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

Posted on January 19, 2019 by L

“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

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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)

Posted on January 19, 2019 by L

“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)

Posted on January 18, 2019 by L

“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]

Posted on January 18, 2019 by L

“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]

Posted on January 18, 2019 by L

“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

Posted on January 18, 2019 by L

“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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On This Day — Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner Dies (January 18 2018)

Posted on January 18, 2019 by L

“Turner’s most disturbing discovery was the harsh questioning and illegal imprisonment that the Agency’s Counterintelligence Staff had imposed for several years on Soviet defector Yuri Nosenko. This convinced him that CIA could be a dangerous organization if not kept closely accountable to the DCI, the President, and the Congress.”

CIA History Staff

“I think Mike Hayden is extremely well qualified for the job, but there is this big question mark over the legality of the wiretapping that was done under his supervision. I happen to think it was illegal.”

Former DCI Admiral Stansfield Turner — (On the nomination of  General Michael Hayden as head of the CIA )

Former DCI Stansfield Turner died on January 18 2018 at home in Seattle, Washington.  Turner was sworn in as 12th DCI on 9 March 1977 and remained at the helm of the Agency until January 20, 1981. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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Boris Hagelin — The Swiss Businessman Who Sold The World Out

Posted on January 17, 2019 by L

“I am the 20th century’s greatest spy.”

Boris Hagelin — Private discussion with his brother-in-law Sixten Svensson

“Further evidence suggesting that the Crypto AG machines were compromised was revealed after the assassination of former Iranian Prime Minister Shahpour Bakhtiar in 1991.”

Intel Today (December 29 2007)

“The different versions of the report make clear Friedman – described as special assistant to the director, NSA – went with a proposal agreed not just by US, but also British intelligence. Friedman offered Hagelin time to think his proposal over, but Hagelin accepted on the spot.”

BBC Gordon Corera (July 28 2015)

CX 52 Hagelin Machine recovered from the Ndola crash site

A decade ago, I suggested that Crypto AG had been actively working with the British and US Intelligence Agencies. Specifically, I argued that Crypto AG had rigged the equipment used by diplomats around the world to allow the NSA and GCHQ to decode in real-time their messages. These claims were vindicated by US government documents declassified in 2015. End of the story? Not quite. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — PUTIN : “Trump Dossier Is Utter Nonsense”

Posted on January 17, 2019 by L

“I find it hard to imagine he [Mr Trump] ran to a hotel to meet our girls of ‘low social responsibility’… though they are of course also the best in the world. But I doubt Trump took that bait.”

Russia President Vladimir Putin

“That [Steele dossier] is a garbage document. It never should have been presented in — as part of an intelligence briefing.”

US journalist Bob Woodward

“When spies get angry, they call reporters and arrange discreet chats in parking garages. The last president who entered the Oval Office with this much dislike and distrust of the IC was Richard Nixon—and we know how that worked out for him.”

John R. Schindler — Former NSA and professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College

“I can tell you right now Brennan is an asshole. I have known all these people for years. Clapper is — sort of — a better guy but not a rocket scientist. The NSA guys are fucking morons. You know the trouble with all of those guys is that the only way they are going to make it to a board, or two, and get hired (…) to deliver some fat cat contracts is if Hillary stayed in.”

Seymour Hersh [Phone interview]

putinseagal

January 17 2017 — Russian President Vladimir Putin describes allegations his country holds compromising material on US President-elect Donald Trump as “utter nonsense”. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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On This Day — Reagan Approves Covert Arms Sales to Iran (January 17, 1986)

Posted on January 17, 2019 by L

“My purpose was… to send a signal that the United States was prepared to replace the animosity between [the U.S. and Iran] with a new relationship… At the same time we undertook this initiative, we made clear that Iran must oppose all forms of international terrorism as a condition of progress in our relationship. The most significant step which Iran could take, we indicated, would be to use its influence in Lebanon to secure the release of all hostages held there.”

US President Ronald Reagan (November 13, 1986)

“I have known Mehdi Hashemi inside out since our childhood. He is a devout Muslim, a militant revolutionary, and a great admirer of the Imam.”

Ayatollah Montazeri (September 1987)

libya_bombing_reagan_meeting_14_march_1986

Under the January 17 1986 Presidential Finding — which CIA director William Casey and CIA General Counsel Stanley Sporkin helped Colonel Oliver North put together — the U.S. Army sold the TOW missiles to the CIA, who in turn passed them on to general Secord, who then delivered them to Iranian agents. Crazy enough? The Reagan administration then used the proceeds of the arms sale to fund terrorists in Central America. This is not Fake News. This is History. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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