CIA — The “Secure the Package” Tool Kit

“What I see when I look at the [CIA] rectal tool kit is a great example of problem solving. Technology is designed to fixed hard problem.”

Dr. Vince Houghton — Historian and curator of the International Spy Museum

Former CIA Director John Brennan had to deal with very large Agency secret packages. This may explain some of his erratic behaviour…

In The Interview, a gorgeous female CIA officer (Lizzy Caplan) must quickly convince popular tabloid-TV show “Skylark Tonight” Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) to secure a package in his butt. The scene is quite hilarious. Guess what? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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On This Day — Tehran Frees US Hostages After 444 Days (January 20 1981)

“It is now very clear that there were two separate agreements, one the official agreement with Carter in Algeria, the other, a secret agreement with another party, which, it is now apparent, was Reagan. They made a deal with Reagan that the hostages should not be released until after Reagan became president. So, then in return, Reagan would give them arms. We have published documents which show that US arms were shipped, via Israel, in March, about 2 months after Reagan became president.”

Former Iranian President Abolhassan Banisadr

On January 20 1981, 20 minutes after Reagan concluded his inaugural address, the Islamic Republic of Iran announced the release of the release of 52 Americans being held hostage in Iran since November 4 1979. Allegations that the Reagan administration negotiated a delay in the release of the hostages until after the 1980 presidential election have been numerous. Gary Sick, principal White House aide for Iran and the Persian Gulf on the Carter administration’s National Security Council, claimed in his book “October Surprise: America’s Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan” that CIA Director William Casey and possibly Vice President George H. W. Bush went to Paris to negotiate such a delay. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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CIA — The Curious Story of Cynthia “Didi” Rapp [Deputy Director for Analysis]

“Didi Rapp brings broad, deep expertise from across the Agency and the Intelligence Community to her new role as the head of our Directorate of Analysis. With her engaging leadership style and reputation for objectivity, Didi will excel in leading our talented analytic cadre.”

Brittany Bramell — CIA Director of public affairs

“Given the network performance issues on March 27-28, 2012, the only message to reach Mr. Sanger from the CIA press officer [Cynthia “Didi” Rapp] in this particular exchange was a standard auto-message generated by a network device.”

Dean Boyd — CIA spokesperson

“Sanger’s book acknowledges that he withheld information at the request of government officials. The extent of Sanger’s collaboration with [Acting CIA Director Mike]  Morell and the fact that the men apparently discussed sensitive information is noteworthy in light of the Obama administration’s unprecedented campaign against government leakers.”

J K Trotter — Gizmodo (November 2016)

January 19 2019 — CIA Director Gina Haspel has appointed another woman to the top-level of the agency, naming Cynthia “Didi” Rapp as Deputy Director for analysis, essentially the top analyst in the CIA. Good news! Some folks have finally figured out to whom the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act actually applies. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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One Year Ago — Ex-CIA Officer Suspected of Spying for China [Jerry Chun Shing Lee]

“The disclosure [of this information] could have caused exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States.”

Anonymous FBI investigator

“Some former officials who reviewed the evidence described the case against Mr. Lee as strong but circumstantial, not bulletproof. Some at the C.I.A. argued that officials were too quick to suspect a mole — especially a Chinese-American — when there were other explanations.”

New York Times

January 19 2018 — A former Central Intelligence Agency officer was arrested at JFK airport on Monday night (January 15 2018 ). According to the charges, Lee illegally retained highly classified information. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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Two Years Ago — Obama’s Crackdown on National Security Leaks

“Leaks related to national security can put people at risk. They can put men and women in uniform that I’ve sent into the battlefield at risk. I don’t think the American people would expect me, as commander in chief, not to be concerned about information that might compromise their missions or might get them killed.”

President Obama — News conference (2013)

“The current state of whistleblowing prosecutions under the Espionage Act makes a truly fair trial wholly unavailable to an American who has exposed classified wrongdoing. Legal scholars have strongly argued that the US Supreme Court – which has never yet addressed the constitutionality of applying the Espionage Act to leaks to the American public – should find the use of it overbroad and unconstitutional in the absence of a public interest defense.”

Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg

ellsberg

January 19 2017 — Out of a total ten prosecutions under the Espionage Act against government officials accused of providing classified information to the media, seven have occurred during Obama’s Presidency. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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On This Day — U.S. Admits CIA Payments to Noriega (January 19 1991)

“US officials in Central America failed to address this drug issue for fear of jeopardising the war efforts against Nicaragua… and senior US policymakers were not immune to the idea that drug money was a perfect solution to the Contras’ funding problems.”

US Senator John Kerry

January 19 2019 — On January 19 1991, the US Federal Government finally admitted that the Central Intelligence Agency had paid General  Manuel Antonio Noriega during his relationship of more than 31 years with the United States. Better late than never! Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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On This Day — Argentina Prosecutor Alberto Nisman Is Suicided (December 5 1963 – January 18 2015)

“Over the next few weeks, every Argentine seemed to have an opinion about how Nisman had died; the case became the Latin-American equivalent of the J.F.K. assassination, grist for conspiracy theories involving spies and foreign governments and conniving politicians. Posters across Buenos Aires asked: Who killed Nisman?”

The New Yorker

“I am not going to speculate because I do not know who killed him but, yes, there are possibly ‘dark forces’ at work in this country.”

Horacio Verbitzky — Argentina journalist and human rights campaigner

“The challenge is very complex. If this had been investigated differently from the start, this would be a whole different thing.”

Federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano

Argentina Prosecutor Alberto Nisman (December 5 1963 – January 18 2015)

The 52-year-old was found dead in his apartment on January 18 2015. Four years later, the mysterious death of special prosecutor Albert Nisman is still an unresolved case.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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5G — Will European Countries Ban Huawei? [UPDATE : Poland calls for joint EU-NATO stance]

“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

“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)

“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)

“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

December 5 2018 — The United States, Australia and New Zealand have already blocked Huawei from building their new 5G networks on security grounds. On Wednesday (Dec. 5), Britain’s BT Group said it would rip Huawei equipment from its core telecom network. Canada is also likely to ban Huawei.

On Friday (Dec. 7), it was 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. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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One Year Ago — Steven Spielberg to Direct Pentagon Papers Film [UPDATE : Film Review]

“For an American to be patriotic is to be loyal to the principles of our Constitution, and the First Amendment. The truth is that the policies of the government is sometimes in conflict with that. In our country, patriotism should not be defined as obedience to an authority.”

Daniel Ellsberg

“A much bigger hats off to the movie as a whole, a commercial feature film that focuses on a core concern of our time—the role of honest, fearless journalism in a free society—and rises to it with steady intelligence and the unforced beauty of Meryl Streep’s performance.”

Wall Street Journal

March 7 2017 — Spielberg’s next movie “The Post” is a film about American journalists challenging the US government over whistleblowing documents leaked by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971. Update (January 18 2018) — “The Post” was released on January 12 2018 and received highly positive reviews. A year ago, I wrote: “My feeling is that there is an audience for such movies and documentaries right now.” The $50m-budgeted 20th Century Fox release earned $18.6m over the Friday-Sunday frame. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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Two Years Ago — Chelsea Manning Sentence Commuted. No Presidential Pardon for Ex-CIA Jeffrey Sterling

“At the same time that Mr. Obama commuted the sentence of Ms. Manning, a low-ranking enlisted soldier at the time of her leaks, he also pardoned James E. Cartwright, the retired Marine general and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who pleaded guilty to lying about his conversations with reporters to F.B.I. agents investigating a leak of classified information about cyberattacks on Iran’s nuclear program.”

Charles Savage — NYT (January 17 2017)

Jsterling

January 18 2017 — Chelsea Manning will be released in the spring 2017, so that is good news for her and her family. Unfortunately, Jeffrey Sterling’s name was not on the list of people receiving clemency. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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