“We cannot have a leadership vacuum at an agency as important to the United States as the FBI. It is time that this difficult chapter in the agency’s history is brought to a close.”
President Bill Clinton — White House press conference (July 19 1993)
July 19 2020 — On July 19 1993, President Clinton dismissed FBI Director William Sessions. Clinton’s decision was based on a report by outgoing Attorney General William P. Barr. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
Continue reading“The fact that people didn’t evacuate or get the warnings suggests that something is going wrong. If you’ve got some information about what risk you’re at and you can understand it, you can take action to protect yourself. These floods were huge. Probably they were like a fantasy or a kind of science-fiction movie for people.”
Hannah Cloke — Professor of hydrology at Reading University
July 20 2021 — Belgium and Germany knew that huge floods were coming. Yet, the early warnings were not passed to the population. Scientists believe that this ‘monumental failure of the system’ is directly to blame for the death of at least 200 people in Germany and Belgium. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
Continue reading“How do you remove the wrapping from a gift you’ve been given? How do you unpack the stories that are shared with you in order to discover what’s contained within — what most people refer to as the ‘moral’ or the ‘message’? There are many ways to do this. There is no one, ‘right’ way.”
The Art of Unpacking Stories — Mitch Ditkoff
June 29 2021 — The time has come to unpack the mysteries. Four years ago, I coined the expression “Havana Syndrome” which implied a link between the (then) recent Havana attacks and the old story of the Microwave Syndrome in Moscow. Considering the known facts, it seemed plausible that the ‘diplomats’ posted in Havana were the victims of a spying operation using microwaves. This hypothesis was ridiculed at the time but today, it is regarded as the most likely theory by the US academy of Science and the Intelligence Community. In this post, I will address two difficulties that have never been discussed during the last four years. The plausible answers to these puzzles appear to point to a well-defined, and highly plausible scenario. If correct, this explanation has far reaching consequences.
UPDATE (July 9 2021) — Hiding Microwave Attacks in Plain Sight — Here is certainly a fair question. If the US Intel Community suspects microwave attacks against their people, why don’t they install spectrum analyzers in the homes and offices of U.S. diplomats. Although it is certainly a good idea, the devil is always in the detail. And you can be sure that the culprits will not make it easy for these attacks to be detected. In this update (at the end of this post), I suggest an old trick that may have gone forgotten…
UPDATE (July 12 2021) — At Long Last, Spy Agencies Turn to Scientists — During the Trump administration, the State Department commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to examine Havana syndrome. Its report concluded that a microwave weapon was a likely cause of many of the episodes but was hampered in part because of a lack of access to information. Scientists were not given the full range of material collected by the intelligence agencies. The National Security Council, working with the C.I.A. and the director of national intelligence, has established a pair of outside panels to study Havana syndrome. Outside scientists with security clearances will be able to view classified intelligence to better understand what may have caused the brain injuries.
UPDATE (July 19 2021) — On Friday, The New Yorker magazine revealed that two dozen U.S. intelligence officers, diplomats and other officials in Vienna have reported symptoms similar to those of Havana syndrome. The new cases are confirmed by the US State Department, which said it was “vigorously investigating”. Follow us on twitter: @Intel_Today
Continue reading“There must be a kernel of morality also to international behaviour. Of course, nations must place their own interests high on the list of considerations informing their international relations. But the amorality which decrees that might is right can not be the basis on which the world conducts itself in the next century.“
Nelson Mandela — Cape Town (June 13 1999)
July 18 2020 — Nelson Mandela International Day is an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on July 18, Mandela’s birthday. The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day held on July 18 2010. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
Continue reading“The FBI didn’t want to hear about anything but a missile or a bomb, because otherwise there was no FBI case. Their conduct was disturbing from the very beginning.”
Chuck Grassley — Chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on administrative oversight –Washington Post (May 9 1999)
July 17 2021 — Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA 800) was a Boeing 747-100 which exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996. On November 17 1997, the FBI formally ended its 16-month investigation into the crash of TWA flight 800. FBI agents concluded there was no evidence it was a criminal act. The similarities between the tragedies of Flight TWA 800 and Pan Am 103 are stunning. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_Today
Continue reading“It is no exaggeration to say that between 1990 and his death in 2003, Dr Kelly probably did more to make the world a more secure place than anyone on the planet. Even among the elite group of international weapons inspectors, he was regarded with some awe, as the inspectors’ inspector.”
Former MP Norman Baker
July 16 2021 — The death of Dr David Kelly in 2003 is one of the strangest events in recent British history. This scrupulous scientist — an expert on weapons of mass destruction — was caught up in the rush to war in Iraq. He felt under pressure from those around Tony Blair to provide evidence that Saddam Hussein was producing weapons of mass destruction. Dr Kelly seemed to have tipped into sudden depression when he was outed as a source for Andrew Gilligan. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
Continue reading“Climate change will increasingly exacerbate risks to human and national security and force states to make hard choices and tradeoffs. The burdens will be unevenly distributed, heightening competition, contributing to instability, straining military readiness, and encouraging political movements.”
National Intelligence Council — Global Trends 2040 (March 2021)
July 15 2021 — More than 40 people are dead in Germany and Belgium following severe flooding in the area, caused by what experts described as the heaviest rainfall in a century. Dozens more are missing, and search and rescue operations are ongoing. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
Continue reading“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.”
Robert Oppenheimer
July 15 2021 — On July 16 1945, the US detonated the world’s first nuclear weapon, a plutonium-based device, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Trinity, as the test was known, was successful. Three weeks later, a second successful detonation took place — over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
Continue reading“If there is no such thing as ‘the Truth’ about the past, and therefore, a fortify, if there is no obligation to seek such truth, we are left only with clashing opinions. (…) But, if there is such a thing as the ‘Truth’ about the past, and if one party claims to possess it, yet without sufficient grounds, the possibility remains of questioning that claim and showing it to be mistaken or inadequate.”
Miroslav Volf — The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World
July 14 2021 — Today, we celebrate the 5th anniversary of this blog! Let us take this opportunity to reflect about TRUTH. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
Continue reading“The flaws in the European system are multiple. The Paris and Brussels attacks should never have happened. I don’t know what we are waiting for. Do we have to wait for hundreds of deaths?”
Jean-Louis Bruguiere — Former French investigating magistrate in charge of counter-terrorism affairs
June 6 2017 — Since January 2015, an unprecedented wave of terror attacks has overwhelmed Europe’s defenses. That month, attacks against Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris left 17 people dead. On November 13th in Paris, ISIS attacked multiple targets, killing 130 people. Four months later, suicide bombings killed 32 in Brussels. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
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