Norway & Russia– Former Border Inspector Behind Bars in Moscow on Charges of Espionage [UPDATE III]

“Frode must come home, and Norwegian authorities must do what they can to get him out. It is not a good signal when such a positive and distinguished bridge-builder like Frode is arrested, it is not a good sign.”

Kirkenes town Mayor Rune Rafaelsen

“Once again we see the effects of big politics hitting us here locally, and we demand an end to that!”

Father Torbjørn Brox Webber

“I would not characterise the case as a global attack on bilateral relations. We have a relationship with Norway which develops in different areas. These kind of things happen, and it is uncomfortable, [but] our national legislation provides for adequate measures.”

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (December 28 2017)

Frode Berg, a 62 retired border inspector, was arrested by Russian security service agents in downtown Moscow on December 5th 2017. He is jailed  in isolation at the high-security Lefortovo prison.

Berg was allegedly caught receiving classified material about the Russian Navy that he is accused of planning to hand over to Norwegian and U.S. intelligence agencies. Berg claims that he was duped into working for Norway’s national intelligence agency.

On October 30 2018, the Moscow City Court has upheld the expanded arrest until December 5 2018. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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General Qassem Soleimani : “I Will Stand Against You” [UPDATE]

“Come! We are waiting.  You start this war, but we will finish it.”

Major-General Soleimani — Head of the elite Quds Force

“Iran will continue selling oil. We will proudly break the sanctions.”

Iran President Hassan Rouhani

The leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, General Qassem Soleimani, has responded to US President Donald Trump’s announcement that “Sanctions Are Coming’ with a Game of Thrones inspired meme of his own. But make no mistake. This is no child’s play. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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LOCKERBIE 30th Anniversary — PT/35(b) : “A RIDDLE, WRAPPED IN A MYSTERY, INSIDE AN ENIGMA.”

“PT/35(b) was extremely, extremely dodgy. It was very, very suspicious. The way it suddenly appeared, embedded in a shirt collar, with the information on the page overwritten and changed, all police procedures were thrown out of the window.”

Rev. John Mosey

“Dr. Hayes seemed to have no real recollection independently of his notes of having found PT/35(b).  The sequence of the PT numbering and the absence from the notes of a drawing of the circuit board are unusual features.  The pagination of the notes was described by Hayes as “an unfathomable mystery” , for which he did propose an explanation, but unfortunately one that does not work. The memorandum of the 15th of September 1989 is difficult to understand if the fragment was indeed found on the 12th of May 1989. PT/35(b) is an important piece of evidence on which the Crown rely and in respect of which it is for the Crown to satisfy the court as to its provenance.  I submit that the irregularities and peculiarities which attend this item are some which the court ought to have some hesitation in being satisfied as to the item’s provenance.”

Lockerbie trial, page 9624.

PI 995 : The collar of a “SLALOM” shirt from which PT/35(b) was allegedly extracted

PT/35(b) is a small fragment of a timer circuit that was allegedly found among the debris of Pan Am 103 near the town of Lockerbie. After many years of studies, I have come to the conclusion that PT/35(b) is a forgery that was planted among the debris to implicate Libya in the bombing of Pan Am 103 and to steer the investigation away from the original suspects.

To mark the 30th Anniversary of the Pan Am 103 tragedy, INTEL TODAY will re-post one of our best Lockerbie stories every Wednesday until the end of the year. We would like to know what you think. Please, take this poll and encourage your friends to participate.

Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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Remembering the Greatest Spies — Richard Sorge (October 18 1941 – November 7 1944)

“Richard Sorge’s brilliant espionage work saved Stalin and the Soviet Union from defeat in the fall of 1941, probably prevented a Nazi victory in World War II and thereby assured the dimensions of the world we live in today.”

Larry Collins

“The spies in history who can say from their graves, the information I supplied to my masters, for better or worse, altered the history of our planet, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Richard Sorge was in that group.”

Frederick Forsyth

“Somehow, amidst the Bonds and Smiley’s People, we have ignored the greatest of 20th century spy stories – that of Stalin’s Sorge, whose exploits helped change history.”

US Journalist Carl Bernstein

“Richard Sorge was the best spy of all time.”

Tom Clancy

On October 18, 1941, Richard Sorge was arrested in Tokyo. He was hanged on November 7 1944, at 10:20 Tokyo time in Sugamo Prison. A number of famous personalities — from General Douglas MacArthur to James Bond’s father and former MI6 Ian Fleming — considered him one of the most accomplished spies. Sorge is proof that one spy can alter the History of our world. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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On This Day — Colombia Palace of Justice Under Siege (November 6 1985)

“Colombia has moved on… Colombia has forgotten the Palace of Justice siege.”

Ana Carrigan — “The Palace of Justice: A Colombian Tragedy”

The Palace of Justice siege (Toma del Palacio de Justicia in Spanish) was a 1985 attack against the Supreme Court of Colombia, in which members of the M-19 Marxist guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, Colombia, and held the Supreme Court hostage, intending to hold a trial against President Belisario Betancur.  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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Two Years Ago — Why the CIA & MI6 Love to Hate Putin

“With the majority vote for Brexit against the strong preference of Scotland and Northern Ireland for remain, we have shown ourselves quite capable of inflicting potentially fatal harm to our national stability all by ourselves. Why would we need Russia to do it for us?”

The Guardian — 1st November 2016

“Putin has become a symbol of national sovereignty in its battle with globalism. That turns out to be the big battle of our times. As our last election [2016] shows, that’s true even here [in the US].”

Christopher Caldwell

“We have been here in St. Petersburg for about a week now. And virtually every person we have met on the street says what they respect about you is they feel that you have returned dignity to Russia, that you’ve returned Russia to a place of respect. You’ve been in the leadership of this country for 17 years now. Has it taken any sort of personal toll on you?”

Megyn Kelly — Interview with President Vladimir Putin

November 6 2016 — Here is a simple question: Why on earth are Western Intelligence Agencies — and their servile media — spending so much time and energy to depict Russian President Vladimir Putin as an evil monster? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — “US Government Determined to Change the Behavior of Ayatollah Khomeini”

“Today, Secretary Mnuchin and I will discuss one of the many lines of effort to achieve these fundamental changes in the Iranian regime’s behavior as directed by the President. While important, these economic sanctions are just a part of the U.S. Government’s total effort to change the behavior of the Ayatollah Khomeini, Qasem Soleimani, and the Iranian regime.”

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo (November 2 2018)

“Lots of luck with that.”

General Michael Hayden — Former NSA & CIA Director (Tweet – November 2 2018)

On November 2 2018, the Trump administration held a briefing on reimposing sanctions on Iran. Secretary of State Pompeo said that the sanctions are “just a part of the U.S. Government’s total effort to change the behavior of the Ayatollah Khomeini.” Let us just say that the former Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran is simply making no bones about the U.S. sanctions. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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On This Day — Robert Gates Becomes 15th CIA Director (November 6 1991) [Test your “Spy Knowledge” with our CIA Directors Quiz!]

“If Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us anything in recent history, it is the unpredictability of war and that these things are easier to get into than to get out of.”

Former CIA Director Robert Gates

cia-logo-floor

Robert Gates was nominated to become the Director of Central Intelligence (head of the CIA) in early 1987. He withdrew his name after it became clear the Senate would reject the nomination due to controversy about his role in the Iran-Contra affair. Gates was nominated again for the position by President George H. W. Bush on May 14, 1991. This time, he was confirmed by the Senate on November 5, and sworn in on November 6 1991.

How much do you know about spy agencies? Take this quiz to find out your knowledge of the CIA Directors. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading

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One Year Ago — Gordon Brown : “UK Misled Over Iraqi WMDs”

“Given that Iraq had no usable chemical, biological or nuclear weapons that it could deploy and was not about to attack the coalition, then two tests of a just war were not met: war could not be justified.”

Gordon Brown — Former UK Prime Minister

Gordon Brown

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown

November 5 2017 — Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote that US intelligence — which challenged the extent of Iraq’s WMD stockpile — was not shared with the UK before it joined the Iraq War. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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On This Day — Ayatollah Khomeini Declares US “The Great Satan” (November 5 1979)

“In this revolution, the Great Satan is America that gathers around other devils blatantly… If we see the US, this great Satan, raising chain and bringing the devils together around him, it is because the US grip over our country and our resources curtailed.”

Ayatollah Khomeini (November 5 1979)

In a speech delivered on November 5 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini used the term “Great satan” to describe the United States. Today, November 5 2018, the full US sanctions against Iran go into effect. Coincidence? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading

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