One Year Ago — Putin : “The Skripal poisoning narrative is not worth a dime.”

“This gentleman, Skripal, had already been punished. He was arrested, sentenced and then served time in prison. He received his punishment. For that matter, he was off the radar. Why would anybody be interested in him? He got punished. He was detained, arrested, sentenced and then spent five years in prison. Then he was released and that was it.”

 President Vladimir Putin  (June 27 2019)

June 28 2019 — I have long argued that the Skripal Affair could be part of Russiagate and that the Spygate investigation may very well reveal the Novichok narrative as a complete fabrication. Perhaps, Putin just gave us an interesting clue. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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40 Years Ago — Remembering Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 (USTICA – June 27 1980)

“81 slowly pulsating lights hang from the ceiling, representing 81 souls oscillating between being forgotten and remembered.”

Ustica Museum

“We still hope the truth will come out. We know that very probably the plane was struck down by a missile. Too many people have been keeping this secret for too long but we will not give up until we know everything that happened.”

Daria Bonfietti

“The truth must be known.”

Motto of the Pan Am 103 passengers’ families

“Your government and ours know exactly what happened but they are never going to tell.”

US President’s Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (London, February 12 1990)

flight870

The remains of Itavia Airlines flight 870

June 27 2019 — When the passenger jet crashed, the immediate theory was that it was a tragic accident caused by some kind of mechanical or structural failure. Then, there was the suggestion that terrorists could have planted a bomb, but that theory was also rejected. And then, the truth came out. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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On This Day — “Ich bin ein Berliner” (June 26 1963) [2020]

“Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was ‘Civis Romanus Sum’. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’ … All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!'”

U.S. President John F. Kennedy in West Berlin (June 26 1963)

“I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the wind.”

President John F. Kennedy

Kennedy’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech was watched by West Berliners

June 26 2019 — The speech is considered one of Kennedy’s best, both a notable moment of the Cold War and a high point of the New Frontier. It was a great morale boost for West Berliners, who lived in an enclave deep inside East Germany and feared a possible East German occupation. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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5G — Will European Countries Ban Huawei? [UPDATE –Belgium restricts access to Huawei and ZTE]

“Perhaps, the most puzzling part of the [Belgian Intelligence Services] report is what it does not mention. Although most countries are extremely concerned about China investments in their Telecom infrastructure, the Belgian report is silent on this issue. Why, on earth, why?”

Intel Today (November 30 2018)

“The UK needs to take decision on the extent to which we are going to be comfortable with Chinese ownership of these technologies.”

MI6 chief Alex Younger (December 3 2018)

“Given the massive cybersecurity and national security risks, the only responsible decision is for Berlin to follow the Australian, New Zealand, and U.S. lead and ban Chinese providers from the German 5G network. In doing so, Europe’s strongest economy would send a crucial signal to the rest of the European Union members that are grappling with the same decision.”

Thorsten Benner — Director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin (December 9 2018)

“Huawei shares with the Chinese state intimate and extensive knowledge of the foreign telecommunications systems it is involved with.”

General Michael Hayden — Former head of the U.S. National Security Agency

“If China would resort to putting Canadians to death to defend its corporate national champion, what might it do if the Chinese Communist Party had unfettered access to Canada’s vital communications networks?”

Richard Fadden — Head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service spy agency from 2009 to 2013 (January 20 2019)

December 5 2018 — The United States, Australia and New Zealand have already blocked Huawei from building their new 5G networks on security grounds. On December 5, Britain’s BT Group said it would rip Huawei equipment from its core telecom network. Canada is also likely to ban Huawei and  it is reported that Japan is expected to ban government use of products made by Huawei and ZTE over cybersecurity concerns.

So, why on earth has Europe been silent on this critical issue for so long? What are they waiting for? I am afraid that it will all depend on Germany’s decision.

On March 26 2019,  the European Commission has recommended a set of operational steps and measures to ensure a high level of cybersecurity of 5G networks across the EU.

The Commission does not call for a European ban on global market leader Huawei, leaving it to EU countries to decide on national security grounds. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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60 Years Ago — The First NSA Defection : William H. Martin and Bernon F. Mitchell (June 25 1960)

“The United States Government is as unscrupulous as it has accused the Soviet Government of being. Our main dissatisfaction concerned some of the practices the United States uses in gathering intelligence information … deliberately violating the airspace of other nations … intercepting and deciphering the secret communications of its own allies … Perhaps United States hostility towards Communism arises out of a feeling of insecurity engendered by Communist achievements in science, culture and industry.”

William H. Martin and Bernon F. Mitchell — The first NSA whistleblowers

NSA defectors William H. Martin and Bernon F. Mitchell at the Moscow press conference announcing their defection, July 1, 1960.

June 25 2020 — The National Security Agency faced a terrible crisis in the summer of 1960 when two cryptologists disappeared on vacation. On June 25 1960, Mitchell and Martin left the U.S. for Mexico. They traveled from there to Havana and then sailed on a Russian freighter to the Soviet Union. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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40 Years Ago — Who Killed Pierre Goldman? And Why? (June 22, 1944 – Assassinated September 20, 1979) [UPDATE : Spanish Suspect Terror Group was led by Prime Minister]

“In my crib were hidden tracts and arms.”

Pierre Goldman — Dim memories of a Polish Jew Born in France

“Marseille boys members of GAL killed him [Pierre Goldman] with Maïone, who also talked about a commandant, a former member of the SDECE [French secret service], without revealing to me his identity.”

Libération (April 2006)

“Goldman combined all the traits of the man to be killed: Jewish, black-loving, revolutionary, jailer, writer, and most of all, the man who had escaped the death penalty for a crime he denied, a terrible accusation for which Justice had acquitted him. In his way Pierre Goldman had the look of a facial composite. He resembled all that imbeciles hate.” [1]

Serge July — French journalist

Pierre Goldman (June 22, 1944 – Assassinated September 20, 1979)

September 20 2019 — Who killed Goldman? Of course, I am not talking about the French singer — Jean-Jacques — who is one of the most loved personalities in France. I am talking about his brother Pierre, a French left-wing intellectual who was convicted of several robberies and mysteriously assassinated on September 20 1979. The case has never been solved. By the way, although Jean-Jacques never spoke about his brother, many believe that the song “Puisque tu pars” is about Pierre. I left a couple of messages for JJ Goldman knowing full well that he would not reply. I hope that he will speak about his brother one day… “But not too late.” Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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On This Day — The Intelligence Identities Protection Act (June 23 1982) [2020]

“The legislation ultimately will harm, not help, our national security interests (…)  If left to stand, it will curtail legitimate journalistic scrutiny of a particularly important and sensitive area of government, creating the possibility that wrongdoing or wrong-headedness could flourish in that area, unchecked by public awareness.”

Sen. Joseph R. Biden (D) of Delaware — Member of the US Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence (April 6, 1982)

June 23 1982 — President Reagan tells a good Irish joke before signing the IIPA at the CIA Headquarters

On June 23 1982, President Reagan visited the CIA Headquarters for the signing of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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Lockerbie – Three Decades of Lies: J’Accuse…! [Chapter VI : A spectacular miscarriage of Justice]

“The Lockerbie trial is the most disgraceful miscarriage of justice in Scotland for 100 years. Every lawyer who has read the judgment says ‘this is nonsense’. It is nonsense.”

Robert Black QC FRSE — Professor Emeritus of Scots Law in the University of Edinburgh, also known as the “Architect of the Lockerbie Trial”

“I don’t think there’s a lawyer in Scotland who now believes Mr Megrahi was justly convicted. The Americans were out for vengeance. Anyone with a darker skin would do. With their barrowloads of money to buy witnesses, aided by our police and prosecution, they hoodwinked our courts.”

Ian Hamilton QC — Recipient of a lifetime achievement award at the 2009 Law Awards of Scotland

“I do believe that Megrahi is an innocent man and that in time the truth of that will emerge. I have never found a full answer to Lockerbie. And this will always be a source of great distress. […] We need the truth, and we need justice, to allow ourselves to be at peace. Otherwise, we’re still back on December the 21 1988, in the darkness.”

Father Pat Keegans — Parish priest for Lockerbie at the time of the crash

“I am the father of Flora Swire, who was murdered on the aircraft in 1988, and I attended the subsequent trial of Libyan Abdelbaset Al Megrahi. By the end I was convinced that we had witnessed a parody of justice. There were many deficiencies in the evidence, and those of us who have sought the truth have been further frustrated by the Government and Scottish High Court. It has become clear to us that the trial was designed not to convict those responsible, but to further the wishes of the US and UK governments.”

Dr Jim Swire (October 7 2018)

June 22 2020 — On January 31 2001, Fhimah was found not guilty. His co-accused Megrahi was convicted of mass murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years. I regard the Lockerbie verdict against Megrahi as a Grand Monument to Human Stupidity.  Indeed, the written opinion of the Lockerbie judges is a remarkable document that claims an ‘honoured place in the history of British miscarriages of justice.’ I sincerely hope that the readers will come to share my belief if they do not already think so. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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Cholo Pompeo Gangsta Rap: “We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal.” [UPDATE : Did I forget to mention VAULT-7?]

“What’s the cadet motto at West Point? You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do. I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. It’s – it was like – we had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.”

Former CIA Director Mike Pompeo — Texas A&M University (April 15, 2019)

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

 Friedrich Nietzsche

Thank God, It’s [Parody] Sunday! On April 15 2019, Mike Pompeo participated in a Q&A discussion at Texas A&M University. Pompeo could not resist telling his audience how proud he is to have served as Director of the CIA. So, we decided to mount a very special video to celebrate this remarkable event… Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_Today Continue reading

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On This Day — The Central Intelligence Agency Act Is Signed (June 20 1949) [2020]

“I think it has become necessary to take another look at the purpose and operations of our Central Intelligence Agency. At least, I would like to submit here the original reason why I thought it necessary to organize this Agency during my Administration, what I expected it to do and how it was to operate as an arm of the President. (…)

We have grown up as a nation, respected for our free institutions and for our ability to maintain a free and open society. There is something about the way the CIA has been functioning that is casting a shadow over our historic position and I feel that we need to correct it.”

Harry Truman (December 22, 1963)

June 20 2019 — On this day in 1949, President Truman signed the Central Intelligence Agency Act, permitting the CIA to use confidential fiscal and administrative procedures. By 1963, Truman admitted in writing that he was seriously “disturbed by the way CIA has been diverted from its original assignment.” Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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