On This Day — 1,000 Boeing 747 Jumbo Plane Produced (September 10 1993) [2019]

“Aviation investigations are replete with accident scenarios that couldn’t happen. And given the lack of bomb evidence so far, neither scenario has been ruled out, officials said. First is the possibility that the doomed plane’s front section, which has a history of structural fatigue cracks and must undergo regular inspections, simply unzipped from the rest of the plane as weakened structural frames gave way.”

TWA 800 — Washington Post August 1 1996

“There was a single primary return received (…) 16 seconds before SSR returns were lost. […] No explanation can be offered for its presence.”

Pan AM 103 AAIB

Kalitta Air (25th May, 2008)

September 10 2019 — Boeing has delivered more than 1,500 of these jets since 1970. The 747 has been involved in 60 hull losses, resulting in 3,722 fatalities. The destruction in flight of three Boeing-747 remains the subject of intense debates to this day: AIR INDIA 182, PAN AM 103, and TWA 800. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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Two Years Ago — CIA Goes to War with WikiLeaks [POLL]

“It is the sense of Congress that WikiLeaks and the senior leadership of WikiLeaks resemble a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors and should be treated as such a service by the United States.”

2018 US Intelligence Authorization Bill

September 8 2017 — The Senate Intelligence Committee has approved a bill classifying WikiLeaks as a “non-state hostile intelligence service.” Phillip Giraldi, former CIA officer and counter-terrorism specialist, explains how this is “like going to war” and that he “would not rule out assassinations.” Follow us on Twitter:  @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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One Year Ago — Havana Syndrome : Havana, Beijing… And Where Else?

“There’s been some other locations [where] we’ve had similar situations. We’re still working on it. I think if it was an intelligence-based operation, it’ll be hard to attribute.”

William Evanina  — Director of the US National Counter-Intelligence and Security Center

September 8 2019 — In 2016, two dozen of US diplomats — most of them actually spies — based in Havana suffered a range of symptoms including hearing loss, tinnitus, headaches and dizziness. Later, US diplomats in Beijing experienced the same symptoms. US experts now consider “microwave weapons” as the prime suspect.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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On This Day — Golda Meir Orders Operation Wrath of God (September 7 1972) [2019]

“There’s no difference between one’s killing and making decisions that will send others to kill. It’s exactly the same thing, or even worse.”

Golda Meir

“Every civilization finds it necessary to negotiate compromises with its own values.”

Movie Quote from Munich (2005) – Golda Meir

September 7 1972 — Two days after the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Israel retaliated by bombing ten PLO bases in Syria and Lebanon. Prime Minister Golda Meir also created Committee X — a small group of government officials tasked with formulating an Israeli response — with herself and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan at the head.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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Wormwood : Why Did The CIA Murder US Army Scientist Frank Olson? [UPDATE]

“In all my years in the hotel business, I never encountered a case where someone got up in the middle of the night, ran across a dark room in his underwear, avoiding two beds, and dove through a closed window with the shade and curtains drawn.”

Statler Hotel night manager

“The most efficient accident, in simple assassination, is a fall of 75 feet or more onto a hard surface.”

CIA assassination manual (1953)

“What Wormwood tries to do is tell a story about how we know what we know and how reliable is that knowledge.”

Errol Morris — Documentary Director

“You think that finding the answer to this is gonna restore the path of your own life. But how can it possibly do that if you’ve lost yourself along the way?”

Eric Olson (Wormwood)

“Frank (Olson) was viewed as a dissident. You understand that in 1953 if you thought somebody was detrimental to the war against the Russians, you have no problem dealing with them. It wouldn’t be a question of saying you just have to leave the agency (laughs…) tell me about that, think about that somebody who has secrets, I mean are you kidding me.  Frank was, was out there. He was letting them know that he was marching to a different drummer and you couldn’t do it back then. He was a man who was profoundly, profoundly distressed about what he was learning……..and he was dangerous, that I can tell you. I can’t tell you more.”

US Journalist Seymour Hersh

 

Wormwood is a 2017 American six-part docudrama miniseries directed by Errol Morris and released on Netflix on December 15, 2017. The series follows a scientist who participates in a secret government biological warfare program.

In the final chapter, Seymour Hersh states that he believes the CIA murdered Frank Olson. Although, he has a source that backs up this story, Hersh refuses to speak out because the story would expose how his source acquired the necessary information.

Hersh claims he knows what Frank did that got him killed.  But he does not reveal it. In this post, I suggest the most likely explanation. As always, your feedback is welcome!

Follow us on Twitter:  @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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Two Years Ago — NORTH KOREA H-Bomb : First Yield Estimate

“The institute recently succeeded in making a more developed nuke. Kim Jong-un watched an H-bomb to be loaded into a new ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile).”

KCNA — North Korea State News Agency (September 3 2017)

“Based on the similarity of the seismic data between 3 September 2017 event and North Korea’s previous nuclear tests, we confirm that 3 September 2017 event is a nuclear test in nature. We have determined that North Korea’s 3 September 2017 nuclear test occurred at UTC 2017/09/03 03:30, (2017/09/03 12:00 local time), at the location of (41°17’53.52”N, 129°4’27.12”E), with an estimated yield of 108.3±48.1 kt.”

USTC  — Lianxing Wen’s Geogroup

September 4 2017 — North Korea said on Sunday (September 3 2017) it has developed a more advanced nuclear weapon that has “great destructive power” and leader Kim Jong Un inspected a hydrogen bomb that will be loaded on a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Considering the magnitude of the event as reported by the US Geological Survey,  I have estimated — in first approximation — the yield of the device at about 126.8 kilotons of TNT equivalent. A well-known Chinese research group has since provided a similar estimate. However the magnitudes reported by South Korea and NORSAR are much lower.

UPDATE (September 6 2017)  — At this point, there seems to be a consensus that the magnitude (Mb) of the event is at least 6.0 and possibly as high as 6.4. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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The CIA Book of Honor — Star 115 : Marcell Rene Gough (1965)

“IN HONOR OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY”

Memorial at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia

“For anyone who wants to understand the essence of the CIA, one need look no further than this hallowed wall. These stars, and the memories they hold, will forever inspire and sustain us as we carry on the work to which those whose stars find lasting peace in this finely chiseled constellation devoted their lives.”

 Director John O. Brennan — CIA annual ceremony (May 23 2016)

September 6 2019 — Currently, there are 133 stars carved into the marble of the CIA Memorial Wall: 93 are unclassified. Who are those men and women? When did they die? Why are they honored by a star? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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On This Day — Russian Defector Viktor Belenko Lands MiG-25 in Japan (September 6 1976) [2019]

“Americans have tolerance regarding other people’s opinion. In certain cultures, if you do not accept the mainstream, you would be booted out or might disappear. Here we have people, you know, who hug trees, and people who want to cut them down — and they live side by side!”

Viktor Ivanovich Belenko — Informal Interview (2000)

Viktor Belenko — Soviet military identification photo

September 6 2019 — On 6 September 1976, Viktor Ivanovich Belenko defected to the West, flying his MiG-25 “Foxbat” jet fighter to Hakodate, Japan. George H. W. Bush, the Director of Central Intelligence at the time, called the opportunity to examine the plane up close an “intelligence bonanza” for the West. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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One Year Ago — Belgian Diplomat Accused of Helping Russia : “Stirred, not Shaken”

“During one of the phone calls we listened to, he (Oswald Gantois) said himself that he had played too much James Bond but that every diplomat must be a bit of a spy.”

Ann Fransen — Belgian federal prosecutor

‘I never accepted money … I never disclosed state secrets. I am right with myself and that is enough. This case has destroyed my life. In the eyes of the investigators I was guilty right from the start.”

Belgian diplomat Oswald Gantois

Belgian diplomat Oswald Gantois likes to compare himself to James Bond. His resemblance to MI6 OO7 agent is not however immediately apparent.

September 5 2018 — A senior Belgium diplomat has helped Russian spies for over 25 years. A Belgian court found Mr. Oswald Gantois guilty of espionage. Brussels is a nest of spies with the highest density of foreign spooks anywhere in Europe, and quite possibly in the world. I find it hard to believe that they could not find a bigger fish to fry. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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Two Years Ago — Wormwood : The Mysterious Death of Cold War Era Military Scientist Frank Olson

“Frank was viewed as a dissident. You understand that in 1953 if you thought somebody was detrimental to the war against the Russians, you have no problem dealing with them. It wouldn’t be a question of saying you just have to leave the agency (laughs…) tell me about that, think about that somebody who has secrets, I mean are you kidding me.  Frank was, was out there. He was letting them know that he was marching to a different drummer and you couldn’t do it back then. He was a man who was profoundly, profoundly distressed about what he was learning……..and he was dangerous, that I can tell you.”

Seymour Hersh — Pulitzer Prize winner

“While the court must limit its analysis to the four corners of the complaint, the skeptical reader may wish to know that the public record supports many of the allegations [in the family’s suit], farfetched as they may sound.”

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg — Frank Olson Case

“To what extent can a democracy lie to its citizens and still, in the end, remain a democracy?

I believe what separates us from dumb animals is that we pursue, maybe we don’t achieve it, but we pursue certainty. It’s a goal. A dream. To deny that importance of that goal or that dream is unspeakable. Where would we be without it? We’d be out in the jungle having various temper tantrums like the president of the United States.”

Errol Morris — Statement about “Wormwood”

Wormwood is based on a true story and explores the mysterious death of Cold War-era military scientist Frank Olson (played by Sarsgaard) and his son’s tireless efforts to uncover the truth. In 1953, Frank Olson was recruited to be part of a secret biological warfare program cryptically referred to as Project MKUltra. The miniseries is blending long-form documentary interview with a dramatic reconstruction of pivotal scenes.

September 5 2017 — Errol Morris — one of the most acclaimed and influential documentarians of all time — is back with a project unlike anything he has ever done before. Wormwood, told in six parts, deals with CIA mind-control experiments in the 1950s and the infamous death of US Major Frank Olson. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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