CIA & Torture — Gina Haspel Thailand Cables Declassified (UPDATE: Detailed Chronology Released)

Posted on October 19, 2018 by L

“These cables confirm the findings of the Senate Intel report, and show why the release of a nominee’s FULL record before confirmation is absolutely necessary. We shouldn’t rely on restricted & incomplete records to evaluate nominees – whether to the Cabinet or the Supreme Court.”

Senator Dianne Feinstein — Twitter (August 10 2018)

“11 cables withheld during Haspel’s confirmation to be CIA Director reveal the brutal and ineffective torture she oversaw.”

 Marcy Wheeler  (emptywheel) — Twitter (August 10 2018)

“Torture remains an unconscionable act ordered by immoral cowards and carried out by the timid whose wicked souls seek the thrill of power wielded over the defenseless. Torture drains the honor of a nation. Torturers stain the soul of a nation.”

Steven Kleinman — Former Intelligence Officer

Gina Haspel sworn in as Director of the CIA

August 11 2018 — Newly released cables obtained by the National Security Archive detail torture techniques the CIA used to interrogate Qaeda captives at a secret prison in Thailand. These cables were written by the current CIA Director Gina Haspel who oversaw these interrogations while she was the chief of Station in Thailand.

UPDATE October 18, 2018 – The National Security Archive’s Freedom of Information lawsuit against the CIA has won release of the previously censored dates and times on cables sent by future CIA director Gina Haspel when she commanded a CIA black site in Thailand in 2002 where interrogators tortured and waterboarded an al-Qaeda suspect, according to the new documents posted on the Archive’s Web site today. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — Black Monday (October 19 1987)

Posted on October 19, 2018 by L

“Many people remember the events leading up to October 19, 1987. Unfortunately, very few of them recall the specifics. When many people talk about the dramatic drop in the overall stock market, they either blame a single cause (portfolio insurance) or treat the market fall as if it were something that came from out of the blue. Far from being a lightning strike or an act of God, the crash was a single event caused by a complex series of interconnected events.”

Black Monday — The Motley Fool

“That (the 1988 US shoot down of Iran Air Flight 655), in itself, generates a sequence of events that comes back to haunt us. So it’s interesting to look at these in hindsight. We used to look at them as kind of discrete events, not tied to each other, and seen in a vacuum. But from a distance, I think we can see more of a pattern.”

Vincent Cannistraro — Director of Intelligence Programs for the U. S. National Security Council (1984 to 1987)

In the morning October 19, 1987, two U.S. warships shelled an Iranian oil platform in the Persian Gulf in response to Iran’s Silkworm missile attack on the Sea Isle City. The stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value, its largest single-day percentage drop. The day became known as “Black Monday”.

In a FRONTLINE interview, Former CIA Vincent Cannistraro explained his view on the whole affair going from the Iran-Contra scandal (November 3 1986) to the shoot down of Iran Airbus 655 (July 3 1988), and eventually to the Lockerbie tragedy (December 21 1988). Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — Former Head of Belgian Security Service: “Terrorists Will Hit Brussels Again”

Posted on October 18, 2018 by L

“We must accept to live with the idea that other attacks are likely, that other attacks will happen. The potential actors are already here.”

Alain Winants — Former Head of the Belgian State Security Service (October 2016)

alain_winants_2

October 19 2016 — Today, Alain Winants — Former Head of the Belgian State Security Service — made it very clear: “Brussels is the perfect target for terrorists.” Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

Continue reading →

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On This Day — Russia Spy Richard Sorge Arrested in Tokyo (October 18 1941)

Posted on October 18, 2018 by L

“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

“The (Richard Sorge secret) documents clearly indicate and give a warning about the fact that state institutions tend to hide facts in critical occasions.”

Naoki Ota — Sorge Incident specialist and a professor emeritus of Tokai University (August 2018)

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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Former CIA Director Mike Morell : “CIA Needs Help and Time to Understand Saudi Missing Journalist Case.” Where is Pompeo Crack Team?

Posted on October 18, 2018 by L

“They started throwing out the rules long ago.  If the Saudis get away with Istanbul it won’t be long before they start going after journalists inside our borders.”

Former CIA officer Bob Baer — Email to Intel Today (October 13 2018)

“Our relationship with the United States is historic and strategic. Any attempts to undermine that will falter.”

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef (February 2017)

Reporter: Did they say that Khashoggi was alive or dead?

Secretary Pompeo: I don’t want to talk about any of the facts. They didn’t want to either.

Robert Maguire

“Do this (torturing Khashoggi) outside; you’re going to get me in trouble.”

 Saudi consul general Mohammed al-Otaibi

The US president said Saudi Arabia’s government deserves “severe punishment” if it killed Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi. Former CIA Director Mike Morell says the CIA needs help and time — a few weeks — to understand what actually happened. Not so long ago, CIA Director Mike Pompeo explained how the CIA could solve a far greater puzzle — the 2017 Khan Shaykhoun chemical attack — in just 24 hours by assembling a team of experts. Flashback. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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On This Day — Al Capone Convicted of Income Tax Evasion (October 17 1931)

Posted on October 17, 2018 by L

“They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.”

“Capitalism gives all of us a great opportunity if we seize it with both hands and hang on to it.”

“A smile can get you far, but a smile with a gun can get you further.”

“All I ever did was sell beer and whiskey to our best people. All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular. Why, the very guys that make my trade good are the ones that yell the loudest about me. Some of the leading judges use the stuff.”

Chicago gangster Al Capone

On October 17, 1931, Chicago gangster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and later sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, ending his control of the Chicago underworld. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Lockerbie 30th Anniversary — PT/35(b) : The Most Expensive Forgery in History [Poll]

Posted on October 17, 2018 by L

“Without PT/35(b), there would have been no indictment.”

Richard Marquise — FBI Agent who led the US side of the Lockerbie investigation

“I regard the Lockerbie verdict against Megrahi as a ‘Grand Monument to Human Stupidity’.  Indeed, the written opinion of the Lockerbie judges is a remarkable document that claims an ‘honoured place in the history of British miscarriages of justice.’ If the SCCRC Commission accepts the application for a full review, the infamous Zeist verdict doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving.”

INTEL TODAY — July 5 2017

“If Ludwig is correct — and he usually is — and the type of copper used in PT35b can be dated 1989 / early 90s, then it adds enormously to the evidence that the fragment was not found by Hayes in May 1989 as claimed. I have consistently claimed this since 2002 but following on from John Ashton’s achievements re the tinning this could be the biggest breakthrough to date.”

George Thomson — Lockerbie Investigator (October 4 2015)

“Once more, careful analysis of tiny bits of evidence and expert opinions appears to show that police and other officials have misrepresented and distorted the facts. It brings us back, yet again, to the question: can all of these misrepresentations of evidence really be adequately explained by stupidity?”

Paul Feeney — British Terrorism Expert

DP/508 A

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.

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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 more than ten years of investigation, 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. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — The Real Story Behind Netflix’s Narcos

Posted on October 17, 2018 by L

“What we’ve learned is that if you look at history what happened with the Medellin Cartel after we took them down, Cali Cartel got stronger, right? Then we take them down, and North Valle Cartel takes over. We’re taking down cartels, and another cartel is born.”

Javier Pena — Former DEA officer

“Cocaine supply and usage in the United States is rising and will likely continue to expand in the near term based upon a body of rising indicators, though some usage indicators may increase at slower rates than others. Barring a significant shift in the Government of Colombia’s (GOC) policies, drug trafficking organization (DTO) behavior, or U.S. drug consumer preferences, this trend is likely to amplify through at least 2018.”

DEA Intelligence Brief (August 2017)

 

October 17 2017 — Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Javier Pena was one of two US agents who was instrumental in bringing down Pablo Escobar and the notorious Medellin Cartel. Pena and his partner Steve Murphy, both depicted in Narcos, were consultants on the show’s first two seasons. After the death of Escobar, the real-life Pena went back to Colombia to crack the Cali Cartel. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Two Years Ago — Europe Most Wanted (Paris and Brussels Attacks)

Posted on October 16, 2018 by L

“Mr Atar’s situation is being followed closely. Repeated requests made by Belgium to the Iraqi government to consider an early release for humanitarian reasons have been fruitless so far.”

Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs — October 9, 2010

attar-oussama

Oussama Atar

October 16 2016 — Oussama Atar, a Belgian of Moroccan descent, is almost certainly the mastermind of the Paris and Brussels attacks. Question: why was he living freely when he should have been kept in a Iraqi jail? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — Maltese Investigative Blogger Killed in Car Bomb

Posted on October 16, 2018 by L

“The best way to think of Daphne Caruana Galizia is as a one-woman WikiLeaks, crusading against untransparency and corruption in Malta, an island nation famous for both. To John Dalli, a former European commissioner whom she helped bring down in a tobacco lobbying scandal, Galizia is “a terrorist.” To opposition MPs, she’s a political force of nature, one who fortunately has her guns aimed at the other side of the aisle. ‘She single-handedly brought the government to the verge of collapse,’ says one MP. ”

Denise Nestor — POLITICO (October 2017)

“It appears that absolutely nothing is happening. When we asked for updates, the response from the prosecutor [who is also the attorney general] was to mock us publicly, saying that they cannot provide a ‘running commentary’  – that was the name of my mother’s blog. It appears that there is a complete cover up and a complete lack of will to investigate the motive for the assassination and the people who ordered it.”

Journalist Matthew Caruana Galizia (October 2018)

“A year of soul-searching, monthly demonstrations and revelations that ebb and flow in Italian media have not brought Malta much closer to finding the truth about the murder. Arrests of three suspects have not led to the masterminds. The memorial in front of the court has become an unlikely battleground to define how to remember the slain journalist, who focused on nepotism, corruption, and anything she considered to be in bad taste in those close to power.”

Deutsche Welle  (October 2018)

Daphne Caruana Galizia — 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017

October 16 2017 VALLETTA  – Daphne Caruana Galizia — Malta’s best-known investigative journalist — was killed on Monday (October 16 2017)  when a powerful bomb blew up her car. Galizia was 53 and leaves a husband and three sons. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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