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Obama said to be backing down in rift with CIA

January 15, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
This author has been reporting on the continuing rift between the incoming Democratic Administration and many in ledership positions at the CIA. The latter openly warned the President Elect last month that he “may have difficulty finding a candidate who can be embraced by both veteran officials at the agency and the left flank of the Democratic Party”. As I explained on January 6, Obama’s nomination of Leon Panetta to head the CIA should be expected to spark further protests by the troubled agency. It now appears that, having nominated Panetta, the Obama team is slowly backing away from its dispute with the country’s intelligence leadership. The New York Times reports that there is “a growing sense” among observers that the incoming President is “not inclined” to pursue any broad inquiries on warrantless eavesdropping (Operation STELLAR WIND) or the use of torture against CIA detainees in the “global war on terrorism”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Barack Obama, CIA, Leon Panetta, Mark Lowenthal, News, operation STELLAR WIND, Terrorist Surveillance Program (STELLAR WIND), torture, United States, warrantless communications interception

New revelations of CIA sabotage program in Iran

January 13, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

Ahmadinejad

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The New York Times has published a front-page exposé of an ongoing CIA operation to sabotage Iranian nuclear laboratories and installations. Citing “interviews over the past 15 months with current and former American officials, outside experts, international nuclear inspectors and European and Israeli officials” the paper reveals that President Bush authorized the CIA operation in early 2008, and will “hand [it] off to President-elect Barack Obama”. Bush reportedly has had to defend the covert program on at least one occasion against Israel’s insistence to launch air attacks on known Iranian nuclear sites. The CIA program is aimed at –among other things– “computer systems and other networks on which Iran relies”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with CIA, covert operations, cyberwar, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, News, United States

Speculation about NSA vetting of Obama’s wireless gadgets

January 13, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Obama calling

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Longtime technology correspondent Declan McCullagh has published a lengthy article speculating about the wireless communications options for incoming US President Barack Obama. He suggests that Obama’s heavy use of Blackberry distinctly raises “the possibility of eavesdropping [on wireless Presidential communications] by hackers and other digital snoops” and reminds that the President-Elect’s cell phone records with Verizon “were improperly accessed last year” by unauthorized company technicians. McCullagh speculates that the incoming President will be separated from his Blackberry and will be given instead a National Security Agency (NSA)-approved PDA phone designed under the US Pentagon’s SME-PED project, which stands for Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device. SME-PED communications are said to be user-friendly Blackberry replacements for high-level US government officials. McCullagh contacted the NSA for his article. The Agency, of course, declined to comment.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Barack Obama, cryptology, News, NSA, SME-PED Project, telecommunications, United States, wireless communications interception

Pakistan fires pro-US national security adviser

January 8, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

Durrani

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
News has emerged from Islamabad that the government of Pakistan has fired national security advisor Mahmood Ali Durrani. Durrani was fired late yesterday, reportedly after publicly confirming that the sole surviving attacker of the 2008 Mumbai attacks is indeed a Pakistani citizen, a claim that the Pakistani government has fervently denied. However, the confirmation was independently backed by other senior Pakistani government officials, none of whom appear to have been disciplined. The Associated Press quotes independent Pakistani political analyst Talat Masood as saying that Durrani, who was previously Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, and is known for his dovish stance vis-à-vis India, was seen by some critics in Pakistan as “too pro-American”. Masood suggested that the Pakistani government has been searching for a pretext to get rid of Durrani. If his observation is accurate, then Durrani’s ousting will be interpreted by American government officials as a clear signal of Islamabad’s refusal to abide by Washington’s policy directives in the so-called “war on terrorism”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2008 Mumbai attacks, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Mahmood Ali Durrani, News, Pakistan, United States, War on Terrorism

Comment: CIA Insiders Issue Political Threats Against Obama, Panetta

January 8, 2009 by intelNews 14 Comments

Panetta

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
On January 6, I explained that US President Elect Barack Obama’s nomination of Leon Panetta to head the CIA will intensify his ongoing quarrel with the troubled agency. I further stated that the CIA, which is not known for welcoming previous Directors it perceives as outsiders, has already “shown signs of refusing to cooperate with the incoming Administration”. This is now becoming clearer, as numerous CIA sources come forward to sharply denounce Panetta’s nomination and, in some cases, even hurtle political threats at the Obama Administration and its nominee. In one such case, a “former intelligence official” speaking to The Washington Post reminded Obama and Panetta that “many of the people Panetta will be expected to lead [at the CIA] would have participated in implementing [torture-based] interrogation polic[ies]”. Another “former senior official” warned Obama and Panetta to “think twice about pledges they make now [about the handling of terrorism detainees] because they may come back to haunt them in the future if some dire circumstances occur”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Barack Obama, Charles "Sam" Faddis, CIA, Joseph Fitsanakis, Leon Panetta, United States

DoJ continues criminal investigation of NSA whistleblower

January 7, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Last month, Thomas M. Tamm, a former US Justice Department official, revealed himself as the source who initially tipped off The New York Times about NSA’s operation STELLAR WIND, a domestic warrantless spying program, which was secretly authorized by the Bush Administration in the wake of 9/11. New York Times journalists James Risen and Eric Lichtblau eventually revealed the program in a front page article, relying on interviews with nearly a dozen undisclosed insiders. Despite numerous indications that STELLAR WIND may be unconstitutional, and despite the impending change of guard at the White House, the US Department of Justice appears to be actively pursuing its criminal investigation of Tamm. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Bush Administration, data mining, domestic intelligence, Eric Lichtblau, FBI, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, News, NSA, OIPR, operation STELLAR WIND, Steven Tyrrell, Terrorist Surveillance Program (STELLAR WIND), Thomas M. Tamm, United States, US Department of Justice, warrantless communications interception, whistleblowing

Analysis: Panetta’s CIA Nomination Part of Broader Obama Plan

January 6, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
America’s largest newspapers describe US President Elect Barack Obama’s choice of Leon E. Panetta as CIA’s next Director as “a surpris[ing] and unusual choice” that has “stunned the national intelligence community“. These descriptions are not far from the truth. More importantly, however, the selection of the former Bill Clinton aide to head the nation’s most powerful intelligence agency reveals the continuing rift between the incoming Democratic Administration and many conservative hawks at the CIA. The latter openly warned the President Elect last month that he “may have difficulty finding a candidate who can be embraced by both veteran officials at the agency and the left flank of the Democratic Party”. Keep reading →

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Barack Obama, CIA, Joseph Fitsanakis, Leon Panetta, United States

Austin activist reveals himself to be FBI informant

January 6, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Brandon Darby

In the days just prior to last year’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul, two activists from Texas used a rented U-Haul trailer to transport dozens of homemade shields, helmets and batons to Minnesota’s capital. The two activists, David McKay and Bradley Crowder, presumably intended the homemade protection gear to be used in street demonstrations during the RNC. They were eventually intercepted by St. Paul police officers who appeared to know what the two men were hauling. The officers, who did not use a warrant, proceeded to smash the trailer’s lock and seize its contents. This incident appears to have failed to convince McKay and Crowder of the obvious existence of an informant in their ranks. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2008 Republican National Convention, Bradley Crowder, Brandon Darby, Common Ground Relief, David McKay, domestic intelligence, FBI, informants, Minneapolis Republican National Convention Welcoming Committee, News, political policing, Scott Crow, surveillance, United States

FBI continues arrests of Iraqi intelligence operatives in US

December 31, 2008 by intelNews 1 Comment

Using Iraqi intelligence documents recovered during the 2003 US invasion, the FBI is continuing its arrests of Iraqi agents on US soil. On December 23, Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, an American citizen of Iraqi origin, pleaded guilty to having “served for more than a decade as an agent of the regime of Saddam Hussein”. FBI documents state that Al-Dellemy exploited the proximity of his Maryland restaurant to the National Security Agency to “gather information about the US government”. On December 24, Mouyad Mahmoud Darwish, a Canadian citizen of Iraqi origin, was arrested while entering the United States from Canada, and charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the Iraqi government before, during, and shortly after the US invasion of Iraq. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with counterintelligence, espionage, FBI, Iraq, Mouyad Mahmoud Darwish, Mukhabarat (Iraq), News, NSA, Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, United States

Former US Army engineer admits spying for Israel

December 31, 2008 by intelNews Leave a comment

Kadish

It was an almost jovial gathering at a US Federal Court in Manhattan, yesterday, when a retired US Army engineer pleaded guilty to charges of passing classified US military documents to Israel. Ben-Ami Kadish, 85, of Monroe Township, NJ, admitted handing secret technical information on F-15 fighter jets, the Patriot missile, and even on nuclear weapons, to Israel between 1979 and 1985. Last April, after being charged with four counts of conspiracy and espionage, Kadish confessed having worked without compensation for Israeli intelligence and detailed providing the classified documents to Yosef Yagur and Ilan Ravid, who were “science advisers” (probably intelligence agents) at the Israeli Consulate in New York and the Israeli Embassy in Washington, respectively. Mr. Kadish was reportedly extremely pleasant during the hearing and, after declaring that he spied “for the benefit of Israel”, made sure to wish everyone present “a happy New Year”. His lawyer was quick to thank the US government for agreeing “not to oppose or object to a non-jail sentence” and expressed a collective wish that “Mr. Kadish can go on and spend the golden years of his life with his lovely wife, Doris”. Asked about the espionage case, a spokesperson at Israel’s Consulate General dismissively pointed out that “[t]his is an old case which occurred over 25 years ago, and all aspects of it are part of the past”. [IA]

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Ben-Ami Kadish, espionage, Ilan Ravid, Israel, News, United States, Yosef Yagur

Comment: Spreading Democracy Involves Routine Bribing

December 26, 2008 by intelNews 2 Comments

Online pundits appear immensely amused by a recent article in The Washington Post, which reveals that Viagra is among numerous “novel incentives” handed out by CIA officers to Afghan warlords in efforts to “win [them] over” to the American side. The article cites an unnamed CIA agent who confirms that pharmaceutical treatments for erectile dysfunction are occasionally dispensed by the Agency to “aging [Afghan] patriarchs with [several young wives and] slumping libidos”. Unlike most, I find the article’s revelations to be neither novel nor amusing. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Afghanistan, bribing, CIA, corruption, honey traps, Ian Allen, United States, War on Terrorism

Rare revelations on Detroit counterintelligence operations

December 24, 2008 by intelNews Leave a comment

Assistant Attorney Eric Straus, chief of the East Michigan District Criminal and National Security Division of the US Attorney’s Office, has given a rare interview discussing counterintelligence operations in Detroit. Among other things, Straus revealed that his Division has been monitoring alleged support for Hamas and Hezbollah among Detroit’s substantial Middle Eastern population, which is one of the largest in the United States. He also described military and dual use (i.e. civilian with potential military application) technologies as prime targets of international espionage in the Detroit area. Finally, he briefly commented on a number of counterespionage prosecutions against Iraqi spies, employed by the government of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, operating in the Detroit area before 2003. He did not go into details on whether these were trained and accredited intelligence officers working for Directorate 14 of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (Mukhabarat), but hinted that most were not. The interview is available here. [JF]

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with counterintelligence, Detroit, Eric Straus, espionage, Hamas, Hezbollah, Mukhabarat (Iraq), News, United States, US Attorney's Office Criminal and National Security Division

Kissinger forced to reveal transcripts of phone conversations

December 23, 2008 by intelNews Leave a comment

During his long career as US National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger kept many secrets. One of these was that he clandestinely recorded all telephone conversations he had with US government officials, which he subsequently had transcribed by his private secretary. Upon leaving office, in early 1977, Kissinger had the audio recordings destroyed but held on to the transcripts which he described as “private papers” not suitable for public release. George Washington University’s National Security Archive had a different view on the matter, however, and in 2004 managed to force the US government to hand over the transcripts. The Archive has now released a generous portion of 15,000 pages of transcripts, fully catalogued and indexed. William Burr, a senior analyst with the National Security Archive, who edited the released documents, described them as “ranking up there with the Nixon tapes as the most candid, revealing and valuable trove of records on the exercise of executive power in Washington”. Among other things, the transcripts reveal that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger “shared a belief in 1972 that the [Vietnam] war could still be won”. [IA]

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Cold War, government secrecy, Henry Kissinger, News, Richard Nixon, United States, Vietnam War

Waxman sides with CIA on Iraq intelligence dispute

December 21, 2008 by intelNews Leave a comment

For several years, disgraced former US Attorney-General, Alberto Gonzales, and Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, have maintained that the CIA approved the routine use in Presidential speeches of dubious intelligence on Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Recently, George W. Bush upheld to these claims by blaming the US intelligence community for the false information on Iraqi WMD. Now the chair of the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), has written a memo [pdf] containing the results of his investigation on the matter. In it, Rep. Waxman explains that “the CIA had warned at least four National Security Council officials not to allow Bush, in three speeches in 2002, to cite questionable intelligence that Iraq had attempted to obtain uranium”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Alberto Gonzales, CIA, Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet, Henry A. Waxman, Iraq, Iraq War, Iraq weapons of mass destruction, Jami Miscick, News, United States, US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Analysis: Editor cautions against lionizing Deep Throat

December 19, 2008 by intelNews Leave a comment

Greg Mitchell, the author and editor of Editor & Publisher, has authored a column cautioning against the uncritical lionization of former FBI official W. Mark Felt, who died yesterday at the age of 95. In 2005, Felt voluntarily revealed he was the mysterious whistleblower nicknamed Deep Throat, who helped uncover the Watergate scandal, which lead to the eventual resignation of US President Richard Nixon. Mitchell urges “[j]ournalists and many others lionizing the former FBI official [to] not overlook the fact that Felt was one of the architects of the bureau’s notorious COINTELPRO domestic spying-and-burglary campaign”. Felt was in fact found guilty of authorizing several illegal black bag operations in the state of New Jersey under COINTELPRO, an illegal domestic surveillance and sabotage project directed by the FBI with the participation of the CIA and NSA. Black bag operations refer to covert, surreptitious entries into structures in the course of human intelligence missions. Mitchell correctly points out that “[o]nly a pardon, courtesy of Ronald Reagan, kept him out of jail for a long term”. [JF]