City of Spies — Hellish Week for Belgian Spooks

“Is Belgian military intelligence up to the job? There is talk of ‘different cultures”‘and civilian and military staff struggling to work together.  Meanwhile efforts are being made to implement a major reform plan that should put an end to the bickering.  Intelligence watchdog Committee I has already commented on the poor operation of military intelligence, while other Belgian intelligence services too have raised questions.”

NWS (February 14 2019)

“Brussels has now overtaken Vienna when it comes to the density of so-called intelligence services from outside the EU.”

Peter Gridling — Head of Austria’s domestic intelligence agency (June 2018)

Brussels is apparently the new City of Spies. And some observers wonder if the Belgian intelligence services are up to the job? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — President Roosevelt Orders Internment of Japanese Americans (February 19 1942)

“The truth is—as this deplorable experience proves—that constitutions and laws are not sufficient of themselves…Despite the unequivocal language of the Constitution of the United States that the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, and despite the Fifth Amendment’s command that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, both of these constitutional safeguards were denied by military action under Executive Order 9066.”

Former Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark — “Executive Order 9066: The Internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans”

On February 19 1942, US President Roosevelt signed executive order 9066 which allowed regional military commanders to designate “military areas” from which any or all persons may be excluded. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — FBI Robert Hanssen Is Arrested (February 18 2001)

“F.B.I. officials knew as far back as the mid-1980’s that Robert P. Hanssen, the longtime agent and convicted Russian spy, had repeatedly mishandled classified data and violated procedures but did nothing to prompt an investigation, a Justice Department report released today states. The report from the department’s inspector general provides many previously undisclosed details about how the F.B.I. missed numerous signals that could have led to Mr. Hanssen’s capture years earlier.”

New York Times (August 15 2003)

February 18  2019 — Robert Philip Hanssen is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001. His espionage was described by the Department of Justice as “possibly the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history.” Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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City of Spies — Brussels Restaurant Owner : “No Spooks in My Place!”

“Brussels has now overtaken Vienna when it comes to the density of so-called intelligence services from outside the EU.”

Peter Gridling — Head of Austria’s domestic intelligence agency (June 2018)

“The EEAS does not comment on issues relating to leaked information. The EEAS, together with other EU institutions and the member states, continuously evaluates the threats to its security, including information security. The EEAS has measures in place to ensure the protection of its information. These measures are not subject to public discussion.”

A spokesman for the European External Action Service  (EEAS)

Philippe Weiner of Meet Meat Steak and Wine House, Brussels

The European External Action Service (EEAS) security service has warned diplomats against entering certain pubs and restaurants in the EU buildings neighborhood. But Philippe Wiener, the owner of one of the restaurants listed by the EEAS, is not convinced. On Sunday, I usually write a joke. But today, I could not think of any joke funnier than this true Belgian story!  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — USMC Col. William R. Higgins Is Abducted in Lebanon (February 17 1988)

″The impression from the video is that he might have been killed soon after he was captured.″

Dr. Michael Baden — Director of forensic sciences for the New York State Police

″It clearly looked to me like the body was in what we call mummification, or early stages of mummification, which essentially means drying. Because of the drying certain areas become sunken like the eyes are sunken. If you look at the Higgins pictures, they certainly look that way. … I’m inclined to think he was dead before he was hanged.″

Dr. Werner Spitz — Professor of forensic pathology at Wayne State University

William Richard Higgins (January 15, 1945 – ???) was a colonel in the United States Marine Corps who was captured on February 17 1988 while serving on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. He was held hostage, tortured and eventually murdered by his captors. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — Alan Dershowitz Confirms “October Surprise Conspiracy Theory”

“Mr Karrubi agreed in the second Madrid meeting to cooperate with the Reagan campaign about the timing of any hostage release. In return, he was promised that the Reagan Administration, once in office, would return Iran’s frozen assets and help them acquire badly needed military equipment. (…)During my research, I spoke to several of the former hostages. I was deeply moved by the response of one in particular. After listening to the evidence, he said simply: ‘I don’t want to believe it. It’s too painful to think about it.’ Painful it is. But the rest of us are obliged to think about it. Hard.”

Gary Sick — Retired Naval Captain who served on Ford’s, Carter’s, and Reagan’s National Security Council

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Vice President George H. W. Bush and other VIPs wait to welcome the hostages home

February 16 2017 — Harvard’s Law Professor Alan Dershowitz was explaining the ‘Logan Act’ and how it may apply to Michael Flynn’s discussion of sanctions with a Russian ambassador before taking office. Out of the blue, Professor Alan Dershowitz made an astonishing statement regarding the 1980 US Presidential campaign. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — Pulitzer-prize winner Tim Weiner : “US Intel Agencies are targeting the top of this government.”

“Mike Flynn has fallen farther faster than any powerful official in any government in the 20th Century, in America.”

 Tim Weiner — Pulitzer-prize winner (February 16 2017)

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Michael Flynn, Trump’s National Security Advisor, and Jill Stein attending the Russian State owned TV Gala as Putin’s guests (December 2015)

February 16 2017 — Journalist Tim Weiner, who won a Pulitzer Prize for investigating the CIA’s “black budget,” said the country is witnessing in real-time “a powerful counterintelligence investigation run by the FBI with the assistance of the CIA and the NSA that is targeting the top of this government.” Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
Continue reading →

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Rwanda — French Investigators Drop Habyarimana Plane Shooting Probe [UPDATE]

“We have to interpret this decision by French judges as a form of resignation faced with a political context which prosecutors did not know how to fight. Rwandan authorities have never sought to help bring the truth to light.”

Philippe Meilhac — Lawyer for Habyarimana’s widow

Presidents François Mitterrand and Juvenal Habyarimana (December 10 1984)

December 28 2018 — French judges have dropped a long-running investigation into the 1994 shooting down of a plane carrying the former Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana. His death triggered a genocide. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — Sexpionage : Markus Wolf & His Romeo Spies

“The ends did not always justify the means we chose to employ, but, as long as there is espionage, there will be Romeos seducing unsuspecting Juliets with access to secrets. After all, I was running an intelligence service, not a lonely-hearts club.”

Markus Wolf  aka The Man Without a Face

February 15 2018 — Sexpionage is a portmanteau word blending sex and espionage. The job combines the world’s oldest and second-oldest professions. On Valentine’s Day, the CIA posted a long piece about the “amorous arts” that spymasters use to obtain secrets from their targets. So, if you feel depressed because you were single on Valentine’s Day, remember this: things could be worse, a lot whole worse! Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — International Law and Cyber Warfare. From the Tallinn Manual to a Digital Geneva Convention?

“Moscow’s hacking and dumping of Democratic emails to WikiLeaks is not an initiation of armed conflict. It’s not a violation of the U.N. Charter’s prohibition on the use of force. It’s not a situation that would allow the U.S. to respond in self-defense militarily.”

Michael Schmit– Chairman of the U.S. Naval War College’s International Law Department

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February 15 2017 — Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has said he believes Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election amounted to an act of war. Legal scholars simply disagree. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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