On This Day — Soviet Union Launches SPUTNIK (October 4 1957)

Posted on October 4, 2025 by L

“What came to be known as the Space Race between the United States and the USSR began in 1957 when the Soviets launched the first satellite, Sputnik.”

President John F. Kennedy

Special Message to Congress
on Urgent National Needs
(May 25, 1961)

October 4 2025 — On October 4 1957, the Soviet Union launched SPUTNIK-1 into an elliptical low Earth orbit. It was a 58 cm (23 in) diameter polished metal sphere, with four external radio antennas to broadcast radio pulses.

Its radio signal was easily detectable even by amateurs, and the 65° inclination and duration of its orbit made its flight path cover virtually the entire inhabited Earth. This surprise success precipitated the American Sputnik crisis and triggered the Space Race, a key part of the Cold War. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — And thus a new syndrome was born… (Havana Syndrome – October 3 2017) [UPDATE : The CIA Hoax That Shaped Intelligence Politics]

Posted on October 3, 2025 by L

“If the facts are confirmed and if the effects are indeed caused by a physical device, I find the microwave explanation far more likely than a sonic attack.”

US Spies & the Havana Syndrome

INTEL TODAY
(October 3 2017)

October 3 2025 — On October 3rd 2017, INTEL TODAY coined the expression “Havana Syndrome” which is now universally used, both by mainstream media and the research community. In the same piece, I suggested for the very first time that microwave attacks, conducted for espionage, were the most likely explanation. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — Gaddafi Target of U.S. Disinformation (October 2 1986 — Bob Woodward) [Disinformation Goes Mainstream]

Posted on October 2, 2025 by L

“There is a wonderful book that you might read… And the title of it is from a quote from Winston Churchill: ‘In time of war, the truth is so precious, it must be attended by a bodyguard of lies.'”

Secretary of State George P. Shultz
(October 3 1986)

libya_bombing_reagan_meeting_14_march_1986
14 March 1986 — Reagan Strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi

October 2 2025 — On October 2 1986, the Washington Post published an extraordinary story written by legendary journalist Bob Woodward: “Gadhafi Target of Secret U.S. Deception Plan”. Under orders from the White House, the US Intelligence Community was planting false information in the US media. As a result of this scandal, the use of the word ‘disinformation’ became mainstream in the English language. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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35 Years Ago — US President George H. W. Bush condemns Iraq’s takeover of Kuwait at UN (October 1 1990) [Lockerbie & The Tehran Conspiracy Theory]

Posted on October 1, 2025 by L

“The United Nations Security Council’s resolute response to Iraq’s unprovoked aggression has been without precedent. Since the invasion on August 2nd, the Council has passed eight major resolutions setting the terms for a solution to the crisis.”

George H. W. Bush
US President
Address to the United Nations
(October 1st 1990)

October 1, 2025 — On October 1st 1990, US President George H. W. Bush condemned the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Many ‘Lockerbie experts’ have suggested and continue to argue that the “switch” from Iran & Syria to Libya occurred at that time as the result of realpolitik. This is nonsense! Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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Remembering CIA Rachel A. Dean (April 10, 1981 – September 30, 2006)

Posted on September 30, 2025 by L

“Rachel was a warm and compassionate young woman, and an officer of unbounded potential. We miss her still and will remember her always. She is our 87th star.”

CIA Director General Michael V. Hayden
May 21 2007

The Memorial Wall is a memorial at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of service. There are 140 stars carved into the white Alabama marble wall. At least eleven represent women.

September 30 2023 — Rachel Alexandra Dean joined CIA in January 2005. She died on September 30 2006 in a car accident while on temporary duty in Kazakhstan. She was 25. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today

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Remembering Enrico Fermi (September 29 1901 – November 28 1954) — Think like a Physicist! How many workers were necessary to build Khufu’s pyramid? [Fermi Problems]

Posted on September 29, 2025 by L

“For the making of the pyramid itself there passed a period of twenty years. They worked by a hundred thousand men at a time, for each three months continually.”

Herodotus
(484 – c. 425 BC)

Pyramids of Giza, soaring above the city of Cairo, Egypt 

September 29, 2025 — A ‘Fermi Question’ asks for a quick estimate of a quantity that seems difficult, or even impossible, to determine precisely. Fermi’s approach to such questions was to use common sense and rough estimates of quantities to piece together a ball-park value. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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Revisiting Havana Syndrome: Moscow Death Ray vs. CIA Hoax [UPDATE : Justice and Irony: Brennan’s Long Memory Meets Today’s Political Spotlight]

Posted on September 28, 2025 by L

“Agency heads at the time created a politically charged environment that triggered an atypical analytic process around an issue essential to our democracy.”

CIA Director John Ratcliffe
(July 2, 2025)

July 6, 2025 — This week, the CIA concluded a critical internal review casting serious doubts on the integrity of past intelligence narratives—highlighting strong circumstantial evidence that former CIA Director John Brennan played a central role in shaping, and possibly fabricating, key political allegations. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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On This Day — Stanislav Petrov Saves the World from Nuclear War (September 26 1983)

Posted on September 27, 2025 by L

“The siren howled. But I just sat there for a few seconds, staring at the big, back-lit, red screen with the word ‘LAUNCH’ on it.”

Colonel Stanislav Petrov

Stanislav Petrov, a former lieutenant colonel for the Soviet Air Defence Forces, is credited with correctly recognizing a false alarm while manning an early-warning missile defense system, thereby averting a Soviet retaliatory strike and nuclear war.

September 26 2025 — On September 26 1983 — just three weeks after the Soviet military had shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 — Stanislav Petrov was the duty officer at the command center for the Oko nuclear early-warning system when the system reported that a missile had been launched from the United States, followed by up to five more.

Petrov judged the reports to be a false alarm and his decision is credited with having prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States and its NATO allies that could have resulted in large-scale nuclear war. Investigation later confirmed that the Soviet satellite warning system had indeed malfunctioned. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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A Decade of Intel Today Predictions [Sarkozy, Uribe, and the Long Game]

Posted on September 26, 2025 by L

“I expect Sarkozy to learn a big lesson.”

Intel Today
February 11, 2021

September 26, 2025 — Just an old joke today… À la santé de Sarko! Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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Dead Man Diary : Sarkozy 2007 Presidential Election Campaign Funded by Gaddafi? [UPDATE : Nicolas Sarkozy given five-year prison sentence]

Posted on September 25, 2025 by L

“Sarkozy has to give back the money he accepted from Libya to finance his electoral campaign. We financed his campaign and we have the proof… The first thing we’re demanding is that this clown gives back the money to the Libyan people.”

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
(March 2011)

After becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to France with high honors later that year.

September 30 2016 — French news website ‘Mediapart’ has uncovered hard evidence documenting the funding of Sarkozy’s presidential campaign (2007) by Colonel Gaddafi.

UPDATE (March 1 2021) — Today, a Paris court found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence.

UPDATE (September 30 2021) — Today, Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to one year in prison for illegal campaign financing in his failed 2012 re-election bid.

UPDATE (May 11 2023) — France’s financial crimes prosecutors (PNF) said Sarkozy and 12 others should face trial over accusations they sought millions of euros in financing from the regime of then Libyan leader Gaddafi for his ultimately victorious campaign.

UPDATE (August 25 2023) — Sarkozy to face 2025 trial over alleged Libya funding

Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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