The Truth behind the Arrest of the Former Iranian Nuclear Negotiator

Considering his key role in the Iranian foreign policy, the arrest of Mousavian, the former nuclear negotiator of the clerical regime is very significant. From 1989 tomid 1997, Mousavian held the position of Iran’s ambassador to Germany, the most important representative of the mullah’s regime in Europe. Behind the scene, the mullahs were praising his role for  the logistical support of regime's terrorist cells in Europe….(NCR-Iranian, 5 May 07)

Firms Protest Exclusion From Iraq Security Bid

…The contract, potentially worth $475 million, is for providing intelligence services to the Army and wide-ranging security for the Army Corps of Engineers during reconstruction work in Iraq. It will replace another agreement that was to expire by month's end but is now being extended for up to six months while the challenges are resolved…..(Washington Post, 5 May 07)

US report describes Sudan as ’strong partner’ in war on terrorism

Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Friday challenged a recent State Department report that described the government of Sudan as a "strong partner in the War on Terror," citing the killing of hundreds of thousands of people in the Darfur region of that country. The principal killers in Darfur have been militias widely believed to be backed by the Sudanese government. The U.S. government has labeled the killings a genocide…(LA Times, 5 May 07)

GOP Convention Papers Ordered Opened

The city cannot prevent the public from seeing documents describing intelligence that police gathered to help them create policies for arrests at the 2004 Republican National Convention… U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV made the ruling regarding documents about information the New York Police Department says it used….(AP, 5 May 07)

FBI Adds to U.S. Case Against Militant Posada

Authorities building an immigration case against anti-Castro militant Luis Posada Carriles have filed an FBI document with the court that provides new details about Posada's purported links to a wave of 1997 bombings in Havana. The document, based on interviews conducted in the late 1990s with confidential sources, says Posada frequently met with two men who ran a Guatemalan utility company and indicates the bombings may have been planned in Guatemala…..(AP, 5 May 07)

Prosecution Challenges Credibility of Accused Spy

The prosecution wasted no time yesterday in challenging the credibility of an accused Chinese spy, Chi Mak, who has denied he was trying to aid the Chinese government when he arranged to send disks containing submarine propulsion technology to China…Some of the most damning evidence against Mr. Mak may be notes found in his home and his brother's home, containing what seems to be a series of coded phrases. One phrase, "send a card," appeared next to the words "help your mother in law." Mr. Mak testified Wednesday that he got the list from his niece who said it could be used to communicate about her ailing mother in China without upsetting people…Mr. Mak's wife, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew have all been charged with conspiracy to illegally export defense articles. They are set to be tried later….(New York Sun, 4 May 07 )

Prosecutor zeroes in on accused engineer's lies

A federal prosecutor Thursday bore down on a Chinese American engineer's lies and contradictions in a case in which he is accused of illegally sending military information to China and being an intelligence agent….(LA Times, 4 May 07)

Judge in trial of former AIPAC staffers rips prosecution for delays

The judge in the trial against former AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) staffers sternly chastised the prosecution Wednesday for delaying the trial, after the government asked for more time to decide how it would proceed in the case. The prosecution's request set back the expected start of the trial against Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, accused of passing on classified information, well past its scheduled start of June 4. ….(Jerusalem Post, 4 May 07)

Recent Cases of Missing Data

Some recent security breaches involving electronic government data:….(AP, 4 May 07)

CIA agents' trial scheduled in Italy

A judge in Milan Friday cleared the way for the trial of 26 CIA agents and two former Italian intelligence officials over the abduction of a Muslim cleric. Constitutional Judge Simone Luerti denied the government's claim that prosecutors overstepped in bringing the charges, ANSA reported. The case is expected to be the first internationally to examine the U.S. policy of rendition….(UPI, 4 May 07)

Russian Intelligence Expert Calls Attack Assassination Attempt

A U.S. expert on Russian intelligence who was shot outside his Prince George's County, Md., home said he believes he was targeted. Paul Joyal was shot March 1, four days after he appeared on the NBC's "Dateline." He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being involved in the fatal poisoning of a former KGB agent in London….(NBC, 4 May 07)

DNI denies comments on Russian spying

…RIA Novosti reported McConnell as saying Tuesday that Russia and China had both increased the scale of their espionage activities in the United States to levels not seen since the Cold War. "Director McConnell did not make those comments," said spokesman Ross Feinstein. Feinstein said that another intelligence official, Joel Brenner, the head of the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, had made similar comments in March….(UPI, 4 May 07)

CIA agents’ testimony to boost new report into secret renditions
Swiss Senator Dick Marty said yesterday that the latest volume of his report for the Council of Europe into the alleged secret transfer of terrorist suspects by the United States will include statements from disgruntled CIA agents… The latest volume of his report will be presented to the Council of Europe on June 8 in Paris…..(Agence France-Presse, 5 May 07)

Lawrence Woodward; CIA Deputy Head Of Personnel

Lawrence G. Woodward, 81, a deputy director of personnel at the CIA who later worked at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, died April 28… Dr. Woodward joined the CIA in 1952 and helped develop a summer intern program for graduate students in foreign affairs. He also ran a cooperative education program for undergraduate science students….(Washington Post, 4 May 07)

'Open-sourcing' key to the high-tech war against terrorism

…On the government’s side is open source intelligence, a strategy that arose out of post-9/11 criticisms of various intelligence agencies’ inability to communicate information to each other. On the techie side is open source software, a strategy designed to make public the codes and specifications of computer applications and operating systems with the ultimate goal—hard to believe—of heightened security…..(Medill, 4 May 07)

Iran Nuclear: Ex Top Negotiator Accused of Espionage

Hossein Moussavian, a former Iranian ambassador to Germany and a top atomic negotiator arrested earlier this week is being detained in Tehran's Evin prison on espionage charges and 'illicit relations with foreign powers', according to the pro-government Fars news agency…..(AKI, 4 May 07)

Hizbullah offers Bishara asylum in Beirut

A senior Hizbullah official said Thursday that a former Arab Israeli MK accused by Israel of aiding the Shiite group during last summer's war would be welcomed as a political refugee in Lebanon. Israel has accused Azmi Bishara of tipping Hizbullah about possible targets during the 34-day conflict when the Shiite guerrillas fired thousands of rockets towards the Jewish State….(YNet, 4 May 07)

Iran: No News Yet on Missing Ex-FBI Man

An investigation into the fate of a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran has uncovered nothing, but Iran's government has asked for more details about the missing American, the foreign minister said Friday….(AP, 4 May 07)

House Panel Approves a Record $48 Billion for Spy Agencies

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has authorized U.S. intelligence agencies to spend an estimated $48 billion in fiscal 2008, the largest amount ever included in an intelligence bill, thanks to inclusion of funding efforts associated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…..(Washington Post, 4 May 07)

CIA former No.3 man asks for separate trial

…Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and Wilkes were indicted by a San Diego federal grand jury in February on charges of fraud, conspiracy and illegal money transfers -- charges that stem from the investigation that sent former 50th Congressional District Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to prison in early 2006. Foggo, who grew up with Wilkes in the San Diego area, allegedly used his position to funnel lucrative government contracts to Wilkes and supply inside information to help him land millions of dollars in defense business for his Poway-based ADCS Inc., according to the indictment…..(North County Times, 4 May 07)

Spy agencies to assess global warming's ripple effects

Stepping into the rancorous national debate over global warming, the U.S. intelligence community has launched an examination of the security threats that could be triggered by rising temperatures….(LA Times, 4 May 07)

Thomas P. Shoesmith Ambassador

Thomas P. Shoesmith, 85, who held many diplomatic posts in Asia with the State Department and was a former ambassador to Malaysia, died April 26… After intensive Japanese language training at Yale University and the University of Michigan, he served as a military intelligence analyst with the Army in Tokyo from 1946 to 1948…..(Washington Post, 4 May 07)

Elizabeth J. Harper State Department Officer

Elizabeth J. Harper, 86, a State Department employee who retired in 1980 as deputy assistant secretary for visa services, died April 22…..(Washington Post, 4 May 07)

Morris W. Kandle Government Official

Morris W. Kandle, 89, an official with the Department of Defense, the Peace Corps and the General Accounting Office, died April 22…..(Washington Post, 4 May 07)

Separate trial, transfer of venue sought for ex-CIA official

Lawyers for former CIA official Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, who is charged in a corruption case spun from the Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribery scandal, have asked a judge to move his trial to Washington, D.C., and to allow him to be tried separately from fellow defendant Brent Wilkes. In the request for a transfer, filed in federal court this week, lawyers reasoned that the case is centered mostly in the district that includes Washington, D.C., with most of the alleged..…(Union-Tribune, 3 May 07)

Classified Material at Issue in Case of Former NSA Worker

…During a hearing before U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte, Assistant U.S. Attorney David I. Salem said the attorney for former NSA worker Kenneth W. Ford Jr. could have redacted copies of the transcripts within two weeks, after the CIA completes its review for classified material. This week, the NSA completed its review of the transcripts, Salem told Messitte. Ford, 35, was convicted in 2005 of unlawfully possessing classified information and making a false statement to a U.S. government agency. He has been sentenced to six years in prison….(Washington Post, 3 May 07)

Documents Link Posada to 1976 Bombing

A former employee of an anti-Castro militant accused of plotting the deadly 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner described potential targets that same year that had links to the communist country, according to documents released Thursday…The surveillance document written by Hernan Ricardo Lozano, who worked for Posada's security firm in Venezuela in the mid-1970s, was found in Posada's office in Caracas after the bombing. Ricardo and Freddy Lugo were later convicted in Venezuela of placing bombs on the flight before getting off in Barbados…..(AP, 3 May 07)

Students spy for quick bucks

Lurking in the soundproof boardrooms and corridors of your office, might be an innocent face gaining access to your trade secrets as we speak. An audacious form of corporate espionage is emerging where b-school students hired by your competitor go undercover and get classified information out…..(Money Control, 3 May 07)

Bombardier won't talk about espionage report

Bombardier wasn't commenting Wednesday on a report that foreign technicians were caught stealing secrets at one of its Montreal plants last year. The newspaper report said that Chinese technicians were especially interested in computer files at one of the jet-assembly plants and that Bombardier tried to keep the incident under wraps…..(CanWest, 3 May 07)

Former spy fighting to step into the front line

…Ms Livni is Israel's most popular politician, and frequently touted as a likely successor - if not the likeliest - to the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. The 48-year-old former Mossad spy is a strong woman surrounded by strong men and does not hesitate to speak her mind… If Ms Livni does manage to succeed Mr Olmert, she would be following in the footsteps of Golda Meir, the only woman to have been Israeli foreign minister who went on to become prime minister…..(Independent, 3 May 07)

Mexico getting spy equipment from U.S.

The U.S. government is giving this country a computer system to spy on people using telephones, e-mail, chat rooms and other communications technology, to thwart terrorists and drug traffickers… Under guidelines published by the U.S. government, the system's phone database will accommodate up to 8 million sessions and be able to record 60 calls at the same time….(AZ Star, 3 May 07)

Gonzalez: Only GMA can make me resign

…The memorandum also mentioned Congressman Rodito Albano as having recruited Aragoncillo “to gather classified documents and information from the OVP (Office of the Vice President), and transmit them to Albano in order to assist Albano in, among other things, his efforts to help Estrada during Estrada’s impeachment proceedings.”….(Manila Times, 3 May 07)

Engineer denies confessing to giving data

The Chinese American engineer on trial for allegedly conspiring to send U.S. military technology information to China denied Wednesday government allegations that he confessed to providing sensitive data to his homeland's military. Under questioning by defense attorney Ronald O. Kaye, Chi Mak denied telling investigators that he had been sending information to China since 1983. Prosecutors said Mak confessed while he was interrogated in the Santa Ana City Jail two days after his arrest…..(LA Times, 3 May 07)

Iran's arrest of nuclear official meant to stifle debate

Iran's former nuclear negotiator's recent arrest in Tehran was meant to curtail discussion of the Islamic republic's nuclear program, a Geneva security policy expert said Thursday. Seyed Hossein Mousavian's detention Monday was most probably intended "to inhibit any discussion of the nuclear issue" inside Iran, Shahram Chubin, director of studies at the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) told the Middle East Times…..(Middle East Times, 3 May 07)

Iran: Why Mousavian is arrested?

The Islamic regime of Iran has arrested a top Iranian official and former nuclear negotiator, Hussein Mousavian. The reason for his arrest is not clearly known, but we can guess:….(Iranian, 3 May 07)

Iran: Former Nuclear Negotiator Arrested On Security Charges

Hossein Musavian, a former official in Iran's National Security Council and onetime member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, has been detained in Tehran on security charges. Little is known about the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Musavian on April 30 or the official charges against him… Musavian, a former Iranian ambassador to Germany, was head of the Foreign Policy Committee on Iran's Supreme National Security Council. He was also a key member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team with the European Union. He was replaced following the 2005 election of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, and since then has been working as deputy head of a Tehran-based think tank, the Center for Strategic Research…..(RFE/RL, 3 May 07)

FBI Frets in Spy Case Over China

…While Russian and Eastern European spy agencies were known to rely on a few well-compensated recruits who employed cloak-and-dagger techniques to gather crucial secrets, China tends to seek a broad array of technology by relying on the sentiments and loyalties of Chinese-Americans and Chinese students in this country. One result is that the culpability of those involved can be harder to prove in court, especially beyond a reasonable doubt….Mr. Mak's defense has, that he was engaged in the ordinary exchange of ideas among scientists. Both men also complicated their prosecutions by arguing that the information was in the public domain or not well-protected. "These trials … basically end up putting corporations and the government on trial for failing to have stringent enough controls over the data,"…(New York Sun, 3 May 07)

Engineer in Export Trial Admits Lies

…Chi Mak, 66, also acknowledged during cross-examination that he lied repeatedly to FBI agents during an hours-long interrogation immediately after his arrest and that he lied on his U.S. immigration form years ago. He said he didn't realize at the time that making the copies was illegal. Authorities believe Mak, a naturalized U.S. citizen, took thousands of pages of documents from his employer, Power Paragon of Anaheim, and gave them to his brother, who passed them along to Chinese authorities for years….(AP, 3 May 07)

Intel Analysts to Study Climate Change

Top intelligence analysts are diving into the politically sensitive issue of climate change, but some Democrats in Congress are demanding even more.The House Intelligence Committee approved a provision late Wednesday as part of a spy budget bill that would require the National Intelligence Council to produce its highest-level assessment _ a National Intelligence Estimate _ specifically on climate change…..(AP, 3 May 07)

Cuban intelligence

The book (True Believer, by Scott W. Carmichael) raises some marvelous questions and makes some excellent points. Not all who believe and say what Montes had been saying publicly since 1996 when Carmichael first began investigating her are Cuban spies. Some, believe it, and act within the law. After her arrest Carmichael spoke to a body of senior counterintelligence investigators. His point was how easy it was for Cuban Intelligence to plant Ana Montes inside the DIA and "we must assume that the Cuban Intelligence Service, did it again in other agencies as well.”….(Sun-Sentinel, 3 May 07)

Critic of Iran’s Nuclear Policy Is Charged With Spying

A prominent critic of Iran’s nuclear policies over the past two years was arrested this week on spying charges, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported Wednesday. The critic, Hossein Moussavian, who served as a senior nuclear negotiator until President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, was arrested after he appeared before a court Monday evening….(New Times, 3 May 07)

More delays in AIPAC ex-lobbyists' trial

A federal judge rebuked intelligence agencies for delaying the classified information trial against two former AIPAC staffers for nearly two years…Ellis was reacting Wednesday to Reilly's request for another postponement in considering the judge's rejection of a government request for a secret trial. The prosecution was either to agree to the judge's terms on the use of classified information by Wednesday or serve notice of its intention to appeal the decision. Instead, prosecutors asked for more time to consider their options. The judge set a May 21 deadline…..(JTA, 3 May 07)

Ottawa will probe spying reports

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said he will investigate reports that nearly half the foreign spies operating in Canada are working for China, but he did not raise the issue in meetings with Chinese officials this week….(Globe & Mail, 2 May 07)

Today in History - May 2

In 1972, after serving 48 years as head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover died in Washington at age 77.

Engineer denies sending data to China

…Chi Mak testified for about two hours, appearing relaxed and confident as he answered questions from defense attorney Ronald O. Kaye. Kaye wasted no time asking him about three computer disks that are at the heart of the government's case. Federal agents recovered the disks on Oct. 28, 2005, from his brother, who was trying to board a midnight flight to China with his wife at Los Angeles International Airport. "Did you give the three disks to Tai Mak in order to give them to the Chinese government?" Kaye asked. No, Mak said….(LA Times, 2 May 07)

Former Iranian top official charged with espionage – report

Hossein Moussavian, a former top official in Iran's National Security Council, has been charged with espionage and is being held in the notorious Evin prison in northern Tehran, the Fars news agency reported Wednesday. An informed source told Fars that Moussavian, who was arrested on Monday night and jailed in the Evin prison, is charged with 'connections to foreign elements and transfer of information to them.'….(DPA, 2 May 07)

FBI Worried About Spies In City

…Pittsburgh's FBI unit is now expanding what's called the Domain Program, a national effort to help institutions-at-risk for espionage. The FBI has been warning companies like Rand about the growing threat, in which foreign countries often try to woo employees with money and what seem like harmless questions. "Somebody asks for eggs, somebody else asks for milk, somebody else asks for the temperature of the oven," said Predmore. "And while each one of those are unclassified, when you put the three together, you're able to produce the cake which is the classified item."….(Pittsburgh Channel, 2 May 07)

Video: FBI Worried About Spies In City

Oracle is demanding that potential evidence be preserved at SAP

In the legal dispute about alleged industrial espionage the software group Oracle has filed a motion with a federal court in San Francisco for evidence to be preserved at its German rival SAP. From Oracle's notice of motion and motion (PDF file) it emerges that the company has, on the day it filed its complaint and repeatedly thereafter, demanded of SAP that it preserve the evidence in question…..(Heise, 2 May 07)

'Russia's anti US intelligence operations at Cold War level'
Russia's foreign intelligence operations against America are currently at the same level as during the Cold War, the US national intelligence chief has said. Michael McConnell said Tuesday that Russia and China are the most aggressive countries at gathering information about American sensitive technologies, including projects under development and the scale of their intelligence activities is at Cold War levels…..(RIA Novosti, 2 May 07)

Intelligence Chief Decries Constraints

Court orders in January that brought President Bush's warrantless terrorist surveillance program under existing law have limited the intelligence that agencies can collect, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told a Senate committee yesterday… In January, the administration agreed to bring the program under the oversight of the secret FISA court, which approves warrants in terrorism and espionage investigations ….(Washington Post, 2 May 07)

2006 WIRETAP REPORT .pdf

Administration Pulls Back on Surveillance Agreement

…As a result of the January agreement, the administration said that the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program has been brought under the legal structure laid out in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires court-approved warrants for the wiretapping of American citizens and others inside the United States…..(New York Times, 2 May 07)

Lacson may face coup raps, too, says Gonzalez

Reelectionist Sen. Panfilo Lacson may be facing not just an espionage case in the United States but also coup d’etat charges in the Philippines. According to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, US government documents implicating Lacson in espionage activities in the US also pointed to his being the alleged mastermind of an attempted coup d'etat here….(Asian Journal, 2 May 07)

Ping linked to spying case in US

The District Attorney of New Jersey in the US has implicated Sen. Panfilo Lacson as a co-conspirator in the espionage case involving his former ally, Senior Supt. Michael Ray Aquino, Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez said Tuesday. Aquino has confessed to receiving confidential information leaked by US Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Leandro Aragoncillo. Gonzalez said he received the half-inch thick document from the district attorney, which he identified only as Buch, who is prosecuting the Aquino-Aragoncillo espionage case, containing their fact-finding report wherein Lacson’s name was supposedly mentioned…..(Manila Times, 2 May 07)

Accused Chinese Spy Testifies in His Own Defense

Taking the witness stand in his own defense, an accused Chinese spy said yesterday that he was engaged in legitimate scientific exchange and not espionage when he sent technical papers on electrical systems for American submarines and Navy warships to China… Mr. Mak said he saw nothing wrong with sending the papers to China because they were handouts he got at engineering conferences where foreigners were present. "All three CDs contained presentation materials that were presented in conferences with international attendees already," Mr. Mak said. Encrypted files from the disks were found in the hand luggage of Mr. Mak's brother and sister-in-law when they were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in October 2005 as they prepared to fly to China…..(New York Sun, 2 May 07)

Analysis: Rough Ride For FISA Update Law

…Recent poll data shows the U.S. public supports the idea that officials should always have to get a warrant before eavesdropping on Americans -- something that would not be necessary under certain circumstances if the administration's planned changes to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act are passed into law…..(Post Chronicle, 2 May 07)

Administration pushes to expand domestic surveillance

 …Claiming that federal investigators are missing key information on terrorists because of an outdated spying law, the top U.S. intelligence official called on lawmakers on Tuesday to revamp the foreign surveillance act and make it easier to eavesdrop on non-citizens in the U.S. with suspected links to terrorism….(Chicago Tribune, 2 May 07)

Spying on Americans

…The director of national intelligence, Michael McConnell, said yesterday that the evidence of what is wrong with FISA was too secret to share with all Americans… bill grants immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated in five years of illegal eavesdropping. It also strips the power to hear claims against the spying program from all courts except the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which meets in secret…..(New York Times, 2 May 07)

Defendant testifies on alleged export of defense info to China

A Chinese-American engineer accused of conspiring to export defense technology materials to China took the witness stand in his federal trial Tuesday and denied he was trying to give information to the Chinese government….(Mercury News, 2 May 07)

Shield Law To Be Introduced

… The bill "sets criteria which must be met before information can be subpoenaed from reporters in any federal criminal or civil matter," say the representatives, adding that it "carefully balances the public interest in the free flow of information against the public interest in compelled testimony."….(Broadcasting Cable, 2 May 07)

At Hearing in Iraq, U.S. Colonel Is Cast As Flouter of Rules

Witnesses testifying at a hearing here Tuesday said a senior U.S. Army officer accused of aiding the enemy kept top-secret papers at his base residence, allowed child detainees to make unmonitored calls on his cellphone and provided former president Saddam Hussein with Cuban cigars at taxpayer expense…When Steele left his job at western Baghdad's Camp Cropper detention center for another position in Iraq, he took 18,000 electronic and printed classified documents, witnesses testified. Investigators who searched his residence in February found some in a briefcase…(Washington Post, 2 May 07)

Former Israeli Arab Lawmaker Accused Of Espionage
…The prosecution accuses Bishara of passing information regarding strategic locations in northern Israel to Hezbollah in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Lebanese terror group used the information in the thousands of rocket attacks it launched against the Jewish state during the 34-day conflict…..(All Headline News, 2 May 07)

Ex-MK Bishara suspected of treason and espionage

Police said Wednesday that former MK Azmi Bishara is suspected of treason and espionage, for allegedly having aided Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War in July and August 2006. Bishara, the chairman of the Balad party, is suspected of having been in contact with Hezbollah intelligence agents during the 34-day conflict....(Haaretz, 2 May 07)

Bishara suspected of aiding Hizbullah for money

Gag order on investigation against former MK lifted Wednesday. According to suspicions, Bishara gave Hizbullah information on strategic locations in Israel that should be attacked with rockets during last summer's war, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of shekels …(YNet, 2 May 07)

"regime arrests former nuke envoy on espionage charge"
Mullahs' agents have arrested the regime's former nuclear negotiator, an ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's predecessor and key rival, and he reportedly could face an espionage charge. The president, meanwhile, insisted his regime will not retreat "even an iota" on its nuclear program. Iran did not officially release any details about the specific charges against him. But the semiofficial Fars news agency, which is deemed close to the elite Revolutionary Guards, said Mousavian could face espionage charges….(Iranian, 2 May 07)

Police: Arab Lawmaker Suspected As Spy

A fugitive Arab Israeli lawmaker is suspected of treason and espionage for aiding Hezbollah guerrillas during last summer's war in Lebanon, police said Wednesday, providing the first details in the case…..(AP, 2 May 07)

Suspected militants behead alleged spy in northwestern Pakistan

Suspected Islamic militants beheaded a man in a remote tribal region of northwestern Pakistan after accusing him of working for American forces, an official said Wednesday…..(AP, 2 May 07)

U.S. camp officer "empathized" with detainees: hearing

A former commander of a U.S. detention centre holding members of Saddam Hussein's regime expressed empathy for detainees and said he wanted to make their lives better, an investigation heard on Tuesday…..(Reuters, 1 May 07)

Ottawa may still boost Canada’s foreign intelligence

The Harper government is conducting an “intensive review” of whether to enhance Canada’s ability to gather foreign intelligence abroad, Canada’s spy chief said Monday…..(CanWest, 1 May 07)

Half of foreign spies in Canada work for China, MPs told

Foreign spies are in Canada and nearly half of them are working for the Chinese, the head of Canada's intelligence service told a Senate committee yesterday. The committee, which is looking into the direction and control of the intelligence community, asked Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Jim Judd whether operatives from other countries are on Canadian soil…..(Globe & Mail, 1 May 07)

China is top espionage risk to Canada: CSIS

…Judd told the Senate committee on defence and national security that 15 countries account for most of the concern when it comes to foreign intelligence-gathering or interference in Canadian affairs. He wouldn't identify all those countries, but did tell senators that China tops the list….(Canadian Press, 1 May 07)

Reports: Missing FBI Agent Robert Levinson Released by Iranians

Reports swirled Tuesday that missing former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who was believed to be in Iranian custody, was safely in the hands of American officials. The Washington-based National Security News Agency (NSNA) quoted a Iranian source who said that Levinson “is no longer here."…(Fox News, 1 May 07)

Officers Testify Against Accused U.S. Colonel

A senior U.S. military officer (Lt. Col. William H. Steele, 51, an Army reservist who served as a commander at a detention camp in west Baghdad) accused of aiding the enemy gave gifts to the daughter of a "high-value" detainee, angering the prisoner by violating cultural norms and acting as a father figure, a witness said Monday in the opening day of a hearing to determine whether the officer will stand trial…Only the barest outlines of the case against Steele emerged in Monday's hearing, much of which was closed to reporters because it dealt with classified information….(Washington Post, 1 May 07)

Multi-National Corps Press Release: Steele Charges .pdf

Ping hits back at Raul: Why do you dictate US govt?

Unethical, improper and a big lie. This was how reelectionist senator Panfil Ping Lacson, of the Genuine Opposition, described Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez’s threat to have him extradited to the United States over an espionage case…“First of all, his claim that I masterminded Aquino and Aragoncillo’s espionage case is a big lie. Second, Gonzalez again violated ethics and showed disregard for American judicial processes."….(GMA News, 1 May 07)

Vincent J. Bosak Records Manager

Vincent J. Bosak, 87, a records manager for the CIA and the National Archives and Records Administration, died of pulmonary fibrosis March 30… As the records manager for the Office of Security, he established early computerized systems for managing CIA security records…..(Washington Post, 1 May 07)

In Spy Case, Jury Is Schooled in Chinese Grammar

A federal jury here is being schooled in the nuances and ambiguities of the Chinese language as defense lawyers challenge translations that the government says put the defendant, Chi Mak, at the center of a long-running Chinese espionage operation in the American defense industry. In testimony yesterday, a linguist for the defense disputed the FBI's interpretation of wiretaps and surveillance recordings that the prosecution claims are incriminating evidence that Mr. Mak was a covert agent...However, the defense linguist, Eddie Yip, said the words uttered in the recorded call are not "hong hua," which could mean red flower, but "hong fa," which could mean " Wang prosperity," the name of a Mak family company……(New York Sun, 1 May 07)

Court blow for Israel's nuclear spy

An Israeli court has convicted Mordechai Vanunu, a nuclear technician who in 2004 completed a prison term for giving away military secrets, of violating the terms of his release by speaking to foreign media. Monday's verdict may mean more jail time for Vanunu and hurt his fight to leave Israel, where he is kept by a government travel ban. Vanunu's latest conviction was for telling US, British, Australian and French media that Israel assembled hydrogen and neutron bombs at its Dimona reactor and was producing 40kg of plutonium a year, enough to make 10 atom bombs…..(Aljazeera, 1 May 07)

Whistleblower Vanunu convicted of violating terms of conditional release

Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu was convicted yesterday by the Jerusalem Magistrates Court of violating an order prohibiting him from having contacts with foreigners and granting media interviews. Vanunu was released in April 2004 after serving 18 years in prison for aiding the enemy….(Haaretz, 1 May 07)

Military Court Weighs Trial for Colonel

Prosecutors alleged Monday that a U.S. officer gave computer programs to a prisoner's daughter in Iraq, beginning to lay out their case at a hearing to determine if evidence warrants a trial on charges that include the capital offense of aiding the enemy….(AP, 30 Apr 07)

Network warfare

…to the seventh annual Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX), a National Security Agency event in which computer science students at the nation’s service academies go head-to-head with a hand-picked group of malicious-minded security experts called the Red Team…..(GCN, 30 Apr 07)

Spy books strain CIA review board

A record number of former CIA officers and officials are stepping from the shadows to publish memoirs, novels, essays, training manuals, legal treatises and op-ed pieces, according the agency's Publications Review Board. Former CIA director George Tenet, whose 576-page memoir At the Center of the Storm hits bookstores Monday, is only the most recent. The Central Intelligence Agency says it hears from about 100 would-be authors each month seeking the permission - a requirement for all former spy agency workers…..(USA Today, 30 Apr 07)

Secret Surveillance Satellites To Launch In June

A secret National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) dual-satellite ocean surveillance mission to track potential terrorist movements at sea and monitor Chinese and Iranian ship tactics is being readied for liftoff June 14 from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas V, intelligence sources tell Aviation Week. The National Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS) flight is designated NRO L-30….(Aviation Week, 30 Apr 07)

Northrop Grumman unveils first E-2D spy plane for U.S. Navy

Northrop Grumman Corp. on Monday unveiled its first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye spy plane, the first aircraft in a $17.5 billion U.S. Navy effort to upgrade electronic warfare aircraft. The new plane hasn't yet flown…..(Market Watch, 30 Apr 07)

Behind the Tenet Blame Game

… The book — and Tenet's publicity tour interviews, including one with Time.com — has once again reignited all the old fights between Bush Administration neoconservatives and Republican internationalists — starting with 9/11 and continuing right through to the war in Iraq.….(Time Magazine, 30 Apr 07)

CIA, under Tenet's watch

At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA, by George Tenet with Bill Harlow

…At the end of this long and necessarily episodic account, it's interesting to step back and consider what Tenet's performance as CIA director might have looked like from the perspective of his "clients" in the White House. His fascinating account of his service is studded with internal contradictions — not so much contradictions of fact, as of the assessments drawn from the facts as stated…..(LA Times, 30 Apr 07)

Friends of Winston

TROUBLESOME YOUNG MEN: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England, by Lynne Olson

…It is neither sentimental nor simplistic to say that Churchill’s ascension and refusal to surrender as he awaited America’s entry into the war (which came 19 months later) is one of the great achievements of this or any age. Things were one way before Churchill became prime minister, and another way afterward….(New York Times, 29 Apr 07)