On This Day — The Cavalese Cable Car Disaster (February 3 1998) [2019]

Posted on February 3, 2019 by L

“Many believe one of the reasons the Italian judges went after the CIA RDI [Rendition, Detention, Interrogation]  and [former CIA Officer] Sabrina De Sousa in the Abu Omar case was the USMC and USG accountability failures and arrogance.”

Mark Fallon — International Security Consultant & Author (February 4 2018)

“Get rid of the videotape. If it were mine, I would get rid of it.”

US Captain Chandler Seagraves — Electronic-warfare officers

The “Strage del Cermis” (Italian for “Massacre of Cermis”), named for the mountain ridge where the bodies were recovered, claimed the lives of eight Germans, five Belgians, three Italians, two Poles, one Dutch citizen, and one Austrian.

On February 3 1998, a U.S. Marine Corps jet on a low-level training flight sliced through steel wires supporting a cable car near the ski resort of Cavalese in the Italian Alps, sending a gondola plunging to the ground. All 20 people inside the gondola were killed. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

Posted in Italy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Just a Song — “The People We Love”

Posted on February 3, 2019 by L

“This morning I’m going to tell the people I love
Oh, how they’re important to me every moment
Sweet words are better than a beautiful requiem
And tell them it’s important
And say it as long as it’s time. (…)
Find the phrases, find the time
Let them change our bitter hours into poems”

Jean-Jacques Goldman — The People We Love

“It’s much easier to hate. Anonymously, hiding all alone…”

Speaking to an enemy has never been an easy task. But surely, talking to our friends should not be difficult? And yet, in these days of Facebook posts, Twitter, and Instagram, no one seems to have any time left to talk… So go tell them how much you care! Throw a bunch of flowers around! Just a [French] song today…  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

Posted in Poem | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Who is MI6 Officer Pablo Miller?

Posted on February 2, 2019 by L

“During this time (1999) Sergei Skripal [a senior Russian intelligence officer] was recruited by Pablo Miller, head of British intelligence in Tallinn working under the cover of first secretary of the British embassy in Estonia.”

Itar-Tass news agency — March 2000

Pablo Miller — aka Antonio Alvarez de Hidalgo — was an MI6 agent. He worked as first secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours on 13 June 2015 for service to British foreign policy.

Today, Pablo Miller is at the center of three major stories: The Skripals’ poisoning in Salisbury, the Steele dossier against Donald Trump and the very murky Integrity Initiative organization.

Who is really Pablo Miller? I know that much. He was my neighbor in Bogotá, Colombia, from 2006 to 2009. Dangerous place… What was he doing there? Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

Posted in Pablo Miller, Sergei Skripal | Tagged , | 1 Comment

One Year Ago — Russia Intelligence Chiefs Visit Washington to Meet American Spooks

Posted on February 2, 2019 by L

“Sergey Naryshkin was here [in the United States]. He held consultations with his counterparts. Joint struggle against terrorism was discussed. We maintained contact in 2014 during the Sochi Olympics. Of course, we consider joint work this year, during the FIFA World Cup finals.”

Anatoly Antonov — Russian ambassador in Washington

“We periodically meet with our Russian intelligence counterparts for the same reason our predecessors did — to keep Americans safe. (…) When those meetings take place, you and the American people should rest assured that we cover very difficult subjects in which American and Russian interests do not align. Neither side is bashful about raising concerns. We vigorously defend America in these encounters and pull no punches — we never will.”

CIA Director Mike Pompeo — Letter  to Senator Charles E. Schumer (February 1 2018)

February 2 2018 — The director of Russia’s foreign intelligence SVR, Sergey Naryshkin, and the director of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, have visited the United States last week for consultations with their US counterparts to discuss counter-terrorism issues. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

Posted in Sergey Naryshkin, SVR, Russia, FSB | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two Years Ago — Gina Haspel Selected to be Deputy Director of CIA

Posted on February 2, 2019 by L

“Gina is an exemplary intelligence officer and a devoted patriot who brings more than 30 years of Agency experience to the job. She is also a proven leader with an uncanny ability to get things done and to inspire those around her. We are fortunate that someone of her intellect, skill, and experience will be our Deputy Director. I know she will do an outstanding job, and I look forward to working with her closely in the years ahead.”

Mike Pompeo — CIA Director

“I am especially concerned by reports that this individual [Gina Haspel] was involved in the unauthorized destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes, which documented the CIA’s use of torture against two CIA detainees. My colleagues Senators Wyden and Heinrich have stated that classified information details why the newly appointed Deputy Director is ‘unsuitable’ for the position and have requested that this information be declassified. I join their request.”

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (February 8 2017)

Gina Cheri Haspel (born October 1 1956) is an American intelligence officer. She joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1985. In February 2017 she was appointed by President Donald Trump as Deputy Director of the CIA. She is the “first female career CIA officer” to receive that appointment, although she is the second woman, as Avril Haines had been appointed by Barack Obama in 2013. Haspel ran a “black site” CIA prison located in Thailand in 2002.

February 2 2017 — Gina Haspel is the first female career CIA officer to be named deputy director. Haspel has an extensive overseas experience, including several stints as chief of station at outposts abroad. In Washington, she has held several top senior leadership positions. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

Posted in CIA, CIA Director | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

On This Day — Nixon Dismisses CIA Director Richard Helms (February 2 1973)

Posted on February 2, 2019 by L

“The timing caught me by surprise. I had barely enough time to get my things out of the office and to assemble as many colleagues of all ranks as possible for a farewell. …  A few days later, I encountered Haldeman. ‘What happened to our understanding that my exit would be postponed for a few weeks?’ I asked. ‘Oh, I guess we forgot,’ he said with the faint trace of a smile. And so it was over.”

Former CIA Director Richard Helms 

January 2 2019 — Richard McGarrah Helms (March 30, 1913 – October 23, 2002) served as the United States Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from June 30 1966 to February 2 1973. Helms began intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Following the 1947 creation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) he rose in its ranks during the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations. Helms then served as DCI under Presidents Johnson and Nixon. Follow us on Twitter: Intel_Today Continue reading →

Posted in CIA Director | Tagged | Leave a comment

On This day — Ayatollah Khomeini Returns to Iran (February 1 1979) [2019]

Posted on February 1, 2019 by L

“You will see we are not in any particular animosity with the Americans. [The Islamic Republic of Iran] will be a humanitarian one, which will benefit the cause of peace and tranquillity for all mankind. (…) It is advisable that you recommend to the army not to follow [Shah’s prime minister Shapour] Bakhtiar.”

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — Letter to US President Jimmy Carter (January 29 1979)

On January 17 1979, the Shah left the country, never to return. Two weeks later, on Thursday February 1st 1979, Khomeini returned in triumph to Iran, welcomed by a joyous crowd estimated by the BBC to be of up to five million people. The communications between Khomeini and the president Jimmy Carter’s administration during the last two weeks of January 1979 remain largely classified and — not surprisingly — highly controversial. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

Posted in Iran | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

One Year Ago — Germany : Constitutional Complaint Lodged Against BND Law

Posted on February 1, 2019 by L

“The law allows the foreign intelligence agency to spy on journalists abroad almost without restrictions and to share the information with other secret services. This is an unacceptable restriction of press freedom, which is why we are supporting the affected parties in their court action.”

Christian Mihr — Executive Director of RSF Germany

“That’s not so easy to answer from where we sit. But we have no interest in investigating journalists on the whole. Neither domestically nor abroad. We are searching for information that is relevant to our security and looking for people who are planning evil deeds. It can’t be avoided that these people sometimes communicate with others who are less suspicious.”

Bruno Kahl — BND President

The BND [Bundesnachrichtendienst] acts as an early warning system to alert the German government to threats to German interests from abroad. It depends heavily on wiretapping and electronic surveillance of international communications.

February 1 2018 — The so-called “Journalist BND law” makes distinctions between journalists from EU countries and journalists from non-EU countries. Journalists who are citizens of non-EU countries can be legally subjected to surveillance by the BND without a court order [The Bundesnachrichtendienst is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany] if it is in the “interests of Germany.” As part of the case, the plaintiffs also launched a social media campaign entitled “No trust, no news.” Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

Posted in BND, Germany | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two Years Ago — Former MOSSAD Chief : “Israel’s Biggest Threat Is Potential Civil War, Not Iran.”

Posted on February 1, 2019 by L

“If a society crosses a certain line in its division and hatred, then it is a real possibility to see a phenomenon like a civil war.”

Tamir Pardo — Former Mossad chief

tamir-pardo

Former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo

February 1 2017 — The most pressing threat to Israel is not Iran, but rather the increased polarization within Israeli society, former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo said in a rare public appearance since leaving office. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today. Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel, Michael Morell, MOSSAD, Tamir Pardo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On This Day — The Shot That Shocked the World (February 1 1968)

Posted on February 1, 2019 by L

“Hearing something a hundred times isn’t better than seeing it once”

Chinese proverb

“Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation.”

Eddie Adams — American journalist and photographer

On February 1st 1968, Saigon police chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shot Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém to the head. The execution was captured by American photographer Eddie Adams.  This picture became a powerful  anti-war icon. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

Posted in Picture, Vietnam | Tagged , , | Leave a comment