Flashback — When Belgium Exported Nuke Tech to Iran

Posted on May 1, 2018 by L

“Having not correctly informed the competent authorities or its superior ministry, the [Belgian] state security service assuredly failed in its mission to provide information to the authorities and proved itself inefficient. (…) The service has not told the entire truth in the affair.”

Belgian Report — Investigation of the illegal export of dual-use technology to Iran

“Around mid-July 2004, the CIA informed the Belgian state security service that Iran Aircraft Industries was trying to buy an isostatic press in Belgium.”

Intel Today

May 1 2018 — On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed thousands of “secret Iranian nuclear files”. I will not comment on Bibi’s latest show. Clearly, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) knew these documents since 2005 and made public some of them in 2011. But one slide caught my attention and reminded me of an old — but still  disturbing — story. PS: Brownie points for the CIA on this one. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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Khan Shaykhun Chemical Attack — “The Truth, The Whole Truth, And Nothing But The Truth?”

Posted on May 1, 2018 by L

“This distinguishes this case (Salisbury) from that in Syria, where it could be determined that the sarin used in Khan Sheikhun most probably came from Syrian army stocks due to contamination in the investigated warfare agents and by means of comparative samples.”

Stefan Mogl — Former Spiez Lab (OPCW) Scientist

“Obama’s change of mind had its origins at Porton Down, the defence laboratory in Wiltshire. British intelligence had obtained a sample of the sarin used in the 21 August [2013] attack and analysis demonstrated that the gas used didn’t match the batches known to exist in the Syrian army’s chemical weapons arsenal.”

Seymour Hersh — The Red Line and the Rat Line

High quality photograph of the crater identified in the White House report as the source of the sarin attack. The dispenser looks like a 122 mm pipe like that used in the manufacture of artillery rockets. Notice a fractured seam that was created by the brittle failure of the metal skin when the pipe was suddenly crushed inward from above.

Based on the analysis of the sarin samples collected at Khan Shaykhun, the UN and  various governments — the US, UK and France — have attributed the attack to the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. At first, the analysis appears compelling. But have we been told the whole truth? Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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Chief Judge Colleen McMahon: CIA Disclosures To One Are Disclosures To All [UPDATE II]

Posted on April 30, 2018 by L

“The CIA is spectacularly terrible at responding to FOIA requests. It’s so bad it’s highly possible the perceived ineptness is deliberate. The CIA simply does not want to release documents. If it can’t find enough FOIA exemptions to throw at the requester, it gets creative.”

Tim Cushing — TechDirt (Legal Issues)

“If the CIA loses in this case, the unsavory practice of providing classified information only to sources willing to do the agency’s bidding will be dealt a setback.”

Paul Mirengoff — Powerline

“I suppose it is possible that the Government does not consider members of the press to be part of the public. I do.”

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon — Initial ruling

“A limited disclosure of information to three journalists does not constitute a disclosure to the public.”

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon — Final ruling

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

February 9 2018 — The CIA claims that it can hand over classified information to some — ‘very friendly’ — journalists and still pretend the information has not been made public. Chief Judge Colleen McMahon just made it clear and simple for the Agency: “You cannot have your cake and eat it too.” Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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CIA Director Nominee — Gina Haspel and the ‘Black Site’ in Thailand

Posted on April 30, 2018 by L

“Many experts believe it was situated at a former U.S. intelligence post in the remote northeastern province of Udon Thani. Some say it was at an air base southeast of Bangkok that U.S. forces have used as a refueling hub for flights into Afghanistan. Still others point to a section of Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport controlled by the Thai air force.”

Los Angeles Times — April 22 2018

“The Thai and English language press continue to highlight the story. Of greatest concern, one newspaper reported that the secret facility was housed on the grounds of the VOA facility in Udon Thani, in northeastern Thailand.”

US State Department cable — November 4 2005

“The decision was reached without input from the National Security Council at the White House, the State Department, the US ambassador in Thailand or even the CIA’s station chief in that country.”

Greg Miller and Adam Goldman –National Security Correspondents for The Washington Post (2004)

“The CIA’s use of its enhanced interrogation techniques was not an effective means of acquiring intelligence or gaining cooperation from detainees.”

 US Senate Intelligence Committee report (2014)

Udon Thani was the Asian Headquarters for Air America an American passenger and cargo airline covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It supplied and supported covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War

Thailand was home to the agency’s first secret prison, or “black site,” after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Even the prison’s location — code-named Detention Site Green — remains cloaked in mystery. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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OPCW Fact-Finding Mission Visits Second Site in Douma, Syria

Posted on April 30, 2018 by L

“Today, the FFM team carried out a visit to a second location in Douma. It also collected samples at this site. These samples will be brought back, together with other samples, to the OPCW laboratory in Rijswik. They will be split and dispatched for analysis by the OPCW designated labs.”

OPCW Fact-Finding Mission — April 25 2018

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 25 April 2018 — The Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) deployed to Damascus on 14 April 2018 to gather facts in connection with the reported use of chemical weapons in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic on 7 April 2018. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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Forensic science — FBI Bullet-Lead Technique Dead Wrong

Posted on April 29, 2018 by L

“For over thirty years, FBI experts testified about comparative bullet lead analysis (CBLA), a technique that was first used in the investigation into President Kennedy’s assassination. CBLA compares trace chemicals found in bullets at crime scenes with ammunition found in the possession of a suspect. (…) Although the FBI eventually ceased using CBLA, the Bureau’s conduct in first employing the technique and then defending it after it was challenged provides an insight into how forensic science sometimes works.”

Paul C. Giannelli

“We cannot afford to be misleading to a jury. We plan to discourage prosecutors from using our previous results in future prosecutions.”

Letter from Dwight E. Adams — then FBI lab Director — to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III

Forensic Analysis: Weighing Bullet Lead Evidence assesses the scientific validity of CABL, finding that the FBI should use a different statistical analysis for the technique and that, given variations in bullet manufacturing processes, expert witnesses should make clear the very limited conclusions that CABL results can support. The report also recommends that the FBI take additional measures to ensure the validity of CABL results, which include improving documentation, publishing details, and improving on training and oversight.

Since the 1960s, testimony by representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in thousands of criminal cases has relied on evidence from Compositional Analysis of Bullet Lead (CABL), a forensic technique that compares the elemental composition of bullets found at a crime scene to the elemental composition of bullets found in a suspect’s possession. Different from ballistics techniques that compare striations on the barrel of a gun to those on a recovered bullet, CABL is used when no gun is recovered or when bullets are too small or mangled to observe striations. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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CIA — Gina Haspel Assumes Role of Acting Director

Posted on April 29, 2018 by L

“I want to extend my sincere congratulations to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and I look forward to working with him and the rest of President Trump’s national security team.”

Gina Haspel — CIA Acting Director (April 26 2018)

April 26 2018 — Mike Pompeo has been confirmed as the new US Secretary of State. Deputy Director Gina C. Haspel is assuming the role of Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — The New Chiquita Papers : “Records Identify Banana Executives who Bankrolled Terror in Colombia”

Posted on April 29, 2018 by L

“Even after outside attorneys warned in February 2003 that it must stop payments to the outlaw paramilitary organization, Chiquita continued to pay the AUC for another 16 months. Until that point, Chiquita’s strategy, set forth by senior executives in Cincinnati, was to just let them sue us, come after us.”

The Chiquita Papers collection — National Security Archive — George Washington University

April 29 2017 — Ten years ago, Chiquita Brands International became the first U.S.-based corporation convicted of violating a U.S. law against funding an international terrorist group: the paramilitary United Self-defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).  Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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Wolf Blitzer : “Moral Issue? There Is a Lot of Jobs at Stake!”

Posted on April 28, 2018 by L

“Your really–REALLY–must watch this exchange between Rand Paul and Wolf Blitzer on the bombing of Yemen. I am speechless…”

Professor Dave Collum

Wolf Blitzer has a major concern: Stopping the $1.1 billion U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia could result in fewer jobs for arms manufacturers. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading →

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One Year Ago — Chomsky : “CIA Targeting of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks is Disgraceful Act”

Posted on April 28, 2018 by L

“We are going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks. This is a matter that’s gone beyond anything I’m aware of. We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious. So yes, it is a priority. We’ve already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail.”

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

April 28 2017 — US prosecutors are considering — and perhaps preparing — charges to seek the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for revealing sensitive government secrets. In an open letter published by the Washington Post, Assange wrote that the CIA director is waging war on truth-tellers. Noam Chomsky offers a few comments regarding this very controversial move from Trump’s administration. Glenn Greenwald warns journalists that they could be next. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY Continue reading →

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