons smuggling

News you may have missed #0229

December 22, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

Russians claim outing ‘100 spies’ in Novosibirsk in 2009. Siberian scientific centers in Novosibirsk, and especially in its suburb of Akademgorodok, nicknamed “science city” by the Russians, are noted for their research in the fields of oil and gas geology, nanotechnology, creation of new materials, and biochemistry, among other subjects. See here for previous intelNews reporting on this issue.
Obama proposes liaison exchange with North Korea. US President Barack Obama has proposed setting up a liaison office in North Korea –something like a US Interests Section– in a letter to leader Kim Jong Il. Such a move would help augment the US’ meager intelligence gathering in North Korea.
Estonian phone, web data tapped by Swedish intelligence? The Estonian Security Police (KaPo) has cautioned Estonian telecommunications users to avoid discussing “sensitive subjects” by phone and on the Internet, after an Estonian newspaper revealed that large chunks of Estonia’s telecommunications traffic pass through Sweden before reaching the outside world.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Akademgorodok, Barack Obama, communications interception, diplomacy, espionage, Estonia, FSB, KaPo (Estonia), Kim Jong Il, News, news you may have missed, North Korea, Novosibirsk, Russia, Security Police (Estonia), Sweden, telecommunications

News you may have missed #0228

December 21, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Irish nationalists planting honey traps on British troops? The Belfast Telegraph reports that British Army personnel have been “warned about the recruitment by dissidents of attractive females to identify soldiers at popular nightspots and lure them into ambushes” in Northern Ireland. This is highly unnecessary. Usually British troops in the North are easily identifiable by their haircuts, accents, even by their choice of beer!
Egyptian spy chief meets Israeli defense minister. Ehud Barak and Omar Suleiman, director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Services, met in Jerusalem on Sunday. The meeting included a “private 30-minute session” between the two men (and the eavesdroppers on either side, presumably –ed.).
Terror suspect David Headley was ‘rogue US secret agent’. The London Times has woken up to the rumors circulating about David Headley, a full month after Indian media began reporting them, and nearly three weeks after intelNews alerted its readers. Nice of them to catch up.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with David Coleman Headley, Egypt, Egyptian General Intelligence Services, Ehud Barak, honey traps, India, informants, Israel, Jerusalem, News, news you may have missed, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, United States

News you may have missed #0227

December 20, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

British politicians sue CIA over rendition flights. A group of British members of parliament, led by Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie, has filed a complaint in a district court in Washington, DC, asking for a judicial review of secret agreements between the US and UK on renditioning terrorism suspects.
US DHS broke domestic spying rules. The US Department of Homeland Security gathered intelligence on the Nation of Islam for eight months in 2007, and broke the law by taking longer than 180 days to determine whether the US-based group or its American members posed a terrorist threat.
Expert says UK ex-spy chief misled Iraq War probe. Sir John Scarlett, Britain’s former spy chief has misled the Iraq inquiry by exaggerating the reliability of crucial claims about Saddam Hussein’s ability to launch weapons of mass destruction, according to Dr. Brian Jones, the leading UK Ministry of Defense expert who assessed the intelligence behind London’s decision to go to war in 2003.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Andrew Tyrie, Brian Jones, Chilcot Inquiry (UK), CIA, domestic intelligence, extraordinary rendition, Iraq Inquiry (UK), Iraq War, lawsuits, Nation of Islam, News, news you may have missed, Saddam Hussein, Sir John Scarlett, UK, UK Ministry of Defence, United States, US Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC

News you may have missed #0226

December 19, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

CIA tries to increase numbers of women leaders. CIA Director Leon Panetta is taking steps to increase the number of women at the Agency’s highest levels. The US is apparently “behind the curve when it comes to promoting women to the top ranks of intelligence services”.
CIA denies employing David Headley. CIA spokesperson Marie E. Harf said that “any suggestion that [David Coleman Headley] worked for the CIA is flat wrong”. The comment was in response to persistent rumors that Headley, who was arrested by the FBI in October, for plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, is in fact an undercover CIA agent gone wild.
Taiwan wants to swap jailed spies with China. The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, which proposed the exchange, said the plan follows its policy of “do[ing] our best to take care of agents and their family members in accordance with the law and regulations”. There have been several espionage-related arrests involving the two bitter rivals in recent months.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with China, CIA, David Coleman Headley, Denmark, double agents, FBI, imprisoned spy swaps, intelligence recruitment, Leon Panetta, Marie E. Harf, News, news you may have missed, Taiwan, Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, United States

News you may have missed #0225

December 18, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Pacific nation recognizes breakaway Georgian republics. The tiny island nation of Nauru has become the fourth nation (after Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela) to recognize the Georgian breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
US relying more on Special Forces in Afghanistan. US Special Forces operations in Afghanistan have been increased as part of a strategy to get faster results, according to US officials. “This is General [Stanley] McChrystal’s play”, said one Pentagon official.
Sweden charges man for spying on Chinese exiles. IntelNews regulars will remember the arrest in June of Babur Mehsut, a Uighur exile with dual Chinese-Swedish nationality, who was apparently monitoring the political activities of Sweden’s Uighur community on behalf of Beijing.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Abkhazia, Afghanistan, Babur Mehsut, China, Georgia, immigration intelligence, lawsuits, Nauru, News, news you may have missed, Nicaragua, Russia, South Ossetia, Stanley McChrystal, Sweden, Uighurs, US DoD, US Special Forces, Venezuela

News you may have missed #0224

December 17, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Parts 6 and 7 of CIA defector’s writings now available. Former FBI counterintelligence agent Robert Eringer has published the sixth and seventh installments (chapters 2 and 3 of “The Spy’s Cookbook”) of the writings of Edward Lee Howard, a CIA officer who defected to the USSR in 1985 (see here for previous intelNews coverage). In part six, Howard writes about the methodology of visiting (among other places) the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, DC. In part seven, he advises that the only time a double agent’s handlers should call the agent’s home is to tell him or her to “get out and leave the country!”.
Congressional vote on US PATRIOT Act delayed. The US House of Representatives tabled on Wednesday legislation to reform US domestic surveillance law. The Senate is likewise expected to delay the matter. The delays will automatically extend provisions of the PATRIOT Act that would otherwise expire at year’s end.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cold War, defectors, domestic intelligence, Edward Lee Howard, history, intelligence legislation, Interests Section of the Republic of Cuba in Washington DC, News, news you may have missed, Robert Eringer, United States, US Congress, US House of Representatives, US Senate, USA PATRIOT Act, USSR

News you may have missed #0223 (Iran special)

December 17, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

US tells China it can’t stop Israel from striking Iran indefinitely. Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz claims that “senior officials in Jerusalem” said US President Barack Obama recently warned his Chinese counterpart that “the United States would not be able to keep Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear installations for much longer”.
Iranian memo puzzles Western spy agencies. Does this two-page memorandum, written in Persian, provide an accurate account of the status of Iran’s nuclear program? “Some people think this is the smoking gun”, one senior European official said on Tuesday, “and others say it will be very hard to prove if it’s authentic”.
Iran claims capture of Western spy in Qom. An Iranian state-owned television station has announced the alleged capture two months ago of a spy for a Western intelligence agency who is said to have gathered information on Iran’s uranium enrichment site at Qum. But some observers have questioned the report.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with China, espionage, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Israel, News, news you may have missed, Qum (Iran), United States

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

News you may have missed #0221

December 15, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Part 5 of CIA defector’s writings now available. Former FBI counterintelligence agent Robert Eringer has published the fifth installment of the writings of Edward Lee Howard, a CIA officer who defected to the USSR in 1985 (see here for previous intelNews coverage). In this part, Howard explains why Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), was a “good town for covert operations” and the KGB’s “favorite pad for launching agents into Western Europe”.
African Union investigates officials of spying. Two officials from the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM) and the United Nations Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA) are reportedly under investigation for passing on sensitive information on AMISOM and Somalia to the US Defense Intelligence Agency and the South African Secret Service.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Africa, African Union, African Union Mission for Somalia, AMISOM, Bratislava (Slovakia), Cold War, Czechoslovakia, defectors, DIA, Edward Lee Howard, espionage, history, KGB, News, news you may have missed, Robert Eringer, Slovakia, Somalia, South African Secret Service, United Nations, United Nations Support Office for AMISOM, United States, UNSOA, USSR

News you may have missed #0220

December 14, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

More on sudden death of Jordan’s ex-spy chief. The Washington Post‘s David Ignatius is one of a handful of US columnists who are paying attention to the sudden death in Vienna, Austria, of Saad Kheir, 56, former director of Jordan’s General Intelligence Department.
Deposed Thai leader back in Cambodia, as accused spy is pardoned. Cambodian authorities have decided to free Siwarak Chothipong, whom they accused last month of spying on the flight itinerary of visiting former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Meanwhile, Thaksin is back in Cambodia, a sign that the country will continue to back pro-Thaksin political forces in Thailand.