The plot thickens

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, by Tim Weiner

…Weiner’s book is not really about CIA espionage. It touches on espionage only intermittently. What Weiner chronicles, and thoroughly, is the chequered history of US covert action – how every president since Truman has tried to use the CIA to pursue his own foreign policy priorities with minimal accountability to Congress. Weiner also describes how the CIA often operated in pursuit of very general presidential instructions, without control and in a manner that had a contrary impact on US national security. In this context Weiner takes particular aim at the reputation of Allen Dulles, perhaps the CIA’s most respected director, whom he sees as dangerously autonomous and lying without restraint when it was necessary to protect himself and the agency. Frank Wisner Sr, the first head of the clandestine service of the CIA, gets harsher treatment. Weiner’s thesis is that the CIA’s preoccupation with covert action – which was undertaken without due regard to the consequences, often poorly planned and badly executed (certainly true of many of the examples we know about today) – prevented the development of a sophisticated and successful espionage service able to produce for US policy-makers a consistent flow of high-quality intelligence…..(Financial Times, 22 Sep 07)

Spy left out in the cold: how MI6 buried heroic exploits of agent 'Griffin'

The mystery of how one of Britain's longest-serving and best-placed spies smuggled scientific documents about Hitler's nuclear weapons program out of Nazi Germany are concealed, it is alleged, within the secret service's archives… In a test case that could force the service to disclose more of its archives, Ms Booth argued that the heroic role of Rosbaud, who died in 1963, should be widely appreciated, and accused the intelligence service of resisting the culture of open government…Three years ago documents were published detailing the extraordinary acts of espionage and bravery carried out by Major Frank Foley, the MI6 station chief in Berlin in the run-up to the war. Foley used his official position as passport control officer in the embassy to save thousands of Jews from the death camps. He helped Paul Rosbaud send his Jewish wife, Hilde, and their only daughter, Angela, to the safety of the UK. But Rosbaud, who worked as a scientific journalist, insisted on remaining in Germany to fight Hitler's regime from within…..(Guardian, 22 Sep 07)

Today in History - Sept. 22

1776:  Nathan Hale was hanged as a spy by the British during the Revolutionary War.

FIA mistakenly leaked McLaren/Ferrari secrets

…A day before releasing the nearly 200 pages of World Motor Sport Council transcripts to the public on Wednesday, the FIA had sent the documents to both teams so that confidential technical and financial information could be redacted. But when the PDF documents were initially made available on the internet, it soon became clear that the blackened sections could easily be revealed if copy-pasted into another text editor. The offending copies were quickly removed from the FIA website and replaced…..(Eurosport, 22 Sep 07)

Raids over controversial book 

The Centra Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids at the office of Manas Publications in Delhi. This raid comes a day after the agency searched former RAW official VK Singh's home on Friday after the government filed a complaint under the Official Secrets Act. This is the book that is now under the CBI's scrutiny. It an insider's account of the failures of India's espionage agency RAW and the CBI raided the offices of the publisher, Manas Publications, after the government accused the author of violating the official secrets act…..(Times Now, 22 Sep 07)

Musharraf Names Loyalist as New Intelligence Chief

With his retirement from the army looming, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Friday named a known loyalist to head the nation's hugely influential military-led intelligence service. Musharraf also cleared the way for the intelligence chief he replaced to possibly take over as army commander…Opponents argue that Musharraf's army job disqualifies him from running, and the Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to his eligibility…..(Washington Post, 22 Sep 07)

Collecting of Details on Travelers Documented
The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried…The personal travel records are meant to be stored for as long as 15 years, as part of the Department of Homeland Security's effort to assess the security threat posed by all travelers entering the country. Officials say the records, which are analyzed by the department's Automated Targeting System, help border officials distinguish potential terrorists from innocent people entering the country…..(Washington Post, 22 Sep 07)

Looking for a few good spies: CIA will recruit at USF job fair

…The CIA will be at a career fair at the University of South Florida on Thursday for students and alumni. The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency holds a "job event" at the InterContinental Tampa on Friday. Don't show up at the InterContinental with your resume unannounced. Befitting a spy agency, it's an invitation-only event and pre-applications are already closed as the DIA looks for analysts in everything from bioterrorism to nuclear intelligence…..(St. Petersburg Times, 22 Sep 07)

U.S. spy chief calls wiretapping debate a threat

The nation's top spy told Congress on Thursday that the public debate over the Bush administration's controversial warrantless wiretapping program would lead to American deaths by revealing sensitive surveillance methods to potential terrorists. J. Michael McConnell, director of national intelligence, testified that congressional examination of laws that govern the program, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, ran counter to established precedents. Under these, he said, "intelligence business is conducted in secret." "It's conducted in secret for a reason," McConnell told the House Intelligence Committee. "You compromise sources and methods, and what this debate has allowed those who wish us harm to do is to understand significantly more about how we were targeting their communications…..(LA Times, 21 Sep 07)

DNI Statement for the Record - House Judiciary Committee Hearing on FISA [.pdf]

Reyes' Opening Statement at FISA Hearing

John Howard Noonan NSA Analyst

John Howard Noonan, 78, a former analyst with the National Security Agency, died Sept. 11…He served in the Army from 1946 to 1948 and was recalled in 1950 and 1951. He worked with NSA and its predecessor organization from 1948 until his retirement in 1985. He was based in Hawaii from 1965 to 1969 and from 1982 to 1985. From 1974 to 1977, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in London…..(Washington Post, 21 Sep 07)

William E. Ten Eyck Air Force Officer, Artist

William Emmet Ten Eyck, 61, a retired Air Force major who later worked as an intelligence analyst and launched a part-time career as an artist, died Sept. 10… For most of his military career, he worked as an agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations… Since 1990, Maj. Ten Eyck had worked with the Washington office of Battelle, a global science and technology company, as an analyst in the fields of intelligence and arms control…..(Washington Post, 21 Sep 07)

Dubai Agrees To Acquire 20% Stake in Nasdaq Market

Middle Eastern governments announced a series of billion-dollar deals Thursday that would give them stakes in financial institutions at the heart of Western capitalism, raising concerns in Washington about sensitive foreign investments. Under a complex three-way deal, the stock exchange owned by the government of Dubai would acquire a 19.9 percent stake in the Nasdaq Stock Market, becoming the first government in the Middle East to own a substantial interest in a U.S. exchange. Separately, Carlyle Group of the District said it was selling a 7.5 percent share of its general ownership to an investment group owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, which like Dubai is part of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates. The Qatar Investment Authority, a government investment fund, said it bought a 20 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange…..(Washington Post, 21 Sep 07)

Rival stock exchanges are busy swapping stakes

…Regulators in the various countries involved will also have to approve the complex web of transactions. Although capital flies around the world at the touch of a button these days, regulators are still rooted firmly at the national level. This makes sense: they are in effect charged with striking the appropriate balance between the interests of “Main Street” and Wall Street. Given the complexity of the latest transactions, it is likely that the job of sorting out exactly where the balance of those interests ultimately rests in this case could take some time……(Economist, 21 Sep 07)

Bush Wants Spy Law Changes Set in Stone

President Bush is urging Congress to renew the Protect America Act, which is set to expire Feb. 1, 2008. "The threat from Al-Qaeda is not going to expire in 135 days," Bush warned during a visit to the National Security Agency. "Unless the FISA reforms in the act are made permanent, our national security professionals will lose critical tools they need to protect our country," he said…The law, also known as the "Protect America Act," updates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by permitting warrantless surveillance of any targets located abroad, even if they are communicating with someone in the United States. Because of a sunset clause, the law is due to expire Feb. 1, 2008……(Tech News World, 21 Sep 07)

Government of Abu Dhabi Buys Stake in Carlyle

Private-equity giant Carlyle Group said yesterday that it is selling a 7.5 percent share of its general partnership to an investment group owned by the government of Abu Dhabi… Abu Dhabi is one of the seven oil-rich emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, which has been looking for ways to invest the cash it is generating from a steady rise in oil prices. Some of the countries once sought to buy assets outright, but after the outcry over a bid to take over management of a U.S. ports operator, many have pursued less visible strategic investments with key firms…..(Washington Post, 21 Sep 07)

Russia FM: US Shield Is to Spy on Russia

Russia's foreign minister suggested in an interview broadcast Friday that the United States wants to install an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe to spy on Russia, not to defend Europe from Iranian missiles as Washington claims. Russia has responded angrily to U.S. proposals to base elements of a missile-defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland, and proposed instead that the United States use the Russian-leased Gabala radar in the ex-Soviet state of Azerbaijan, which sits between Russia and Iran…..(AP, 21 Sep 07)

Orbital Sciences to Add Buildings, 600 Jobs at Dulles

Orbital Sciences, a rocket and space technology manufacturer for the government and military, is embarking on a major expansion of its headquarters in Dulles, adding as many as four buildings and about 600 jobs to its campus…The federal government is Orbital Sciences' biggest customer. The satellite company has contracts with the Defense Department and military intelligence agencies……(Washington Post, 21 Sep 07)

NIS Vows to Be In Top 5 Spy Agencies

National Intelligence Service (NIS) director Kim Man-bok said the spy agency has mapped out a blueprint in efforts to become one the world's top five spy agencies in 10 years. In its report to President Roh Moo-hyun who visited the NIS Friday, Kim vowed to secure global intelligence competitiveness and national confidence to attain the goal of ranking among the top five list as a global spy agency. He compared the position of the NIS with the Central Information Agency (CIA) of the United States, the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (MOSSAD) of Israel and the Secret Intelligence Service of Britain…..(Korea Times, 21 Sep 07)

'Bureaucrats derailed inquiry on spy agency'

Under pressure from senior bureaucrats, the Canadian Security Intelligence Review Committee, that monitors the country's spy agency, was forced to abandon their plans to probe the agency's handling of the Air India bombing as early as 1988, a former senior official has said…..(Hindustan Times, 21 Sep 07)

Germany's Spy Chief Speaks Out Against War Privatization

Germany's top spy chief has criticized private security firms operating in combat zones. A recent shooting in Iraq shows the potential backlash countries face in using private security in war zones. Private contractors aren't under strict international oversight as soldiers and can be more prone to break the law, Ernst Uhrlau, the head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Agency (BND), said in a speech in Berlin…..(Deutsche Welle, 21 Sep 07)

Pakistan: New intelligence chief appointed

…"Major General Nadeem Taj has been promoted Lieutenant General and posted at Director General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)," said a statement from the military's public-relations arm Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The statement said that Taj has served as military secretary to Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf as well as director general of military intelligence. Taj replaced the present head of the ISI, Lt. General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani. Another….(AKI, 21 Sep 07)

Musharraf appoints new military spy chief

…General Pervez Musharraf on Friday appointed a new spy chief and made a number of other key military appointments in an apparent move by the Pakistani president to retain his influence even after he steps down as head of the army… A nine-member panel of Supreme Court judges is reviewing six petitions seeking the disqualification of the US-backed general from contesting the presidential election on grounds including his dual position as head of the army and ruler of Pakistan, and the legality of being elected in uniform…..(Financial Times, 21 Sep 07)

India's Long-Established Ties With Iran Straining Alliance With U.S.

India's long-standing ties with Iran appear to be threatening the beleaguered nuclear energy deal between Washington and New Delhi and, more broadly, their growing strategic alliance…"America is intimidating us. It is none of their business to dictate what we should or should not do with Iran," said D. Raja, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, which lends crucial support to Singh's coalition government but which has launched nationwide street protests against the agreement. "Our suspicions about the nuclear deal have come true. The attempt is to drag India into the American global strategy. We have to resist that. We cannot antagonize our traditional friends for the sake of Americans."….(Washington Post, 20 Sep 07)

Pentagon: Dropping Yee's reprimand was a mistake

The Pentagon's inspector general has concluded that the Army for the most part properly handled the case of former Muslim Army chaplain James Yee, who was detained for 76 days and then cleared in an espionage probe. A two-page, unclassified summary released Wednesday said the investigation found two mistakes: One, when a general overturned a reprimand for adultery and downloading pornography; and two, when a deputy public-affairs officer told The New York Times about the case…..(AP, 20 Sep 07)

Lt. Col. Ernest P. Uiberall, 95; Interpreter at Nuremberg War Trials

Ernest Peter Uiberall, 95, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who was an interpreter at the Nuremberg war crimes trials and during the early stages of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, died of congestive heart failure Aug. 26…In 1947, Col. Uiberall was named chief German interpreter at the trials, which continued until 1949. He visited several Nazi leaders in their cells, including Hermann Goering, one of Adolf Hitler's top deputies… Col. Uiberall later worked as an intelligence officer and produced studies on the internal politics of Vietnam. He returned to Washington as deputy commander of the 116th Military Intelligence Group before retiring from the Army in the late 1960s…..(Washington Post, 20 Sep 07)

Reyes' Opening Statement at FISA Hearing

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held an open hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) with witnesses Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for the National SecurityDivision, U.S. Department of Justice. Read Chairman Silvestre Reyes' opening statement......(NPT, 20 Sep 07)

A Secret Lobbying Campaign

The nation’s biggest telecommunications companies, working closely with the White House, have mounted a secretive lobbying campaign to get Congress to quickly approve a measure wiping out all private lawsuits against them for assisting the U.S. intelligence community’s warrantless surveillance programs. The campaign—which involves some of Washington's most prominent lobbying and law firms—has taken on new urgency in recent weeks because of fears that a U.S. appellate court in San Francisco is poised to rule that the lawsuits should be allowed to proceed…The administration is keeping up pressure on Congress for quick action on the new version of the surveillance law—including an immunity provision for telecoms—which will take effect when the Protect America Act expires early next year.......(Newsweek,  20 Sep 07)

New Cold War threat as espionage heats up

In attempting to justify the continued spying on American citizens without court warrants, Michael McConnell, head of the US National Intelligence, told the House Judiciary Committee that the measures are still needed, not least because there is an increase in spying activity from Russia and China. He went further and told the Congress committee that such were the activities of these foreign nations, that it could be compared to the days of the Cold War, when allegedly spying by Russia was at its peak….(Gulf News, 20 Sep 07)

Wikipedia 2.0 - now with added trust

…It is a problem that dogs every Wikipedia entry. Because anyone can edit any entry at any time, users do not generally know if they are looking at a carefully researched article, one that has had errors mischievously inserted, or a piece written by someone pushing their own agenda. As a result, although Wikipedia has grown in size and reputation since its launch in 2001 - around 7 per cent of all internet users now visit the site on any given day - its information continues to be treated cautiously. That could be about to change. Over the past few years, a series of measures aimed at reducing the threat of vandalism and boosting public confidence in Wikipedia have been developed……(New Scientist, 20 Sep 07)

Tom Hanks, studio double up on spy saga

Tom Hanks will produce a Nazi thriller based on the newly published biography "Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal."…The book, published last week by Harmony Books, centers on the true-life story of Eddie Chapman, a criminal, con man and philanderer who was recruited by the Nazis at the beginning of World War II. Chapman quickly became a master of espionage, and while on a mission to destroy an airplane factory in Britain, contacted the M15, Britain's secret service, thus beginning his life as a double agent…..(Reuters, 20 Sep 07)

Course explores WWII espionage

A free eight-week course titled “The Secret War: Espionage and Other Activities in World War II” will be presented from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Sept. 26 through Nov. 14 in the Shiras Room at Peter White Public Library. The class, led by Roger Magnuson, will examine the capture and turning of enemy spies, penetration of enemy codes, deception techniques, and placing of agents behind enemy lines…..(Mining Journal, 20 Sep 07)

Former CIA deputy speaks at Elliot School

Former CIA Executive Deputy Director Martin Petersen discussed his Cold War-era career - defined by a clear-cut enemy - in contrast to the culture of intelligence gathering today, a period where international threats are more difficult to identify, during a speech Monday night at the Elliott School of International Affairs. "(The Soviet Union) was a rival with borders and security and territorial interests to defend," Petersen said. Today we face a decentralized enemy that, unlike the USSR, is unwilling to negotiate and difficult to identify, he said. The terrorists of today are hidden and have an uncompromising commitment to violence……(Hatchet, 20 Sep 07)

Surveillance Hearings Open Door to Secret Information

Despite concerns voiced by the U.S. head of intelligence operations that revealing details of wiretapping programs would result in American deaths, the White House's push for reform of the rules that govern the programs has opened the door for details to spill out during congressional hearings…..(ABC, 20 Sep 07)

Iran Frees American Citizen Held Since May

Iran released New York-based social scientist Kian Tajbakhsh from Evin Prison in Tehran late last night, according to George Soros's Open Society Institute, for which Tajbakhsh has served as a consultant. Tajbakhsh is the third Iranian American to be released since Haleh Esfandiari was freed last month after more than eight months of growing tension between Iran and the United States over the detention or imprisonment of four American citizens in Iran…..(Washington Post, 20 Sep 07)

American spy satellite downed in Peru as US nuclear attack on Iran thwarted

Russian Military Intelligence Analysts are reporting today that one of the United States most secretive spy satellites, the KH-13, targeting Iran was 'destroyed in its orbit' with its main power generator powered by the radioactive isotope Pu-238 surviving re-entry and crashing in a remote region of the South American Nation of Peru, and where hundreds are reported to be ill from radiation poisoning. Western media reports are stating that the US spy satellite debris hitting Peru was caused by a meteor, but which, according to these reports, would be 'impossible' as the size of 30-meter crater, if caused by a meteorite, would have hit the ground with about as much energy as 1 kiloton tactical nuclear weapon, and which would have been recorded by the seismic stations around the World….(Pravda, 20 Sep 07)

Dumpster-Diving Detectives and Tales of Industrial Espionage: Court Filings Reveal Twists and Turns of iRobot-Robotic FX Case

…According to the affidavit, the man spotted putting items in the dumpster fit the description of Jameel Ahed, founder of Robotic FX, an Illinois-based maker of military robots. On Friday, August 17, the day before Romano’s dumpster stake out, Burlington, MA-based iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) had filed suit in Massachusetts and Alabama against Robotic FX (the Massachusetts suit also named Ahed, a former iRobot employee). The lawsuits claimed infringement on patents for iRobot’s PackBot military robot and misappropriation and misuse of confidential information related to the machine. Yesterday links to filings in those cases—including Romano’s affidavit and surveillance photos….(Xconomy, 20 Sep 07)

iRobot Files Lawsuits Charging Infringement on Combat Robot Patents

Commercial and military robot maker iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) announced today that it has filed a pair of lawsuits against a former employee and his company, claiming infringement on patents for iRobot’s PackBot military robot and misappropriation and misuse of confidential information related to the machine…iRobot, based in Burlington, MA, filed the patent-infringement suit against Illinois-based Robotic FX in U.S. District Court and filed the confidential-information misuse suit against the company and its founder, Jameel Ahed, in Massachusetts Superior Court. Both suits focus on Robotic FX’s “Negotiator” robot, which iRobot contends is a knock-off of its PackBot……(Xconomy, 20 Aug 07)

iRobot Files Lawsuit to Stop Infringement of Patents on Combat-Proven PackBot Robot

iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) today announced it has filed two lawsuits against Robotic FX, Inc., of Worth, Ill., and its founder and president, a former iRobot employee, Mr. Jameel Ahed. Robotic FX sells the "Negotiator", a knock-off version of the combat-proven iRobot® PackBot® robot. iRobot has shipped more than 1,000 PackBot robots to forces in the U.S. and abroad, and the robots are frequently cited as life-saving tools of U.S. warfighters. iRobot is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent Robotic FX from selling its Negotiator robot, plus damages…..(iRobot, 20 Aug 07)

Hacker Decries U.S., Israel On Vietnam Memorial Site

A computer hacker promoting Turkish nationalism posted a video and message on a U.S. Vietnam memorial Web site in recent days, blocking one of the site's search functions while defacing the site with a statement against the United States and Israel. Users of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site – at  www.thewall-usa.com-- who searched for U.S. casualties by date were sent to an all-red Web page adorned with a symbol from the Turkish flag, a short video, and messages in Turkish and English. The English messages attacked Kurds, the United States, Israel and Armenia…..(Washington Post, 20 Sep 07)

Declassified documents on the A-12 program

A Short-Lived Highflier

After Soviet radar units tracked the U-2 spy plane on its very first flight over the Soviet Union in 1956, CIA officials decided they needed an even more advanced aircraft that could fly higher and safer. The result, after nine years of painstaking development and rigorous testing, was the A-12, an engineering marvel that flew higher and faster than any airplane before or since. Code-named OXCART, the plane could reach altitudes of over 90,000 and fly at speeds over Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound……(US News, 20 Sep 07)

CIA unveils Cold War spy plane

A sleek piece of Cold War history was put on display at the CIA Wednesday -- the once supersecret A-12 spy plane, which flew higher and faster than any other manned aircraft to spy on North Vietnam and North Korea. "It was a beautiful airplane," said Ken Collins, a retired air force colonel and one of only six pilots to fly the A-12s…Codenamed "Black Shield," the A-12s last missions were flown in 1968 over North Korea after the capture of the USS Pueblo, a US electronic surveillance vessel seized in international waters. Hayden credited the photographs taken by the A-12s with two key intelligence findings. Missions in 1967 found that North Vietnam had no surface-to-surface missiles, easing US fears of an escalation. And an A-12 photographed the USS Pueblo in a North Korean port three days after it was seized on January 23, 1968…..(AFP, 20 Sep 07)

A perfect spy?

…Although the fact that he was a spook is pretty certain, the question of which side he was on remains shrouded in mystery. Was (Ashraf) Marwan a profiteering spy for Israel who gave away vital information ahead of the 1973 war or a cunning double agent for Egypt who fed the Israelis with misleading disinformation? Marwan's identity as a spy was revealed by Israeli historian Aharon Bergman - who was due to meet the late billionaire at around the time of his death - and the prominent American journalist and author Howard Blum in his 2003 book The Eve of Destruction: The Untold Story of the Yom Kippur War…..(Guardian, 19 Sep 07)

Statement by CIA Director Michael V. Hayden on Agency's 60th Anniversary

Those who founded the Central Intelligence Agency 60 years ago

understood they were creating something entirely new: a secret civilian intelligence service, its place in government central, its judgments free of departmental influence. They also knew the times demanded it; Pearl Harbor was a recent memory, and the Iron Curtain a new reality. America, no longer a reluctant player on the world stage but the Free World's champion, faced global responsibilities and threats -- and needed a Central Intelligence Agency. In 2007, it still does -- more than ever. We confront a very different range of challenges than our founders did, but we approach them with the same expeditionary spirit, unrivaled expertise, and deep patriotism…..(CIA Press Release, 19 Sep 07)

Study Says Veterans' Data Are at Risk

…The report by the Government Accountability Office, released Wednesday, comes more than one year after the VA pledged renewed security efforts after the loss of personal information for 26.5 million veterans and active-duty personnel. It found that the VA had not yet fully secured access to its computer network and department facilities nor worked to ensure that only authorized changes and updates to VA computer programs were made. Moreover, the VA has operated without a chief information security officer since June 2006 to oversee changes and still lacks clear and adequate procedures for quickly notifying veterans when their sensitive data is lost…..(AP, 19 Sep 07)

Venezuela Accuses US DEA of Spying

Venezuela's Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez said on Wednesday they have indications of espionage activity by the US Drug Enforcement Agency…The attorney general also revealed that Venezuelan authorities tried to reach an agreement to clearly establish areas of competence, but there was no cooperation from the DEA, which led them into considering if they were carrying out espionage missions in the country…..(Prensa Latina, 19 Sep 07)

B.C. judge condemns Canada's spy agency 'inconceivable, incomprehensible, indefensible incompetence'

A former Crown prosecutor says Canada's spy agency was neither cooperative nor forthright when he was working with the RCMP on the Air India bombing case. James Jardine told the Air India inquiry on Tuesday he was frustrated for months by the reluctance of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service -- CSIS -- to provide intelligence it had gathered on the key suspects in the terrorist plot. Jardine also told inquiry commissioner John Major he learned definitively that CSIS had erased critical tapes made of suspect Talwinder Singh Parmar's telephone calls when the agency's director appeared on CBC in December 1987…..(Vancouver Sun, 19 Sep 07)

Florence Hartmann: Nice Was an MI6 Spy

Former spokeswoman of the Hague Office of the Prosecutor Florence Hartmann claims that prosecutor Geoffrey Nice was an MI6 spy in a letter she sent to daily newspaper Jutarnji list yesterday. Apart from that, Hartmann points out that Nice did not fight to get Slobodan Milosevic convicted for the Srebrenica genocide. Nice wanted to throw out the gravest charges against Milosevic. It was the former Kosovo leader Azem Vllasi who told Hartmann that Nice was an MI6 spy. Nice himself had said to Vllasi that, in 1966, MI6 had sent him to monitor the Brijuni plenum….(Javno, 19 Sep 07)

Security official defends satellite surveillance plan

The Homeland Security Department has gone "above and beyond what is called for by law" in assessing potential privacy implications of its plan to coordinate the use of satellites for domestic surveillance, a high-ranking official told the agency's privacy advisory committee Wednesday…The satellite data-sharing already exists elsewhere in the government and "all that's new in the proposal is to bring this process into Homeland Security and give it a little bit more structure than it has now," he said. "In many ways it's more restricted use."

The department also has been busy responding to a July report from the Government Accountability Office that called for the designation of privacy officials in each Homeland Security mission area….(National Journal’s Technology Daily, 19 Sep 07)

U.S. statements on activity of Russian special services are ungrounded - expert

Veteran of Russian special services Mikhail Lyubimov believes that statements made by Director of U.S. National Intelligence Mike McConnell that the activity of Russian special services are approaching the level of the Cold War are unjustified.  "I think is a usual ritual statement. As far as I remember when the United States is about to approve the budget, statements that Russians become active are always made, but these statements have no grounds," Lyubimov told Interfax…..(Interfax, 19 Sep 07)

Russia and China 'spying on US'

Russia and China are spying on US facilities at close to Cold War levels, the head of US intelligence has warned. Both were aggressively collecting information on the US, head of National Intelligence Michael McConnell warned. US agencies are battling traditional state foes as well as terror groups, Mr McConnell told a congressional hearing. Mr McConnell was defending new legislation allowing the US government to eavesdrop on international phone calls and e-mails without a warrant…..(BBC, 19 Sep 07)

Warrantless Wiretaps Not Used, Official Says

The National Security Agency has not conducted wiretapping without warrants on the telephones of any Americans since at least February…Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, told the House Judiciary Committee that since he took office that month, the government has conducted electronic surveillance only after seeking court-approved warrants…Mr. McConnell’s testimony Tuesday was the first time he has publicly said that the warrantless wiretapping of Americans has actually been ended….(New York Times, 19 Sep 07)

Spy chief says wiretap powers needed

The fight over the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program began anew Tuesday as the nation's top spy urged Congress to make permanent the law that gives intelligence agencies more latitude to monitor overseas phone calls and e-mails.  Director of National Intelligence J. Michael McConnell testified that the administration needed the expanded powers because old versions of the law required intelligence agents to obtain time-consuming warrants for any communication that passed through U.S. networks -- even if the call was between two foreign suspects…..(LA Times, 19 Sep 07)

Award-winning Irish filmmaker to present –
 “One Man's Story: Philip Agee, Cuba and the CIA”

Bernie Dwyer, award-winning Irish filmmaker, will present her latest work, “One Man's Story: Philip Agee, Cuba and the CIA,” at 2 p.m., Sun., Sept. 23, 2007, in the Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center, John B. Davis Lecture Hall, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul, Minn…Agee resigned from the Central Intelligence Agency in 1968 and wrote Inside the Company: CIA Diary….(Macalester, 18 Sep 07)

Spies Testify against Each Other

The closed trail of Russian Army Maj. Sergey Yuren began yesterday in the Moscow District Military Court. Investigators say Yuren and four officers of the Belarusian Army gave Polish intelligence agents information about the facilities of the Russian-Belarusian unified air defense system. The Belarusian officers were sentenced in that country to prison terms of 7-10 years on September 14. Yuren testified against them at their trial and head of the Belarusian KGB Stepan Sukhorenko was dismissed in the resultant scandal. Yuren is accused of violating article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“treason in the form of espionage”). The prosecution claims that Yuren, along with Belarusian officers Vladimir Russkin, Viktor Bogdan, Sergey Kornilyuk and Pavel Petkevich, gathered information and various defensive objects located in Belarus, especially S-300 ballistic missile systems……(Kommersant, 18 Sep 07)

Polonium murder suspect eyes Russian presidency

The ex-KGB agent Britain accuses of using radioactive polonium to murder an exiled Kremlin critic said Monday that he would like to become Russian president next year. "Like any citizen I would like to be president," Andrei Lugovoi, the main suspect in the killing last year in London of Alexander Litvinenko, said, Interfax news agency reported. Russia holds elections on March 2, 2008, to replace President Vladimir Putin, who is to step down at the end of his second consecutive term…..(Agence France-Presse, 18 Sep 07)

YouTube Video: Lugovoy stands for Duma seat

'Assassin suspect' Andrei Lugovoi turns politician

Andrei Lugovoi, the ex-KGB officer wanted in Britain for the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, has completed the transition from murder suspect to prominent politician after he was nominated for parliament by one of Russia's top political parties.Displaying the swagger that has become his hallmark, Mr Lugovoi accepted the nomination of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) to the second most senior slot on its list of candidates contesting parliamentary elections in December. His acceptance means that Mr Lugovoi is all but certain to win a seat in the State Duma — a position that comes with guaranteed immunity from prosecution. The development is likely to be seen as further snub against the British government, whose request for Mr Lugovoi's extradition was rejected in the summer, prompting a wave of diplomatic expulsions…..(Telegraph, 18 Sep 07)

Swapping Oligarchs for the West

Putting the oligarchs in their place was a theme of the State Duma campaign in 2003. Putting the West in its place is shaping up to be a theme this time. The Duma campaign, which kicked off less than two weeks ago, is lurching toward absurdity with the weekend announcement that murder suspect Andrei Lugovoi will run for a seat with Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party…..(Moscow Times, 18 Sep 07)

Bush's Pick Faces First Test

…In U.S. v. Lindauer, Judge Mukasey refused the government's request that he order a woman, diagnosed as paranoid and delusional, to take psychotropic drugs in order to be competent enough to stand trial. The defendant, Susan Lindauer, is charged with serving as an agent of Saddam Hussein. Although the case was being prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's national security and terrorism bureau, Judge Mukasey questioned the government's interest in prosecuting the case. "Even lay people recognize that she is seriously disturbed," he ruled. "Lindauer has been found to pose a threat neither to herself nor to others."…..(New York Sun, 18 Sep 07)

Mukasey dealt setback to Justice

Attorney General nominee Michael B. Mukasey stopped federal prosecutors from forcibly administering anti-psychotic drugs last year to a former congressional aide they wanted to stand trial on charges of working with Saddam Hussein's Iraqi intelligence agents before the war.  In a major setback for Justice Department prosecutors, Mr. Mukasey, then a U.S. district judge in Manhattan, said Susan P. Lindauer, 44, of Takoma Park, could not be forced to take the medication, citing what he called "humanitarian concerns" in a procedure that "necessarily involves physically restraining defendant" to inject "mind-altering drugs." In his 35-page order, Judge Mukasey said Ms. Lindauer suffered from "hallucinations, grandiose and persecutory delusions" and was not competent to stand trial. He doubted the government could prove the charges against Ms. Lindauer and criticized the prosecution as excessive……(Washington Times, 19 Sep 07)

China's Hot Stock: Orwell Inc.

In a stunning report in the New York Times last week, correspondent Keith Bradsher documented the rise of China's electronic surveillance industry, whose leading companies have incorporated themselves in the United States and obtained the lion's share of their capital from U.S. hedge funds. Though ostensibly private, these companies are a for-profit adjunct of the Chinese government. Li Runsen, technology director of the government's ministry of public security and the top cop policing China's Internet usage against the occasional appearance of a dangerous idea, now also moonlights as a director of China Security and Surveillance Technology, a company soon to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange…leading American companies have a long and sordid record of investing in totalitarian states, including Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia and axis-of-evil Iran (hello, Halliburton). But, distinguish as we must among the various levels of hell, at least those American companies did not invest in the Gestapo, the Stasi, the KGB, the Revolutionary Guard. Maybe that was only because it was hard to turn a buck on the Stasi. Once China turned communist repression into an investment opportunity, however, capitalism responded as capitalism is supposed to respond:….(Washington Post, 19 Sep 07)

iRobot Files Suit

PackBot-maker iRobot has filed two lawsuits against competitor Robotic Fx and its founder, Jameel Ahed, charging that the company ripped-off its proprietary design and violated two U.S. patents.  “It is unlawful to be selling a knock-off version of our combat-proven iRobot Packbot,” said Joe Dyer, president of iRobot’s government and industrial division…..(Defense News, 18 Aug 07)

Spy Chief: China, Russia Spying on U.S.

…Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, says in testimony prepared for a Tuesday congressional hearing that a law passed last month expanding the U.S. government's eavesdropping power is needed to protect not just against terrorists but also against more traditional potential adversaries, such as those two Cold War foes. "China and Russia's foreign intelligence services are among the most aggressive in collecting against sensitive and protected U.S. systems, facilities and development projects, and their efforts are approaching Cold War levels," McConnell says in his testimony. "Foreign intelligence information concerning the plans, activities and intentions of foreign powers and their agents is critical to protect the nation and preserve our security."….(AP, 18 Sep 07)

DNI Statement for the Record - House Judiciary Committee Hearing on FISA [.pdf]

China and Russia spying at Cold War levels: US spy chief

Chinese and Russian spies are stalking the United States at levels close to those seen during the tense covert espionage duels of the Cold War, the top US intelligence officer warned Tuesday. Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell raised the specter of a new era of clandestine intelligence wars during a House of Representatives hearing on a contentious new law on warrantless wiretapping......In July, FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress that China's espionage operations were a "substantial concern" and Beijing was stealing US secrets to boost its fast developing military and economy.....(AFP 18 Sep 07)

Court to try prosecutor in Horáková's show trial in October

Former Czech communist prosecutor Ludmila Brozova-Polednova, prosecuted for participation in the show trial of democratic politician Milada Horakova, who was sentenced to death by the Communist regime in 1950, will face trial next month, a Prague City Court employee told CTK Tuesday. The trial is scheduled for October 16-18, the court representative said… Brozova-Polednova, now aged about 80, was one of the plaintiffs to have participated in the convicting of Horakova…Horakova was sentenced to death on the basis of false charges of treason and espionage and was executed on June 27, 1950, at the age of 49, despite a wave of protests from all over the world……(Prague Monitor, 19 Sep 07)

Training Satellites on the United States

On August 15, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that America’s senior intelligence authorities were preparing to vastly expand access to classified satellite reconnaissance and other remote sensing data. Initially, the National Applications Office (NAO), a newly created office within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will confine itself to homeland security and traditional civil applications. Officials will be able to request satellite data to enhance border security, defend critical infrastructure and coordinate disaster response. Next year, the department plans to give satellite data to state and local law enforcement agencies…..(In These Times, 19 Sep 07)

Pentagon Developing New Unmanned Spy Planes

The Department of Defense wants to develop spy satellites that can detect a military force mobilizing halfway around the world, enabling it to immediately assess possible threats to national security. An unmanned surveillance aircraft packed into the nose of a missile would be launched over suspicious areas to gather more intelligence; if the threat were confirmed, it would be replaced by another aircraft that could perform low-flying surveillance for up to five years without returning to Earth to refuel. Toward that end, the Pentagon has commissioned development of the Rapid Eye and the Vulture—two new unmanned, high-altitude aircraft better able, it says, to meet today's needs for gathering information about nimbler threats. "We're not talking about big, thick structures that we want to keep an eye on like in the Cold War," says Wade Pulliam, program manager with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office, an arm of the Pentagon charged with researching and developing new technology for the defense department. "Threats today are more fluid right now, and military responses are more likely to be low-level and long-term, rather than fast and sharp. So endurance of all the assets involved is important……(Scientific American, 18 Sep 07)

Spy czar urges extension of warrantless wiretap law

…The sworn testimony from McConnell came as the Bush administration kicked off a new push in Congress for permanent expansion of warrantless wiretapping powers, drawing skepticism from Democrats and more vocal sympathy from Republicans. McConnell is also scheduled to appear before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday and the Senate Judiciary Committee next week…..(CNet, 18 Sep 07)

Morocco court cuts jail term over newspaper spy leak

A Moroccan court on Tuesday handed a reduced prison sentence to a journalist who published leaked intelligence information about an al Qaeda plot. Mustapha Hourmatallah, a reporter for Al Watan Alaan (The Homeland Now), was sentenced to eight months in prison on August 15, drawing criticism from human rights lawyers and press freedom activists…..(Reuters, 18 Sep 07)

Report: India to launch Israeli spy satellite in upcoming days

India plans to launch an Israeli spy satellite over the coming days, the American magazine Aviation Week reported on Tuesday. Israel's first Polaris/TecSat military imaging radar satellite will be launched from India's launch site on an island in the Bay of Bengal. The satellite will have night vision capabilities and will be able to see at a resolution of one meter…..(Haaretz, 18 Sep 07)

Lugovoy's patron says Britons are cheats, bandits

Russian ultra-nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky on Tuesday said Britain was a nation of cheats and bandits, and had no right to seek the handover of Andrei Lugovoy, a candidate standing for Zhirinovsky's party. Lugovoy, a former KGB officer, is wanted by London on suspicion of killing Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko. He will be a candidate for Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party in December parliamentary elections. Sitting next to Zhirinovsky at a news briefing, Lugovoy disavowed a statement on Monday that he would like to become president, saying: "Vladimir Volfovich (Zhirinovsky) has all the qualities for the job."….(Reuters, 18 Sep 07)

U.S.: spying by Russia and China near Cold War levels

Spying on the United States by Russia and China has rebounded almost to Cold War levels, the top U.S. spy chief told Congress on Tuesday.....(Reuters, 18 Sep 07)

Spy Chief Seeks More Eavesdropping Power

…The Protect America Act allows the government to eavesdrop, without a court order, on all communications conducted by a person reasonably believed to be outside the United States, even if an American is on one end of the conversation. Such surveillance was generally prohibited under the original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and is one of the more controversial aspects of the new law. But McConnell's prepared testimony says that is one of the most important new aspects of the law: the possibility of obtaining a call or e-mail "from a foreign terrorist outside the United States to a previously unknown 'sleeper' or coconspirator inside the United States.".....(AP, 18 Sep 07)

FIA vows to probe new espionage claim

… Defecting engineer Phil Mackereth is understood to have taken with him to Renault three disks of detailed information about McLaren's cooling and electronic systems. Team boss Flavio Briatore confirmed in Belgium at the weekend that he provided information about the issue both to F1's governing body and McLaren, but a FIA spokesman revealed that the French team was not yet being investigated formally….(Due Motori, 18 Sep 07)

Ameritrade customer database hacked and contact information stolen

…Hackers are already trying to exploit these stolen addresses for commercial gain, with a phishing campaign, in which cybercriminals try to coax recipients to a spoof TD Ameritrade site in an attempt to capture user IDs and passwords. "Hackers are now in possession of 6.3 million email addresses for people that they know are interested in trading shares. This knowledge alone could spur the creation of highly targeted spam emails, such as 'pump and dump' campaigns which offer bogus share tips to artificially boost stock prices. We've already spotted 'spear-phishing' campaigns where criminals send emails posing as TD Ameritrade in order to extract additional personal information," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant, Sophos…..(Security Park, 18 Sep 07)

On This Day:

17 September 2002

After years of denials by his country, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il admitted that North Korean spies had abducted about a dozen Japanese citizens decades earlier, and that at least four of the Japanese were still alive.

Utility Regulator Shouldn't Spy

Alberta's energy and utilities regulator has been accused for the second time in two weeks of overstepping its authority when it hired private detectives to spy on citizens involved in public hearings into a new power corridor between Edmonton and Calgary…..(AP, 17 Sep 07)

DARPA seeks flexible ion-drive tech for spy sats

…the groundbreaking military gambler-profs are after hugely more flexible ion engines for use in spacecraft. In an announcement posted last week, the agency notes that: "There is increasingly a desire to deploy satellites and spacecraft whose missions and requirements may be changed routinely throughout their operational life to support changing national needs." This probably refers to spy satellites, much in demand by the American security and defense establishments. Spy satellites typically need to alter their orbits in order to get a good view of specific places or targets, and this uses up fuel. Once a surveillance bird has run out of propellant, it will only get into the right place at the right time again by sheer luck; its useful life is over….(Register, 17 Sep 07)

Russian Accused in Poisoning Seeks Parliament Seat

…The accused former officer, Andrei K. Lugovoi, said on state television that he would run as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, the ultranationalist party led by Vladimir V. Zhirinovsky. If elected, Mr. Lugovoi would be immune from prosecution in Russia. The Crown Prosecution Service in Britain has sought the extradition of Mr. Lugovoi, whom it accused in May of killing Alexander V. Litvinenko last year with polonium 210. Mr. Litvinenko, also a former K.G.B. officer, was a self-styled whistle-blower and a harsh critic of the Kremlin and of President Vladimir V. Putin. He died last November after being poisoned by the isotope……(New York Times, 17 Sep 07)

Cuba demands release of five nationals held in US prisons

The Cuban embassy has demanded the release of the five Cubans held in United State’s prisons since 1998 on espionage and conspiracy charges. Alejandro R Fuentes Febles, third secretary at the Cuban mission, told media persons yesterday on the occasion of ‘International Solidarity Day’ that the Cubans were being held unjustly by the US government after they were falsely charged and convicted as spies while peacefully defending Cuba from US-backed terrorist groups based in Miami. “What we are doing today is to inaugurate for the media a new section about the ‘Cuban five’ in Qatar. This belongs to international activities on solidarity for the ‘Cuban five’ around the world. The campaign will run until October 8….(Gulf Times, 17 Sep 07)

Ex-Official Returns to Key Post at the C.I.A.

…Mr. Sulick, 59, has had a storied career at the agency, working in Japan, Peru, Poland and Russia over more than 20 years. In 2004, he rose to the second-highest position in the clandestine service, but chose to retire three months into the job after repeated clashes with the staff of the director at the time, Porter J. Goss. Mr. Sulick’s return is another prominent move by the current director, Gen. Michael V. Hayden, to fill the top ranks with officials who left under Mr. Goss…..(New York Times, 17 Sep 07)

Gates Plans Speech to Detail the Roots of Security Policy

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday will offer a detailed analysis of the philosophical roots of national security policy that aims to reconcile the pragmatic and ideological wings of a Republican Party he has served at the White House, Central Intelligence Agency and Pentagon…..(New York Times, 17 Sep 07)

Belarus Convicts 4 in Polish Spy Trial

…The verdict, read out in court, said the four defendants were "found guilty of espionage and damaging Belarus' external security and defense capability." A 10-year sentence was handed down to Vladimir Ruskin, convicted on a further charge of organizing espionage activity. The three others -- Sergei Kornelyuk, Pavel Petkevich and Viktor Bogdan -- received seven years in a labor camp…..(Reuters, 17 Sep 07)

Cynthia Eileen Bennett, CIA Secretary

Cynthia Eileen Bennett, 63, a former Fairfax City resident who worked at the CIA for 21 years, died Aug. 22…Ms. Bennett did secretarial work at the CIA before retiring in 1997……(Washington Post, 17 Sep 07)

Poison suspect turns to politics

…Mr Lugovoy, 42, is expected to attend the LDPR’s party congress in Moscow today. He also announced that he was suing Kommersant newspaper in Russia for 20 million roubles (£400,000) over an article describing Mr Litvinenko as his victim. Mr Lugovoy’s candidacy for the LDPR is a marriage of convenience for both sides. The LDPR suffered the defection of a key financial backer, Alexei Mitrofanov, its No 2 figure, to the rival Just Russia party last month. The party now holds 35 of the Duma’s 446 seats but the threshold for winning seats in this election has been raised from 5 to 7 per cent. Opinion polls show that the LDPR is only just above the threshold but is likely to rise as election day nears. The Litvinenko affair has made Mr Lugovoy a famous man in Russia, where he is asked for his autograph in the streets. His candidacy brings the party a welcome burst of publicity and will bolster support for it among nationalist voters….(Times Online, 17 Sep 07)

Alleged killer of Litvinenko to start new career in politics

Andrei Lugovoi said he would run as a candidate for the Kremlin-supporting ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic party. The party confirmed it had placed him second on its party list - a move that virtually guarantees him a seat as an MP. As a member of Russia's Duma (lower house), Mr Lugovoi would automatically enjoy immunity from prosecution. In reality this makes no difference since the Kremlin has categorically refused Britain's request to extradite Mr Lugovoi to the UK. Britain now faces the prospect of watching Mr Lugovoi present himself in parliament as a heroic Russian patriot doing battle against evil British spies. His decision to enter politics could hardly have been made without Kremlin approval…..(Guardian, 17 Sep 07)

The state of spy agency in Sudan

The status of espionage between Khartoum and the Southern Sudan government varies considerably with Khartoum having much improved espionage capabilities while the South is virtually decapitated. To put it into clearer perspective, even though Khartoum and the South are known as Sudan under the definition of colonial disarrangement of nation state, the two are enemies to each other. They are not only fighting one another but spying on each other. Khartoum’s espionage activities of late are already showing its negative toll on the South…..(Sudan Tribune, 17 Sep 07)

Russian nationalist party names Litvinenko killing suspect as top parliamentary candidate

The vehemently nationalist Liberal Democratic Party on Monday named the prime suspect in the killing of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko to a top slot on its list for parliamentary candidates, Russian news reports said. Andrei Lugovoi was chosen at a party congress to be second on its candidate list for the Dec. 2 elections, the reports said. Lugovoi has been named by Britain as its chief suspect in last year's killing in London of Litvinenko, who died of poisoning by a rare radioactive isotope. Russia has refused Britain's demand that Lugovoi be extradited to face trial in the murder, saying that its constitution prevents the move…..(AP, 17 Sep 07)

Intelligence: Return of a Prodigal Spy at the CIA

…The CIA's new chief spy, Michael Sulick, is a veteran of the shadowy world of undercover operations in hostile countries—and also the backstabbing arena of Washington politics. Sulick learned his tradecraft—the James Bond side of spying—in the old Soviet Union. Like other Western spies, he learned to follow "Moscow Rules," the rigorous countersurveillance measures used to avoid detection by the ubiquitous KGB…..(Newsweek, 17 Sep 07)

Secrets Revealed: CIA Allegedly Transferred STAR GATE to Spy Agency