On This Day — President Truman Creates the Central Intelligence Group (January 22, 1946)

“At lunch today in the White House, with only members of the Staff present, Rear Admiral Sidney Souers and I were presented [by President Truman] with black cloaks, black hats, and wooden daggers, and the President read an amusing directive to us outlining some of our duties in the Central Intelligence Agency [sic], ‘Cloak and Dagger Group of Snoopers’.”

Admiral William Leahy (January 22 1946)

On January 22 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the directive establishing the National Intelligence Authority and the Central Intelligence Group. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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5G — Will European Countries Ban Huawei? [UPDATE — Canada Former Spy Chief : “Ignore the threats and ban Huawei”]

“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 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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CIA Master of Disguise Tony Mendez Dies at 78

“We always say there’s nothing as lovely as the feeling of wheels up. In this case we were still in Iranian airspace for a while, so everybody was holding their breath until we were out of Iran completely. And then we had a celebration.”

Tony Mendez — Operation Canadian Caper

“Tony Mendez was a true American hero. He was a man of extraordinary grace, decency, humility and kindness. He never sought the spotlight for his actions, he merely sought to serve his country. I’m so proud to have worked for him and to have told one of his stories.”

Ben Affleck — American actor and filmmaker

“He was a brilliant man, a gifted artist, and a true American hero. I will miss him enormously.”

Christy Fletcher —  Literary manager 

Tony Mendez, the retired CIA agent who was played by Ben Affleck in the movie ARGO

Antonio Joseph Mendez (November 15, 1940 – January 19, 2019) was an American CIA technical operations officer who specialized in support of clandestine and covert CIA operations. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_Today Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — Spy Schools : How the CIA, FBI and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America’s Universities

“Kenneth Moskow is one of a long line of CIA officers who have enrolled undercover at the Kennedy School, generally with Harvard’s knowledge and approval, gaining access to up-and-comers worldwide. For four decades the CIA and Harvard have concealed this practice, which raises larger questions about academic boundaries, the integrity of class discussions and student interactions, and whether an American university has a responsibility to accommodate U.S. intelligence.”

 Daniel Golden —  Investigative journalist

January 21 2018 — A new book documents how US foreign and domestic intelligence agencies use — and perhaps exploit — higher education and academe for spy operations. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — SEXPIONAGE : From Russia with Love

“Every westerner who goes to Moscow knows that some girl may get into his bedroom, but people continue to get trapped… It’s human nature, I suppose.”

Phillip Knightley — “The Second Oldest Profession — Spies and Spying in the Twentieth Century”

“[The ghost-written book] got me right, it has got me emotionally right. There’s one word I don’t like: ‘Ruining my life may not seem very important to some, considering what I was, just a pretty scrubber…’ I wanted them to change it to ‘tart.’ ‘Scrubber’ implies someone who can’t talk properly and wears horrible clothes, but I always spoke well and had good clothes. I’ve always had a bit of class to me. I’m sure Jack Profumo wouldn’t have gone out with a scrubber. Perhaps they should have written ‘just a pretty nobody.’”

Christine Keeler — Interview by Simon Hoggart about her second autobiography (The Observer – March 13, 1983)

keeler

Lewis Morley’s 1963 portrait of Christine Keeler became an iconic image of the cold war.

January 21 2017 — The long, distinguished and surprisingly varied list of known KGB entrapment victims since World War II proves that no category of western resident in Moscow has been immune from the charms of Soviet “swallows” and “ravens”.  “Honey traps” may indeed be a Russian specialty, but let us not forget that, just like hacking, all Intel Agencies are using the old technique. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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On This Day — United Nations Security Council Adopts Resolution 731 (January 21 1992)

“So Resolution 731 was adopted. Everyone at the Security Council knew it was wrong. Everyone knew that Libya had nothing to do with the Lockerbie bombing, and that Libya had once again been made a scapegoat by the United States.”

Francis Boyle — International Law professor

Professor Boyle teaches public international law, international human rights law, jurisprudence, and a seminar on the constitutional law of U.S. foreign affairs.

On January 21 1992, after recalling UN Resolutions 286 (1970) and 635 (1989) which condemned acts of terrorism, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 731. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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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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