August 2008

Visitors warned of 'honey trap' spy operations targeting West

China's Secret Intelligence Service, CSIS, has trained more than 1,000 of its most beautiful female agents to launch "honey trap" missions against British and other foreign businessmen and key diplomatic aides accompanying foreign leaders to the Olympic Games, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.  The warning has come in a detailed briefing by Britain's two intelligence chiefs -- Jonathan Evans of MI5 and John Scarlett of MI6 -- to the British team and businessmen. Similar warnings have been issued by the U.S. State Department and European foreign ministries to their teams……(World Net Daily, 7 Aug 08)

MI5 forced to share intelligence with EU

…Under the plans all European countries would be forced to put their secret information into a central intelligence unit accessible by all member states. MI5 and MI6 are thought to be furious with the plans, but the government itself contributed to the document, indicating they will become law in the UK. The document, European Home Affairs in an Open World, was drawn up by justice ministers from France, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, as well as the European Commission. There are no proposals for a central European spy agency, but each country's intelligence agencies would be coordinated through SitCen, an EU intelligence assessment centre in Brussels……(Politics UK, 7 Aug 08)

New European spying proposals 'threaten British security'

Under the plans, seen by the Daily Telegraph, all countries would feed secret information into a central intelligence unit so that any member state can use it…Although the Government has contributed to the proposals being drawn up, Britain's security services are likely to put up stiff opposition to the plans.  Historically British intelligence officers have enjoyed a good relationship with their US counterparts, regularly exchanging information particularly in the fight against terrorism. However, there has been a degree of mistrust between the British authorities and European security agencies. In the 1990s the French intelligence service was blamed for leaking information shared by MI6 to the Serbian military.……(Telegraph, 7 Aug 08)

Anger at plans for EU wide police force with powers to snoop on Britons

…EU ministers have also called for top-secret intelligence to be pooled between the 27 member states  - and shared with US authorities. National police forces would be integrated, and a European-wide police force or 'gendarmerie' set up to fight crime across national borders. They say the controversial proposals for an 'Euro-atlantic area of cooperation' would help control terrorism, organised crime and illegal immigration. But critics fear exchanging volumes of intelligence material would be detrimental to Britain's security…….(Daily Mail, 7 Aug 08)

Musharraf 'to face impeachment'

Pakistan's ruling coalition parties say they will begin impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf. Party leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif made the announcement after two days of talks. They would need a two-thirds majority to impeach. Mr Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup in 1999. He gave up control of the army last year and his allies were defeated in February's elections but he retains the power to dissolve parliament……(BBC, 7 Aug 08)

Pak senators demand parliamentary body to oversee intelligence agencies

Amid the raging controversy over the functioning of Pakistan intelligence agency ISI, members of the Senate have reportedly demanded setting up of a parliamentary committee on intelligence to oversee the affairs of the country’s intelligence agencies.  During the parliamentary proceedings yesterday which were dominated by controversy over control of ISI, some senators, including Haji Adeel of the ANP, Waseem Sajjad, SM Zafar and Salim Saifullah demanded that a “parliamentary committee on intelligence” to oversee the functioning of intelligence agencies, reported the Daily Times. Sajjad said that intelligence agencies should be under civilian control, and added that the premier was a civilian and the ISI should remain under his control……(New Post, 7 Aug 08)

Israel considers military option for Iran nukes

Israel is building up its strike capabilities amid growing anxiety over Iran's nuclear ambitions and appears confident that a military attack would cripple Tehran's atomic program, even if it can't destroy it.

Such talk could be more threat than reality. However, Iran's refusal to accept Western conditions is worrying Israel as is the perception that Washington now prefers diplomacy over confrontation with Tehran……(AP, 7 Aug 08)

Beer, spies and videotape: Stasi drinking den angers Berliners

When you pop into your local, you do not expect to be interrogated under a bright lamp or recruited to the secret police while your pint is being pulled. But the owners of a new Berlin pub plan to offer these services and more at their espionage-themed drinking den, which pays tribute to the east German Stasi.  The Firm - the slang term to describe the secret police of the communist regime - is decked out with memorabilia from the bygone era, including shredded surveillance logs, Stasi porcelain and an urn the owners claim contains the ashes of the former east German leader Erich Honecker. A surveillance camera at the door tracks the guests as they enter. The pub - which is situated on Normannenstrasse in east Berlin, the street that was once home to the former Ministry of State Security - has provoked outrage among former victims of the secret police……(Guardian, 6 Aug 08)

A Hydra-headed Monster?

This is the heading (minus the question mark which is mine) in the lead article published in The Times of India on July 31, 2008. The writer is Sumit Ganguly and his name coupled with the fact that the article is in an Indian newspaper, suggests that he is of Indian extraction. He is a professor of Political Science in some obscure University of Indiana in the town of Bloomington. The opening statement of the article reads ‘Pakistan's much-dreaded Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate is in the news again.’ The article goes on to relate instances of terror such as the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul an instances reported in every newspaper and TV station in the world and available to anyone who can read or watches television……(Daily Mail, 6 Aug 08)

Can Pakistan clean up its intelligence agency?

As Pakistan faces mounting pressure from its neighbors and the United States to clear pro-Taliban elements from its intelligence service, its weak government is struggling to respond in a convincing way. Last week, American officials alleged that members of Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), had helped plan the bombing of the Indian consulate in Kabul, Afghanistan, last month. The claim echoed those lodged by both affected neighbors, India and Afghanistan. On top of these accusations came reports that a top CIA official had confronted Pakistani leaders with evidence of the ISI's support for militants that the Pakistani Army has been battling in the country's restive northwest tribal areas. The timing of the allegations against the ISI is weighing heavily on Pakistan, which has struggled to assuage its neighbors' and the US's complaints……(Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug 08)

US working with Pak to deal with its spy agency

With the Pakistani spy agency ISI coming under pressure following reports that it was involved in attack in Indian embassy in Kabul, the US has said it is working with Islamabad to deal with the issue. "With regards to the Pakistani intelligence services, I think that's been historically an issue in that country. There are signs that it remains so. And we, our two governments are working to deal with those problems," said Geoff Morrel, Pentagon press secretary. The Pentagon also said a "very, very small numbers of US special forces are operating in a training capacity in Pakistan, not out on joint missions, but on a fixed site, training Pakistani forces, at the invitation of the Pakistani government."…..(Economic Times, 6 Aug 08)

Pakistan Puts Move to Rein In Spies on Ice

Pakistan's 4-month-old civilian government has suspended a decree issued last month to put the military's powerful and controversial spy agency under Interior Ministry control, according to an official statement.

Feared by neighboring Afghanistan and India, and reportedly mistrusted by the United States despite its help fighting al Qaeda, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency also has a reputation for destabilizing past civilian governments……(Reuters, 6 Aug 08)

Israel Pushes Biometric Database Initiative

A bill approved by Israel's government on Sunday proposes that all residents must be issued biometric identity cards and passports carrying two fingerprints and scanned facial features. The Interior Ministry also intends to establish a biometric database of all Israeli residents, a plan that has drawn criticism from lawyers and civil rights campaigners. Biometric verification allows unique identification of a person by evaluating one or more distinguishing biological traits, such as face, iris, hand and speech. A recent ABI Research report expects investment in an array of biometrics technologies around the world to drive spending to US$7.3 billion by 2013, up from around $3 billion in 2008……(PC World, 6 Aug 08)

Body of Armenian intelligence officer killed while crossing Azerbaijani border handed over to Armenia

The body of intelligence officer of Armenian armed forces Gor Manasaryan, who was killed while attempting to cross Azerbaijani territory on July 19, has been handed over to Armenia this afternoon. APA’s west bureau reports that the body was handed over in Bala Jafarli village of Gazakh Region, which borders on Armenia, at 15.20……(APA, 5 Aug 08)

Army need 'pilots' for spy planes

Troop shortages threaten to hit the spy plane system providing our forces with vital intelligence in Afghanistan, MPs warned yesterday. Unmanned British drones controlled from US bases scout out Taliban positions and have been used to hunt and kill their commanders. But there is a big shortage of trained operators - the Army had just half the number it needs at the start of the year, the Commons defense select committee warned in a report…..(Mirror, 5 Aug 08)

U.S. limiting exports to Canada over espionage fears, files show

Ottawa is facing an uphill battle to carry out a promised purchase of $17-billion in new military equipment because of stringent U.S. security rules and ballooning costs caused by a series of delays, newly released documents show. According to Foreign Affairs briefing notes, the government is blaming U.S. security measures that limit the export of military technology to Canada, as American authorities fear some Canadian workers will engage in espionage. In addition, documents from National Defence show the government will either have to pay an extra $300-million in "overrun cost" to purchase a fleet of 16 Chinook helicopters, or settle for less equipment…..(Globe & Mail, 5 Aug 08)

Indonesia says to charge top ex-spy with murder

A former top Indonesian intelligence official will be charged with the murder of prominent human rights activist who died of arsenic poisoning during a flight from Singapore to the Netherlands in 2004, an official said on Monday

Bonaventura Daulat Nainggolan, a spokesman at the Attorney General's office, said prosecutors had 20 days after accepting a police dossier to file a case against Muchdi Purwoprandjono, former deputy chief of Indonesia's intelligence agency…..(Reuters, 5 Aug 08)

Citgo Giving $1.5 Million to Maryland Charity

Citgo, the Venezuelan-owned oil company, is making a $1.5 million donation to the Silver Spring nonprofit group CASA of Maryland to help fund educational, training and economic development programs for low-income and immigrant workers. The contribution is the latest effort by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to reach out to the poor in the United States in what critics call an attempt to curry favor with low-income Americans and embarrass President Bush. The donation will be spread over three years to help fund the group's $4.4 million vocational training and economic development program. It will offer day laborers and other low-income workers skills courses in the construction trades, counseling to small business owners and access to social services. One of the programs encourages the formation of worker-owned cooperatives. Chávez has encouraged such cooperatives as part of his so-called Bolivarian Revolution……(Washington Post, 5 Aug 08)

Activists: Israel bullying ill Palestinians to spy

Gaza resident Bassam Waheidi is slowly going blind, but he won't pay what he says is the price of regaining his sight _ spying for Israel in exchange for medical treatment. Waheidi is one of 32 Palestinian patients who claims Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency tried to bully them into giving information about militants, according to the Israel branch of Physicians for Human Rights. The group documented the Palestinians' claims in an 80-page report released Monday…The Shin Bet denied the charge but said it does conduct security checks on Palestinians leaving Gaza to ensure they do not pose a security threat……(AP, 4 Aug 08)

Karadzic 'lived under protection of CIA agents until he broke deal'

The former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic lived under US protection after the Dayton peace accords until the CIA intercepted a phone call in which he broke the terms of a "secret deal" to stay out of politics, a Serbian newspaper claims. "Karadzic, indicted for genocide and war crimes, was under US protection until 2000, when the CIA intercepted his telephone conversation that clearly proved he personally chaired a meeting of his old political party," the Belgrade daily Blic quoted a "well-informed US intelligence source" as saying. "They went crazy realizing Karadzic was making a fool of them," it said yesterday. "The US and CIA withdrew [his] informal protection."……(Independent, 4 Aug 08)

Deluxe spy agencies

Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence is among the world's elite spy agencies…India founded its spy agency in 1968 specifically to counter Pakistani support of militant groups within India, but over the years it has grown into one of the world's most formidable intelligence services. Pakistani authorities often blame the RAW for terrorist attacks in their country. Although these accusations tend to lack evidence, RAW does have a history of backing militant groups in Kashmir, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka….(Globe & Mail, 2 Aug 08)

Justice Has a Place in the Law of the Jungle

The year 1992 was an eventful year for the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF). It saw the dramatic split of the group into two rival organizations, prompted by internal allegations of unlawful killings in some camps under the ABSDF banner. The killings within the ABSDF in Kachin State had yet to occur, but we were unaware of what was happening in the north. The breakup and the killings in the Kachin ABSDF—although not the immediate cause of the group’s painful disunity—were closely preceded by a spy case that reached the student rebels’ highest body, the Congress. It was the espionage case of Win Naing Nyein, the quartermaster of the ABSDF regiment 216, located at Azin in the Karen National Union’s sixth brigade area. It came to a head in June, 1992, at the beginning of the rainy season. …..(Irrawaddy, 1 Aug 08)

Israel's foreign minister has edge in party race

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has a clear edge in the Kadima party race to replace scandal-hit Ehud Olmert, polls showed on Friday, but officials questioned her ability to form a coalition and become prime minister.

Two of the three polls published in major Israeli newspapers also showed Livni running nearly neck-and-neck with rightist Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu should snap parliamentary elections be called. Olmert threw Israel into political turmoil that could hamstring Middle East peacemaking by announcing on Wednesday that he would stand down as premier after a Sept. 17 Kadima leadership contest…..(Reuters, 1 Aug 08)

July 2008

Livni, One-Time Mossad Agent, Seeks to Succeed Olmert

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a one-time Mossad agent whose mother robbed a train to advance the Zionist cause against the British, has cast herself as the polar opposite of Ehud Olmert, whom she hopes to replace.

Olmert's promise to resign after his Kadima party picks a new leader makes Livni, the deputy premier, frontrunner in the Sept. 17 contest and may mean she becomes Israel's first female prime minister since Golda Meir left office in 1974. Livni, 50, once an Olmert ally, has distinguished herself over the past two years largely as his in-house critic, calling for the premier's resignation because of successive corruption probes and poor decisions in the 2006 war against Lebanon's Hezbollah militia. At the same time, Olmert appointed her chief negotiator in peace talks with the Palestinian Authority…….(Bloomberg, 31 Jul 08)

Analysis: ISI in a democratic milieu —Talat Masood

The very nature of intelligence agencies is such that it demands they remain secretive. But this should not result in intelligence agencies acquiring an independent status that distances them from the parliament and the government.  Great confusion prevailed last week surrounding the government notification that placed the Inter Services Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau under the Ministry of Interior. Politicians, civil society activists and some analysts welcomed the move, but others including former ISI chiefs and stalwarts of the past regime thought that it was a conspiracy, a sell-out to the Americans or/and the Indians. However, the order pertaining to the ISI was rescinded the next morning and was reverted to the original organizational status that kept it directly under the Prime Minister……(Daily Times, 31 Jul 08)

Embassy Opening Puts Spotlight on China's International Stature

Soon after Richard Nixon's historic trip to China in 1972, Chinese officials opened diplomatic offices in downtown Washington, a dozen rooms at the Mayflower Hotel. In a symbol of its growing stature, China inaugurated its new Washington embassy this week, a fortress of glass and limestone that consumes almost the length of an entire block of the international enclave just off Connecticut Avenue. The opening last night drew a large crowd of diplomats and politicians, many of them swooning over the vaulted ceilings, skylights and wood-paneled walls. The building, which is far larger than neighboring embassies, was designed by two sons of I.M. Pei, the renowned Chinese American architect who beamed from the stage……(Washington Post, 31 Jul 08)

U.S. says Pakistani spies forewarn al Qaeda allies

The United States has accused members of Pakistan's main spy agency of tipping off al Qaeda-linked militants before U.S. missile attacks on targets in Pakistani tribal lands, Pakistan's defense minister said. Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar openly acknowledged American mistrust of Pakistan's main military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in remarks aired on Thursday on Pakistani television. "They think that there are some elements in the ISI at some level that when the government of Pakistan is informed of targets, then leak it to them (militants) at some level," Mukhtar told Geo in Washington, having accompanied Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on a maiden visit to the United States…..(Reuters, 31 Jul 08)

Czech deputies release their communist intelligence files

Prague- Czech senior ruling Civic Democrat (ODS) deputies Walter Bartos and Tomas Hasil released the files that the former Communist Military Counter-Intelligence Service (VKR) kept on them at the press conference today.

According to the deputies and Pavel Zacek, Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (USTR) director, the files show that Bartos and Hasil did not collaborate with the service. The VKR registered them as confidants only on the basis of the statements by the VKR employees who established their files, they said……(Ceske Noviny, 31 Jul 08)

Defense Minister: 'FRA doesn’t monitor individual Swedes'

In explaining the importance of Sweden's new surveillance law, Minister of Defense Sten Tolgfors argues that signals intelligence activities on cable-bound communications is no greater an invasion of privacy than monitoring the airwaves. Intelligence activities and signals intelligence are of great importance to the country’s security. Because of the nature of the intelligence business, it is guarded – and must be guarded – with secrecy. Those who wish to threaten Sweden must not know what we can do or how we do it. A part of being responsible for safeguarding the country requires not saying too much about Swedish capabilities or behavior……(Local, 30 Jul 08)

Indian intelligence gropes in the dark

When Ahmedabad was hit by a series of explosions on Saturday, one newspaper vendor in the city told another - "Kam ho gaya" (the job is done). That exchange sounded like a communication between the bombers, promising an intelligence-led breakthrough. But it proved to be a red herring - the newspaper vendors had only rejoiced because after the blasts they expected the sale of their evening papers to zoom. Barring this one telephone call, there is nothing else that could provide intelligence with a clue to the explosions in Ahmedabad……(BBC, 30 Jul 08)

Why Europe doubts Colombia's hostage rescue

…Just hours after news of the audacious rescue operation codenamed "Checkmate" became public, the Swiss public radio station Radio Suisse Romande began quoting a "reliable" source as saying that the Colombian government had paid a US$20 million bribe to secure release of the high-profile, long-term hostages. The hostages "were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up," the radio's French-language channel said. The report raised doubts about the official version that the heroic mission involved tricking FARC rebels and then spiriting their captives away by helicopter… Dominique Moïsi, founder of the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) in Paris and one of France's most prominent foreign policy experts, told French state television that it was "probable" that money had secured the cooperation of FARC leaders. "They were bought in order to turn them around, like Mafia chiefs," he said. ….(ISN, 29 Jul 08)

Four Czech deputies in Communist intelligence files

Four deputies Juraj Raninec, Walter Bartos, Tomas Hasil (all for the Civic Democratic Party, ODS) and Pavel Ploc (Social Democrats, CSSD) are in the registration files of the former Czechoslovak Communist military counter-intelligence (VKR), Czech Television (CT) said.  All of them say they never signed up any collaboration with the VKR and are considering filing a legal complaint, CT and the commercial television station Nova said. They are registered as "secret agents," but this does not say anything about the extent of their collaboration or whether it was conscious……(Ceske Noviny, 29 Jul 08)

ASIO repeatedly said Haneef no threat

Australia’s security intelligence agency repeatedly told the Howard Government there were no grounds to believe former terror suspect Mohamed Haneef posed a security threat. In an unclassified submission to the inquiry into last year's bungled investigation of the Gold Coast-based doctor, Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) Director-General Paul O'Sullivan has revealed his organization never believed Dr Haneef was a threat……(Herald Sun, 29 Jul 08)

Terrorists have evolved, intelligence has collapsed

…While a senior official, who has earlier worked with the IB, admitted that the lack of actionable intelligence could be due to over-dependence on technical rather than ground-level human intelligence, the MHA officials are quick to attribute the poor inflow of information on the ailing intelligence wings of the states’ police.  According to the official, the IB had earlier successfully used intelligence gathered through technical surveillance to pre-empt terror strikes……(Economic Times, 29 Jul 08)

Israeli foreign minister admits she was Mossad agent

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a contender to replace Ehud Olmert as prime minister, publicly acknowledged on Tuesday she had been an agent for the Mossad spy agency. "I served for four years within Mossad," she told army radio. "I also followed training courses and worked overseas." Livni decline to discuss any missions she may have conducted for the agency…..(AFP, 29 Jul 08)

Militants kill three Pakistani intelligence men

Pro-Taliban militants killed three army intelligence officers in an ambush in the northwestern Swat valley, officials said on Tuesday, delivering a serious blow to a peace accord signed in May to end violence. The peace agreement with militants led by radical cleric Fazlullah brought a brief lull after months of violence in the valley, but militants have stepped up activity in recent weeks, accusing the government of failing to honor the accord.

The three officials, believed to be from an army intelligence agency, were returning to Mingora, the main town of Swat…..(Reuters, 29 Jul 08)

Pakistan must tame its intelligence service

Worried about the Russians to their north and the Indians to the south, the generals who have ruled Pakistan for most of its 60 years of independence fashioned a powerful tool: Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) became one of the world's most powerful spy services. Now, decades later, Pakistan's new government is trying to rein in the ISI. This effort might not succeed, but the world should hope it does. Among other vital issues, Canadians have a stake in ISI's not-so-secret support for Afghanistan's Taliban guerrillas. ISI patronage of the Taliban is killing Canadian and allied soldiers and ordinary Afghans. Military influence stretches deep into Pakistan's business sector, as into politics. If the armed forces operate in some ways as a parallel government, then within the military, ISI in turn sometimes seems like a law unto itself, supporting Islamic terrorism in Kashmir and India, among other activities. And ISI worked with the U.S. to build up the Taliban against Soviet domination of Afghanistan…..(Gazette, 29 Jul 08)

Doubts Pakistan can assert control over spy agency

Pakistanis doubt whether their new civilian leaders are capable of asserting control over a powerful military spy agency after what was widely seen as a botched attempt at the weekend. The timing could not have been more embarrassing for Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, in the United States for a meeting with President George W. Bush on Monday that focused on Pakistan's role in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. Last week, Washington demanded Pakistan investigate Indian and Afghan accusations that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was involved in a Kabul suicide bombing that killed 58 people outside the Indian embassy, including two diplomats……(Reuters, 28 Jul 08)

China Imports Workers to Build Embassy in U.S., Sparking Anger

…China has been using an aging motel in Washington for three years to house the army of workers who built the $250 million granite and glass embassy, which at 345,500 square feet is one of the city's largest. Now, with the embassy scheduled to open tomorrow, some labor officials and lawmakers are being less than diplomatic in their criticism.  “This is outrageous,” says Mark Levinson, chief economist at Unite Here!, a union representing 450,000 industrial, textile and hotel employees nationwide. “When the U.S. is in a recession and Chinese imports are flooding into the U.S., the Chinese should be using American workers.”  China's tight control over the construction of its embassy, about four miles from the White House, may be spurred by a history of espionage between geopolitical rivals, says Ashton Carter, a former U.S. assistant defense secretary. ….(Bloomberg, 28 Jul 08)

Spy agency confusion in Pakistan

Pakistan's government says it will clarify why it reversed a move to put the most powerful intelligence agency, the ISI, under civilian control.  On Saturday night it said the ISI would be brought under the control of the Interior Ministry.  But the decision was revoked within hours, apparently following intervention from the army.  Western powers believe the ISI has rogue elements helping al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan.  It is also criticized by Pakistani politicians for seeking to monopolize the country's national security policy…..(BBC, 28 Jul 08)

Modi to moot for KGB-like probe agency

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is likely to take up the need to set up a separate all-India cadre for intelligence gathering with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who will be in Ahmedabad on Monday to meet the victims of blasts. The Union home ministry has already asked for a detailed note on the issue, which Modi first articulated after the Jaipur blasts, in a letter to the Prime Minister. "We believe that such a cadre can work in a coordinated manner to gather intelligence and act upon it nationally. The chief minister will tell the Prime minister why coordination and intelligence sharing have become more important than ever before,"…..(Times of India, 28 Jul 08)

A Long Wait at the Gate to Greatness

Nikita Khrushchev said the Soviet Union would bury us, but these days, everybody seems to think that China is the one wielding the shovel. The People's Republic is on the march -- economically, militarily, even ideologically. Economists expect its GDP to surpass America's by 2025; its submarine fleet is reportedly growing five times faster than Washington's; even its capitalist authoritarianism is called a real alternative to the West's liberal democracy. China, the drumbeat goes, is poised to become the 800-pound gorilla of the international system, ready to dominate the 21st century the way the United States dominated the 20th… But is China really going to be another superpower? I doubt it… Too many constraints are built into the country's social, economic and political systems. For four big reasons -- dire demographics, an overrated economy, an environment under siege and an ideology that doesn't travel well -- China is more likely to remain the muscle-bound adolescent of the international system than to become the master of the world….(Washington Post, 27 Jul 08)

Pakistan puts spy agency under civilian control

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani put the military's main spy agency under the control of the Interior Ministry on Saturday, a move seen as asserting civilian authority over the intelligence network. The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency is known to have wielded great influence on foreign and security policies, especially towards India and Afghanistan. Critics say it played a major role in the creation of the Islamist Taliban movement which took control of Afghanistan in the 1990s and harbored al Qaeda until it was forced from power by U.S.-led forces in the wake of the September 11 attacks…..(Reuters, 26 Jul 08)

Communist intelligence records go online

The Czech Archives of the Security Forces Friday published registration protocols of the former Communist military counter-intelligence (VKP) on its new website www.abscr.cz, archives director Ladislav Bukovszky told journalists.  The database contains 309 registration files on about 10,000 people. The main reason why the list was published is an effort to achieve a maximum transparency, Bukovszky said, adding that many scandals were linked with the problems of the archives of the former Communist security forces….(Prague Monitor, 25 Jul 08)

Chinese Prepare for Spy Games at the Olympics

While the world’s attention will be focused on running, jumping, swimming and other athletic events in China next month, another contest will unfold beyond the fields of play: the great game of nations, or espionage. The games amount to a job fair for would-be defectors, at least when they’re played in the West, with U.S. security services standing by to receive them. And when the games are in hostile territory, like China, the host nation’s spy services are busy targeting foreigners of note. “You are prepared” for defectors when the games are on the home court, says Harry B. “Skip” Brandon, a former top FBI counterintelligence official. “You want to know who’s going to be there, whether there’s anybody of interest.”...The major espionage activity at this year’s games will take place far from the fields of play, in Beijing’s hotels, with China’s agents shadowing important foreign officials and businessmen and women. Beijing’s spies have already aggressively targeted the laptops and Blackberries of Western officials, as a string of recent incidents has demonstrated. “They will also likely be listening carefully to various world leaders and their parties who come for the Olympics,” Brandon says.....(CQ Politics, 25 Jul 08)

Taiwan's defense priorities

In light of China’s increasing military build-up, Taiwan’s strategic security can only be guaranteed under three conditions: solid and appropriate national defense build-up, a government that does not indulge in stimulating or appeasing the Chinese communist regime, and an effective strategic alliance with the United States and Japan that provides unwavering political and military support from the two countries. All three conditions are of equal and vital importance for Taiwan’s security.....(UPI, 25 Jul 08)

Serbian authorities deny that international intelligence services tips led to Karadzic’s arrest

US intelligence and congressional officials said the United States had been passing information about Karadzic for 13 years, but they denied a direct role in the tip that led to his capture. A British official told The Associated Press that British intelligence was not involved either. The Daily Mail, referring to intelligences sources say British intelligence officers had helped bring about Karadzic's arrest, along with others from the CIA and German and French intelligences services. His arrest came just two weeks after Serbian President Boris Tadic's new pro-European government assumed power and named a new intelligence and security agency security director, replacing an aide to former nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.......(Axis, 24 July 08)

Preah Vihear Temple stands as a symbol of botched diplomatic efforts

Asda Chaiyanam, the former Thai envoy to the United Nations, told me the other day that a foreign government had spied on the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry's Bangkok-based communications during 1960-63. A total of 12 Thai officials, including those at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, were subsequently arrested by the Thai special branch police. At the Foreign Affairs Ministry, thousands of official and classified Telexes were reportedly photocopied over the years and passed on to agents of this unnamed foreign government. During that period, liberation and nationalist movements in neighbouring Laos and Cambodia were highly active. Asda suspected the espionage could be part of some counter-nationalist movements. More interestingly, Thailand and Cambodia were at the time locked in the dispute over the Preah Vihear Temple.......(The Nation, 26 July 08)

Spy satellite fight may land in Israeli court

Israel is set to become the new battleground in a lawsuit targeting ImageSat, a company that has refused to rent its private spy satellites to Venezuela despite what shareholders say was an obligation to do so. ImageSat, a partnership between private businessmen and two Israeli aerospace companies, owns several spy satellites that it rents out to nations around the world. Its executives are supposed to avoid political allegiances when making business decisions, but the plaintiffs claim they aborted a lucrative deal with Venezuela out of loyalty to the Israeli government. Israel was looking to curry favor with America, which has a hostile relationship with President Chavez of Venezuela, according to the complaint........ (NY Sun, 25 July 08)

The new spies- an innovative push in British security

The same legislation that now permits our security services to keep tabs on Al Quaeda is being used to clamp down on doggy do-dos. A whole army of new secret police have been recruited to keep tabs on all of us. One surveillance team in the sleepy seaside town of Poole put high tech remote control spy cameras on boats to try to catch fisherman illegally netting a rare shellfish. The operation costs thousands. And it caught nobody. But Big Brother likes to keep watching. In England there have been 1343 different investigations by 46 nosey councils. In Scotland it is even worse. 3579 special inquiries were logged this year alone........ (CBS, 24 July 08)

Shin Bet sources: East Jerusalem security measures ineffective

In face of east Jerusalem residents' growing involvement in terror, Shin Bet officials tell Ynet current security measures ineffective; Israeli security forces should enter Arab villages in Jerusalem more frequently, one official says. Current security measures aimed at curbing the terror threat in east Jerusalem "aren't effective enough," Shin Bet sources told Ynet Tuesday night in wake of the latest bulldozer attack in the capital. The terrorist, an east Jerusalem resident, wounded 18 people before he was shot and killed by a civilian and a Border Guard officer......(YNet, 23 Jul 08)

Radovan Karadzic captured after tip off from MI6 and US intelligence

Britain's Secret Intelligence Service MI6 has long been involved in the hunt for Balkans war crimes suspects, but has often found its efforts compromised by local authorities still loyal to the fugitives. The latest, successful, operation to capture Karadzic was launched with a new more co-operative government power in Belgrade however, and no leaks or warnings were able to help Karadzic escape at the last minute, as he is rumoured to have done before."The real coup of what has happened is a political one," one British intelligence source told The Financial Times. "There were many occasions when we were just about moving in and then found he'd just get away. He seemed to be protected by people in high places. “Maybe not so much now." According to British sources Karadzic's capture was a combination of human and signals intelligence ­old fashioned detective work and high tech modern surveillance and tracking techniques. (Telegraph, 23 July 08)

British government aims to predict security threats, including terrorism, disease, disaster

Britain is aiming to predict possible future threats to national security from terrorism, disease and other dangers, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday. Brown announced the formation of a «security horizon scanning team,» formed of experts from across the British government, tasked with making predictions on the possible impact of issues like foreign policy, weather patterns and new technology. The team will form part of changes to Britain's approach to tackling terrorism, Brown said in a statement. Britain's Cabinet Office said the unit will examine the potential threats to Britain from terrorism, pandemic disease, food shortages, energy scarcity and natural disasters. (PR- Inside, 23 July 08)

British councils criticized for using terror laws to spy on petty criminals

Spying requests by police and security services to phone and internet firms topped half a million last year. Surveillance watchdogs said last night that queries for billing records and numbers dialed totaled 519,260 against a previous yearly average of 346,000. The requests are not classed as bugging as they don't allow monitoring of conversations. But the figure included 1,707 by councils - and Chief Surveillance Commissioner Sir Christopher Rose blasted town halls for using laws meant to target terrorists. He said some authorities had exposed a "lack of understanding of the legislation" and displayed a "serious misunderstanding of the concept of proportionality". He called on them to recognize the inexperience of some personnel who authorize the requests and to invest in trained intelligence officers. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: "These powers can make a real difference in delivering safer communities and protecting the public." But she insisted there was a need for "proportionality when they carry out surveillance,", and added that a review was under way of the public authorities that have access. (Mirror, 23 July 08)

Ex-Australian spy chief wins $375,000 defamation

A former head of the secretive Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) has been awarded $375,000 in damages after successfully suing the publishers of the now defunct Bulletin magazine for defamation. Frank Lewincamp had taken action against ACP Magazines in the ACT Supreme Court over two articles published in 2004. The articles suggested the former spy chief had abused his position by deliberately stopping the flow of intelligence to Australian soldiers in East Timor during the Interfet military operation. The ruling follows a related win for Mr Lewincamp last month when the same court awarded damages against the author of an internal defence review who said the politicisation of the DIO was misleading the government and was "life-threatening". (The Age, 23 July 08)

Kenya: spy chief to name sponsors of chaos

The National Security Intelligence Service yesterday pledged to release names of people who sponsored gangs that perpetrated post-election violence. The names will, however, be given in confidence to the Waki Commission of Inquiry, said NSIS director-general Michael Gichangi. The spy chief said he would also provide information on widespread oathing in Rift Valley between August and November last year and names of the organisers. He promised to verify reports that oathing took place at Kenegut Primary and Secondary School in Kericho District last August, where students took part. Maj-Gen Gichangi told the commission that August, when schools are closed, is the month when local communities also engage in rituals such as circumcision.While structures of criminal gangs like Mungiki and Sabaot Land Defence Forces were known in intelligence circles, he said, nothing was known of the Kalenjin Warriors until the chaos broke out. During cross-examination by Rift Valley internal refugees lawyer Mbuthi Gathenji, Maj-Gen Gichangi said NSIS "found and reported appropriately serious threat to security in Rift Valley Province, where youths were being incited to violence". Negative ethnicity, the NSIS boss said, was largely to blame for the outbreak of violence, especially in Rift Valley.......(AllAfrica, 22 July 08)

Russia successfully launches German spy satellite

Russia on Tuesday successfully launched a German spy satellite, which would be used by NATO military command in obtaining high-resolution radar images. Under a 2003 contract signed between state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and a German company, this was the fifth spy satellite launch by Russia since 2006. SAR-Lupe satellite is capable of providing imagery with spatial resolution of less than a metre in the night and cloudy conditions......(Times of India, 22 July 08)

British secret service recruiters seek female spies

Britain's secret spy agency, home to the very white and very male 007, is hunting for women and minorities to tackle global terrorism. More than 20,000 people have applied since MI6 began its open recruiting campaign about a year ago, in a drive that has all but replaced the famous shoulder tap used to recruit author Graham Greene and others in World War II. "The key challenge is the terrorist threat," MI6's head of human resources told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Government agencies have to show they're making positive efforts (to diversify) but for us it means much more."......(MI6 News, 22 July 08)

Australian national security approach aims for more balanced path

The next parliamentary sitting should see two key documents being issued which will determine Australia's national security agenda for at least the next 10 years. The first is the National Security Strategy Statement. The starting point for this, as with all national security strategies in the world, will be that the first priority of government is the protection of its people, sovereignty and interests. The strategy is extremely likely to highlight that Australia is facing a broad and complex range of traditional and non-traditional threats. Traditional threats include major state conflict, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, espionage and trans-national crime, and non-traditional threats include resource security, uncontrolled mass migration, fragile-states pressures, economic shocks, pandemics, social disharmony, and food and energy security. To make this more complex, none can be addressed in isolation as many are interconnected. The second document will be the Homeland and Border Security Review. The review was led by the former Defence secretary Ric Smith and it was handed to the Government recently. The review makes recommendations about improving the roles, responsibilities and functions of organisations involved in homeland and border security arrangements. Although the review's terms of reference were never made public, it is hoped that an unclassified version of it will be issued publicly.......(Canberra Times, 22 July 08)

South African parliament to consider snooping bills

The Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on Intelligence will next Wednesday hold public hearings on the Intelligence Services Amendment Bill and the National Strategic Intelligence Amendment Bill that will, among other objectives, beef up the state's ability to bug the public. The two Bills insert new definitions into existing intelligence-related laws, but also set out to create the National Communications Centre (NCC), currently an espionage unit within the National Intelligence Agency, as a separate agency......(ITWeb, 22 July 08)
 

NIS needs silent power

The National Intelligence Service is facing mounting criticism from the ruling party as well as Cheong Wa Dae for failing to supply information on the internal situation in North Korea, as well as the cause of the shooting that killed a South Korean tourist at the North Korean resort of Mt. Kumgang. A lot of the criticism of the NIS appears to be an attempt to channel public criticism away from President Lee Myung-bak for offering to hold talks with North Korea on the same day the shooting took place. The NIS is being blamed for the president's failure to respond in a timely manner. But nobody is falling for this. Aside from that, it seems that the ability of the NIS to gather intelligence from North Korea has weakened. It has been 11 days since the shooting death, but the government has yet to conclude whether the incident was an act of provocation by the North Korean regime or a murder committed by a soldier......(Chosun, 22 July 08)

China denies spies stole BlackBerry of British PM's aide

Beijing has denied a British newspaper report that Chinese intelligence agents stole the BlackBerry mobile device of an aide to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during a visit to China in January. The Sunday Times reported recently that the aide had been the victim of a trap involving a Chinese prostitute - an account the British government denied on Saturday."The relevant report was created out of thin air. We hope that in the future we do not see such irresponsible reports," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement posted on the ministry's website. The Sunday Times reported that the aide, who was not named, was picked up by a Chinese woman who approached him at a Shanghai disco, and he agreed to take her back to his hotel. According to the paper, which cited an unidentified senior official, the aide reported his BlackBerry, a mobile phone that can also be used to send and receive emails, missing the following morning. Brown's office said on Saturday the BlackBerry was actually lost at an "evening event" and added that security was not compromised.......(Sydney Morning Herald, 22 July 08)

Turkey has been involved in Iran nuclear talks, Babacan says

Turkey is ready to contribute to efforts to find a peaceful settlement to an international conflict over neighboring Iran's nuclear program and has been in talks with the relevant parties for about a month, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said after talks with a senior US official yesterday… US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley's visit to Ankara came just a day ahead of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki today. On Saturday Iran's nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, will meet with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and envoys from China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany in Geneva to discuss Iran's response to an offer made by world powers last month to encourage it to give up its sensitive nuclear work, which the West believes is aimed at building a nuclear bomb and Tehran says is for peaceful power-generation purposes. In a major policy shift, the United States said it was also sending a representative, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, to the talks…..(Zaman, 18 Jul 08)

Iran briefs ally Syria on standoff with West

Iran's foreign minister briefed Syria's president Thursday on the international standoff over his country's nuclear program.  The meeting in Damascus signaled Syria's willingness to act on a request by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to try to help resolve the crisis by pushing Iran to cooperate with the international community. Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, welcomed a Syrian role in trying to ease the tension, Syria's official SANA news agency reported. Speaking at a news conference, he added that Iran has always kept the Syrians informed of developments in the standoff with the United States and its European allies……(AP, 18 Jul 08)

Former head of Military Intelligence quizzed for disclosing state secrets

The Shin Bet security service and the Israel Police have opened a criminal investigation against former Military Intelligence chief Eli Zeira, on suspicion of disclosing state secrets. This marks the first time that the Shin Bet has investigated allegations involving state security against a senior officer - Zeira is a major general - and former MI head. The investigation is focusing on the allegation that Zeira revealed the name of Ashraf Marwan, the Mossad agent and Egyptian businessman who died under mysterious circumstances in London about a year ago……(Haaretz, 17 Jul 08)

Suspicion: Former IDF Intel chief exposed Mossad agent

Police and Shin Bet investigators are looking into suspicions that former IDF Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eli Zeira exposed Mossad agent Ashraf Marwan, an Egyptian billionaire who warned Israel prior to the onset of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973.  Zeira, who was head of IDF intelligence during the war, is suspected of severe offenses related to State security. Since the 1990s, Israeli intelligence officials, including Zeira himself, have claimed that Marwan was a double agent who disclosed vital information on the Egyptian forces but also said they would launch an attack in the evening, when they actually attacked on the morning of October 6…..(YNet, 17 Jul 08)

Iran and U.S. Signaling Chance of Deal

…Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushed for the move in a meeting on Monday of Bush's top aides, and Bush's support suggests he increasingly is determined to put aside a possible military strike in an effort to reach a deal to end Iran's nuclear program in his final six months in office. In recent weeks, the White House already has approved a sweetened package of incentives to Iran that included a pledge to refrain from the use of force, supported a European gambit to begin preliminary talks with Iran and sent clear signals to Israel not to consider acting against Iran on its own.  For more than two years, the Bush administration has had the same bottom line: Iran must suspend its enrichment of uranium -- a route to a nuclear weapon -- before serious talks can begin. U.S. officials insisted yesterday that such a demand, also shared by European allies, had not changed, but the diplomatic lines have become sufficiently hazy that if negotiations start in earnest, Iran will also be able to claim a diplomatic victory……(Washington Post, 17 Jul 08)

US court ruling may jeopardise spy agencies

There is deepening concern that Australia's intelligence agencies and those of other key US allies could be compromised in the fight against al-Qa'ida and other radical Islamist groups because of a controversial US Supreme Court ruling.  The Supreme Court decision last month provided new rights to enemy combatants held at Guantanamo, who include Bali bombing mastermind Hambali. It is dawning on foreign intelligence operatives that it has opened the door to the possibility that the information they share with Washington could be aired in civilian courts.  British and European allies are demanding answers from the US security apparatus…He said the effect of the ruling was that the US Government could be forced to disclose evidence shared by foreign intelligence agencies that might have led to a detainees' capture on the battlefield.  But one senior foreign intelligence source also stressed that while the Supreme Court decision raised legitimate concerns, it was highly unlikely that the US would ever "go down that path", saying safeguards within the courts process would protect classified information…..(Australian, 17 Jul 08)

Iranian Missiles Decoded

now has something else to worry about. Recent Israeli Air Force exercises near Greece, using over a hundred aircraft, apparently also involved Greek S-300 surface-to-air missile systems. Roughly equivalent to the U.S. Patriot, the Russian built S-300 was known as the SA-10 to NATO, when the system first appeared in the early 1980s. S-300 missiles weigh 1.8 tons each and are 26 feet long and about 20 inches in diameter. The missiles have a range of some 200 kilometers and can hit targets as high as 100,000 feet. The missile has a 320 pound warhead…….(Strategy Page, 16 Jul 08)

Pakistan Asks Court to Uphold Curbs on Scientist

Pakistan on Tuesday asked a court not to withdraw restrictions on disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan because he risked implicating the state in nuclear proliferation, a government lawyer said.

Khan, lionized by many Pakistanis as the father of the country's atomic bomb, was pardoned but placed under house arrest by President Pervez Musharraf in 2004 soon after he made a televised confession to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya. The scientist subsequently said he had been persuaded to confess and take the rap alone for the good of Pakistan…..(Reuters, 15 Jul 08)

Iran Likely to Allow US Diplomatic Office

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran would welcome any idea or measure facilitating relations between the Iranian and American nations after reports said that the US is seeking to open a diplomatic center in Tehran. Ahmadinejad said he would consider an American request to set up an interests section in Iran, stressing that he "welcomes any move to expand ties."  But the president also said that his government hasn't received any official request for such an office……(FNA, 14 Jul 08)

Sweden Has Secrets For Sale

Sweden recently passed an electronic eavesdropping law that, they admitted, was mainly to enable Swedish intelligence agencies to comb through Russian data traffic and sell goodies to other nations. Because of Sweden's location, both geographically and in terms of how Internet traffic flows, about 80 percent of Russian Internet traffic and phone calls pass through Sweden. Russia can avoid this by rerouting its communications, but this would take time, and lots of money. In any event, many of those other countries already have similar laws. Meanwhile, Sweden will grab all the Russian secrets they can…..(Strategy Page, 14 Jul 08)

Jane Bond? British recruiters seek female spies

Britain's secret spy agency, home to the very white and very male 007, is hunting for women and minorities to tackle global terrorism. More than 20,000 people have applied since MI6 began its open recruiting campaign about a year ago, in a drive that has all but replaced the famous shoulder tap used to recruit author Graham Greene and others in World War II.  MI6's Web site encourages mothers to apply and assures women they won't be used as "honey pots," or seductresses. Disabled applicants are welcome. And a special search is directed at minorities who speak Mandarin, Arabic, Persian and the Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto…….(AP, 13 Jul 08)

Europe faces Russian nuclear missile threat

Russia is thinking of aiming nuclear weapons at Western Europe for the first time since the end of the cold war, according to defense sources in Moscow. The move is being considered in response to American plans to dev