Author Archives: L

On This Day — US Staff in Moscow Warned to Avoid PAN AM 103 (December 13 1988) [2020]

Posted on December 13, 2020 by L

“There was a real push in the embassy community to make sure that everybody was aware that there had been a terrorist threat made, and that people flying Western carriers going through Frankfurt should change their tickets.” Karen Decker — … Continue reading →

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35 Years Ago — Remembering Arrow Air Flight 1285 (December 12 1985)

Posted on December 12, 2020 by L

“Hours after the crash the Islamic Jihad – a Shiite Muslim extremist group – claimed it destroyed the plane to prove [its] ability to strike at the Americans anywhere.” UPI — Anonymous caller to a French news agency in Beirut … Continue reading →

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On This Day — CIA Director John Brennan Defends Torture Methods (December 11 2014) [2020]

Posted on December 11, 2020 by L

“Torture has perhaps saved some at the expense of honor, by uncovering thirty bombs, but at the same time it has created fifty new terrorists who, operating in some other way and in another place would cause the death of … Continue reading →

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On This Day — Remembering Gary Webb “DARK ALLIANCE” (August 31 1955 – December 10 2004)

Posted on December 10, 2020 by L

“Dark Alliance, the San Jose Mercury News’s bombshell investigation into links between the cocaine trade, Nicaragua’s Contra rebels, and African-American neighborhoods in California, remains one of the most explosive and controversial exposés in American journalism.” The Intercept December 10 2020 … Continue reading →

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Four Years Ago — Who Tortured Giulio Regeni to Death? And Why? (January 25 2016) — UPDATE : Italy charges 4 Egyptian security agency officials over Regeni’s murder

Posted on December 10, 2020 by L

“On 7 January 2016, just a month after the union meeting, Mohamed Abdallah denounced Regeni to the authorities (…) because his questions were not about street vendors … and had other intentions. The Egyptian government placed Regeni under investigation, but decided … Continue reading →

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RUMINT — DCIA Gina Haspel to Step Down After Election. Who will run Biden’s CIA? [UPDATE — Still no front-runner…]

Posted on December 10, 2020 by L

“A couple of people at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence would have to go, absolutely. Probably Gina Haspel would have to go, too. Gina is a good woman, but she would have to go.” Michael Hayden — … Continue reading →

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On This Day — Did the CIA Kill Father Louis Thomas Merton? (December 10 1968) [2020]

Posted on December 10, 2020 by L

“The very thoughts of a person like me are crimes against the state. All I have to do is think, and immediately I become guilty.” Father Louis Merton —  A Signed Confession of Crimes against the State December 10 2020 — … Continue reading →

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Remembering CIA Historian William Blum (March 6, 1933 – December 9, 2018) [2020]

Posted on December 9, 2020 by L

“William Blum was at the forefront of critical debate and analysis of US foreign policy. He combined honesty and Truth with carefully documented analysis. His important legacy will live.” Michel Chossudovsky (December 10, 2018) December 9 2020 — Independent journalist … Continue reading →

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On This Day — US Senate report calls CIA torture tactics “deeply flawed” (December 9 2014) [2020]

Posted on December 9, 2020 by L

“One of the most memorable details from The Report is Jones’ insistence on access to a printer, and how many safes were in his office. He later told a lawyer that this was because documents kept mysteriously disappearing from the … Continue reading →

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Three Years Ago — The Havana Syndrome : Sonic Attacks or Microwave Weapons?

Posted on December 8, 2020 by L

“What we’ve said to the Cubans is: Small island. You’ve got a sophisticated intelligence apparatus. You probably know who’s doing it. You can stop it. It’s as simple as that.” Rex Tillerson — US Secretary of State  (December 6 2017) … Continue reading →

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