US Intelligence News

November 2008

Top Two Officials In U.S. Intelligence Expect to Lose Jobs

The nation's top two intelligence officers expect to be replaced by President-elect Barack Obama early in his administration, according to senior intelligence officials…Both wish to remain on the job, officials say, though neither has said so publicly, and both think that their early departures could be seen as politicizing their offices and setting a precedent for automatic turnover when the White House changes hands. President Bush's decision to retain George J. Tenet, a Clinton appointee, as CIA director was seen inside the agency as a stabilizing move, after the CIA went through five directors in the 10 years following the Iran-contra affair. The intelligence director and the CIA head are both open-ended appointments. One intelligence official said that McConnell thinks his post should be treated like that of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president's top military adviser, who serves a fixed two-year term, often extended to an additional two years. A number of chairmen -- such as Gen. Colin L. Powell and Gen. Hugh Shelton -- have spanned the administrations of different political parties……(Washington Post, 12 Nov 08)

Fire at FBI Building Forces Evacuation

A boiler room fire at FBI headquarters in downtown Washington led to an evacuation this afternoon, D.C. fire officials said. The fire department was called at 4:15 p.m. to the garage of the headquarters, off Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Firefighters found a utility room on the garage level was fully engulfed in flames. The blaze was extinguished within 15 minutes, officials said. About 40 people were evacuated from the building. No injuries were reported. Alan Etter, a spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, said that the fire's cause remains under investigation but that authorities view it as an accidental malfunction……(Washington Post, 12 Nov 08)

First intelligence community medal awarded

The director of the National Intelligence office has awarded its first Intelligence Community Medal for Valor to a U.S. Marine killed in action in Iraq. The medal, the intelligence community's second highest award for bravery, will be presented to the family of Lance Cpl. James E. Swain during a ceremony Friday, the office said in a release…..(UPI, 11 Nov 08)

FBI Director to IACP: Cooperation, technology, and intelligence are keys to fighting crime and terror

The FBI remains focused on counterterrorism efforts, FBI Director Robert Mueller told the audience of IACP attendees on Monday morning in San Diego. In remarks that emphasized themes of inter-agency collaboration, cooperation, and intelligence sharing, Mueller said that while preventing terrorism is the FBI’s number one priority, Americans need police to dismantle gangs, investigate white collar crimes, and provide every other necessary element of public safety. “We realize that...your highest priority is keeping your communities safe,” he said.

“How do we protect the country from terrorism while at the same time protecting our communities from crime?” Mueller answered his own question a moment later by stating that the “only way to do that is through intelligence—determining what we know, what we don’t know, and finding ways to fill the gaps. Intelligence lets us target our finite resources where they will make the most difference to the safety of our communities.”

Mueller pointed to three examples of how intelligence is being gathered, analyzed, and shared across geographic and agency lines. He first spoke about the “one size fits all” geospatial mapping technology called Project PinPoint, which “allows us to combine and visually map crime data from a multitude of agencies—everything from shootings to sources, and from outstanding warrants to open investigations. The genius of mapping technology is that any crime data can be compared to any other investigative data set. And it is when we combine the FBI’s data with your data that we can view intelligence in a new light.”…..(Police One, 11 Nov 08)

NSA's smart phone could become government issue

A new mobile phone specifically designed for the National Security Agency looks like any other commercial smart phone, with a decent-size screen for Web browsing and a full keyboard for data entry. But a peek under the hood shows that the phone belies its bureaucratic program name (the Secure Mobile Environment-Portable Electronic Device), with NSA having adopted a familiar commercial form. John Grimes, the Defense Department's chief information officer, called the phone a "transformational" product that provides top-level leaders with voice and data as well as access to Defense's classified Internet -- all of which fits in the palm of your hand. The NSA smart phone was as one of the top five innovative information technology projects that Grimes recognized on Nov. 1 as part of the Defense Department Chief Information Officers Awards. General Dynamics, which developed the phone under an $18 million contract, delivered 60 of the devices to NSA last year for testing…….(Next Gov, 11 Nov 08)

Intelligence Policy to Stay Largely Intact

President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party. Civil-liberties groups were among those outraged that the White House sanctioned the use of harsh intelligence techniques -- which some consider torture -- by the Central Intelligence Agency, and expanded domestic spy powers. These groups are demanding quick action to reverse these policies. Mr. Obama is being advised largely by a group of intelligence professionals, including some who have supported Republicans, and centrist former officials in the Clinton administration. They say he is likely to fill key intelligence posts with pragmatists. "He's going to take a very centrist approach to these issues," said Roger Cressey, a former counterterrorism official in the Clinton and Bush administrations. "Whenever an administration swings too far on the spectrum left or right, we end up getting ourselves in big trouble."….(Wall Street Journal, 11 Nov 08)

U.S. Sends 'X-Band' Missile-Detecting Radar to Israel to Confront Iranian Threat

The U.S. is providing Israel with high-powered X-band radar capable of detecting missile launches up to 1,500 miles away — and sensitive enough to detect small- and medium-range missiles being fired from Iran and Syria.

The radar will grant Israel about 60-70 seconds more warning time when missiles are launched. The system's massive range means targets as far away as southern Russia can be monitored…Israel will not have direct access to the intelligence the radar collects. American satellites will be used with the radar, and only Americans will have access to the technology and the information. About 120 American technicians and security guards will be stationed in Israel's southern Negev Desert to oversee the operation, the first time in the country's 60-year history that they've allowed a foreign military presence to be based here…..(Fox, 10 Nov 08)

Navy pilots learning to fly Global Hawk UAV

In what could prove to be the first step toward creating a joint RQ-4 Unmanned Aircraft System training unit here, pilots of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron are teaching a class of Navy pilots the Global Hawk system.
The class, consisting of three active-duty P-3 Orion pilots and one civilian contractor, came about as a response to the secretary of defense’s call to maximize the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability in support of the war on terrorism. Navy officials are looking to the Air Force to assist in expediting their pending RQ-4 Global Hawk deployment, one reason the normally five-month course is being condensed to four……(DOD, 11 Nov 08)

U.S. Given A Look at Swiss Bank Accounts

The U.S. government has chipped new holes in the secrecy of Swiss bank accounts, obtaining the names of American clients of the banking giant UBS as part of an investigation into the use of foreign banks to evade taxes. In an unusual move, the Swiss have turned over information on about 70 UBS clients for use by Justice Department investigators, a source close to the case said. The Swiss were responding to a Justice Department request for information on Americans who held "undeclared" accounts at UBS in Switzerland -- accounts that they had not revealed to the Internal Revenue Service…While the investigations involve UBS accounts based in Switzerland, the bank's extensive U.S. operations leave it more exposed than many other foreign banks to action by U.S. regulators and law enforcers…In a separate development, Liechtenstein's embassy in Washington said recently that the tiny European principality has concluded negotiations on an agreement to exchange tax information…..(Washington Post, 10 Nov 08)

Global Security: The Sky's Unblinking Eyes

The emergence of high-powered satellite imagery changed national security and military intelligence. Once that sort of technology became available to the masses through the likes of Google Earth, the game was changed again. As the industry's biggest firms get set to launch even more powerful satellites, governments cope with a world where almost anyone can get a bird's-eye view. The secretive National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is rushing to get the latest, high-definition satellite photos of Afghanistan into the hands of U.S. ground troops as they ramp up operations in the country's tangled terrain. The NGA analysts aren't tapping the government's huge network of highly classified spy satellites; they're getting the pictures from commercial vendors. That's the same stuff pretty much anyone can get, either through free, online programs such as Google Earth, or by buying it from the same companies supplying Uncle Sam. It's a remarkable turn, given the warnings that security experts in the USA and worldwide raised a few years ago about giving the entire planet -- terrorists and rogue states included -- access to high-resolution satellite photos once available only to superpowers…..(Tech World, 9 Nov 08)

Google Earth helps — and worries — government

The secretive National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is rushing to get the latest, high-definition satellite photos of Afghanistan into the hands of U.S. ground troops as they ramp up operations in the country's tangled terrain.

The NGA analysts aren't tapping the government's huge network of highly classified spy satellites; they're getting the pictures from commercial vendors. That's the same stuff pretty much anyone can get, either through free, online programs, such as Google Earth, or by buying it from the same companies supplying Uncle Sam. It's a remarkable turn, given the warnings that security experts in the USA and worldwide raised a few years ago about giving the entire planet — terrorists and rogue states included — access to high-resolution satellite photos once available only to superpowers. Last month, the most powerful commercial satellite in history sent its first pictures back to Earth, and another with similar capabilities is set for launch in mid-2009….(USA Today, 7 Nov 08)

Report: Counterterrorism should focus on open source intelligence

The new administration must broaden the scope of its counterterrorism activities, including a focus on collection of domestic and open source intelligence as well as traditional foreign intelligence, the Defense Science Board said in a report outlining the key priorities for incoming leaders. The intelligence community has acknowledged the need to share information and has improved collaboration among agencies, but it's not enough, the board said. "The No. 1 issue in counterterrorism is that we are information-limited," the report stated. "Many nostrums for improving intelligence in support of counterterrorism focus on 'connecting the dots' on the presumption that we have all the dots. We do not, nor are we sufficiently astute and aggressive enough in collecting them." The report, "Defense Imperatives for New Administration", released on Nov. 4, said combating terrorism requires putting domestic intelligence collection on par with foreign intelligence. The creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which placed all intelligence agencies under an umbrella organization, was supposed to achieve this parity. But the science board said, "successive directors of national intelligence have been slow to embrace domestic intelligence, and that must be remedied."…..(Next Gov, 6 Nov 08)

Miami jury convicts ex-FBI agent in 1982 killing

Former FBI agent John Connolly was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder for leaking information to Boston mobsters that led to the 1982 shooting death of a gambling executive who also had ties to gangsters.

Jurors deliberated about 13 hours over three days before delivering the verdict following a two-month trial. The jury acquitted Connolly of first-degree murder conspiracy, but he still faces a maximum of life in prison when sentenced Dec. 4. Testimony indicated that former World Jai-Alai president John Callahan was killed after Connolly warned gangsters that Callahan might implicate them in other slayings. Boston mob kingpins James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi were FBI informants handled by Connolly.

Connolly, who showed no emotion when the verdict was read, long denied involvement in Callahan's killing. Connolly was convicted in 2002 of racketeering because of his corrupt relationship with Bulger and Flemmi, including a 1995 tip that enabled Bulger to escape arrest and begin a life on the run that continues to this day. Bulger is one of the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" fugitives, with a $2 million bounty for his capture……(AP, 6 Nov 08)

“World’s Smallest Digital Video Recorder”

A new spy gadget is claiming the title of the world's smallest digital video recorder. The Marlin SpyPen looks like an ordinary pen but is a hi-tech hidden digital video camera, complete with "super-sensitive" hidden microphone that can record conversations from up to 15 feet. Available in 2GB and 4GB models, the Marlin SpyPen offers real-time recording in AVI video format. The device connects to a PC or laptop via USB, the full-color digital video recorder in the SpyPen offers read/write speeds of 900K/700K per second and records in a resolution of 300k pixels. Measuring 15 x 1.5 x 1.5cm, and weighing less than 30 grams, the pen charges via USB offering 2 hours on a single charge……(Pocket Lint, 5 Nov 08)

Former CIA Official Discusses American Safety Then and Now

July 2001 was a critical month for the intelligence community—an attack on American soil was imminent. “The CIA’s not stupid. This stuff was building up,” J. Cofer Black, former director of the CIA Counterterrorist Center, said an event in Lerner Cinema Wednesday night. “At this point, we realized the sky was really falling.” Seven years after the attacks of Sept. 11th, 2001, Black, now the Vice Chairman of Blackwater Worldwide , a private security firm that has one of the largest contracts with the State Department, spoke of the dramatic shifts in the intelligence community before and after the 2001 attacks. Addressing one hundred Columbia affiliates, Black attempted to correct perceptions of inadequacy in the American government prior to Sept. 11 and laid out the challenges facing the Obama administration. “We were grossly overmatched,” Black said of the CIA’s attempts to act on intelligence in the summer prior to Sept. 11. “We didn’t have enough people, we didn’t have enough money.” Throughout the ’90s, Black worked as a CIA field officer in Sudan, where he monitored intelligence collection and was the target of an al-Qaeda assassination attempt. In 1999, he became the director of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center, followed by a stint as the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism……(Columbia Spectator, 6 Nov 08)

Italy: Swiss lawyer testifies at 'CIA kidnapping' trial

Swiss lawyer Dick Marty is appearing as a witness at the controversial trial of five Italian intelligence agents and 26 Americans, most of them CIA agents, in the northern city of Milan. The defendants are charged with abducting an Egyptian-born Muslim cleric and terrorism suspect there in 2003. Marty last year wrote a report by Europe's top human rights body The Council of Europe on the CIA's alleged detentions and illegal flight transfers of terrorism suspects, known as 'extraordinary renditions'. The court on Wednesday questioned Marty (photo) closely on his report. In his testimony, Marty argued that the alleged abduction of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr - who is also known as Abu Omar - was part of a global CIA strategy involving several European states. Marty described what are termed 'extraordinary renditions' as "beyond any legal framework and in grave violation of the European Convention on Human Rights."…..(AKI, 6 Nov 08)

TIME Rates A-Space among Year's Best 50 Inventions (DNI)

In its November 10 issue, TIME Magazine ranks A-Space, an online collaboration environment spearheaded by the ODNI, as one of the 50 best inventions of 2008. Modeled after popular sites like Facebook and MySpace and often referred to as a "social network for spies," A-Space enables intelligence analysts to share information more freely, collaborate across agency lines, and connect in ways heretofore unseen. The site debuted within the Intelligence Community on September 22, 2008…..(DNI, 5 Nov 08)

Facebook for Spies

...Secret agents are people too. They're just very scary people who know lots of classified information. So don't they deserve a social network of their own? That's why in September, the Federal Government launched A-Space, a highly restricted Facebook-style website that's designed to encourage the sharing of ideas and information among members of the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and the U.S.'s 13 other intelligence services. (If you can name them all, you're probably already on A-Space.) They still use Facebook to break up with each other like the rest of the world, though…..(Time Magazine, 2008)

Intelligence community gets new reciprocity directive

new directive from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) establishes policies for how the intelligence community should handle reciprocity between its agencies related to security clearances and access to sensitive compartmented information. The new directive explains the intelligence community’s personnel security standards and procedures for accessing sensitive compartmented information and other controlled access program information. The document, Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 704, also explains ODNI's responsibility for overseeing the program through which eligibility determinations are made. The ICD and several associated guidance documents signed in October rescind a directive, published in 1998, and subsequent policy memorandums associated with the legacy directive. The new directive requires intelligence agencies to use – with limited exceptions – the same database to track the level of sensitive compartmented information that employees are allowed to access. A 2006 policy memorandum from ODNI also listed the database, named Scattered Castles, as the authoritative repository for all clearance and sensitive compartmented information eligibility information…..(FCW, 4 Nov 08)

ICD 704

ICPG 704.4

ICPG 704.5

Violence and Espionage in New York Part 1

…What was found is a global network of foreign infiltration and espionage by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), involvement of Chinese consulates and embassies, and the involvement of various Chinese community leaders and groups. The spark that led to the incidents can be traced back to May 12, when an earthquake tore through China’s Sichuan province, taking the lives of over 80,000 people. The disaster not only shook the city, but also the CCP image and the patriotism of China's people. Soon after, it was exposed that warnings about the earthquake—warnings that could have saved the lives of thousands—had been withheld by CCP officials. Faulty building practices were also found to be a major cause of building collapse. Photos released from Chinese media sources showed that next to the collapsed flimsy school buildings, state-owned buildings were seemingly unaffected by the earthquake. Many Chinese were stirred by the disaster and looked to the CCP for answers. An article published by Radio Free Asia on June 26 reported that when parents of students who lost their lives in the XinJian Elementary school in Dujiangyan gathered to demand an investigation, police intervened, beating some and arresting at least three. As more information began to leak into Chinese communities outside of China, The Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party, a volunteer organization which focuses on helping Chinese withdraw their membership from the CCP, reported a large influx of withdrawals. One of the main offices of the Service Center is located along Main Street in Flushing……(Epoch Times, 2 Nov 08)

Judge orders White House to produce wiretap memos

A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House memos that provide the legal basis for the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 warrantless wiretapping program. U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. signed an order Friday requiring the department to produce the memos by the White House legal counsel's office by Nov. 17. He said he will review the memos in private to determine if any information can be released publicly without violating attorney-client privilege or jeopardizing national security. Kennedy issued his order in response to lawsuits by civil liberties groups in 2005 after news reports disclosed the wiretapping…..(AP, 2 Nov 08)

October 2008

Intelligence Head Says Next President Faces Volatile Era

The next U.S. president will govern in an era of increasing international instability, including a heightened risk of terrorist attacks in the near future, long-term prospects of regional conflicts and diminished U.S. dominance across the globe, the nation's top intelligence officer said Thursday. Competition for energy, water and food will drive conflicts between nations to a degree not seen in decades, and climate change and global economic upheaval will amplify the effects, Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, said in a speech here. McConnell, who has given security briefings to both major-party presidential candidates, said the list of worries will soon drown out the euphoria as the next occupant of the White House settles into the job…The sobering assessment was in part a reflection of a months-long analysis McConnell's agency is preparing for the next administration, highlighting security challenges the country will face in the next two decades……(Washington Post, 31 Oct 08)

Ecuador alleges 'clear' signs of CIA infiltration

An Ecuadorean presidential commission has concluded that U.S. intelligence services infiltrated the Andean nation's military and police and supported a cross-border incursion by Colombian troops that killed a top rebel commander. Following the attack on a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia camp inside Ecuador on March 1, President Rafael Correa accused the CIA of infiltrating his nation's intelligence services and appointed a commission to investigate. The body alleged in its report, made public Thursday, that the CIA bought information from Ecuador's military and had prior knowledge of the raid, said Defense Minister Javier Ponce, who read highlights of the findings to reporters. No one at the U.S. Embassy was immediately available to comment…..(AP, 31 Oct 08)

US air force inks 'tactical' space-war deal

American weaponry tech behemoth Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $30m contract by the US Air Force Space Superiority Systems Wing. Under the deal, Lockheed will develop a prototype "tactical" space scanner for use in the covert orbital warfare of tomorrow. The tech demonstrator program is referred to as Self-Awareness Space Situational Awareness (SASSA), and will see Lockheed developing a "payload to provide tactical space situational awareness with dedicated communications". The US military and intelligence communities operate a satellite fleet numbering in the hundreds, with missions ranging from spying to communications to navigation. Civilians worldwide also depend on some of these satellites - especially those of the Global Positioning System (GPS), used by the vast majority of the world's satnav devices. These satellites are a major part of America's power - its ability to watch the world and operate globally. But they are far from invulnerable, as the famous Chinese antisatellite interceptor test of 2007 (and the US Navy shootdown later that year) have recently shown…..(Register, 30 Oct 08)

US-Latin America: Finance and diplomacy

…The slowdown in US purchasing power has highlighted the vulnerability of export and manufacturing-dependent Latin American economies. As Marco Vicenzino points out in a recent article on the far-reaching political effects of the credit crisis, everyone from petro-dependent states such as Venezuela to stronger, more free-market economies such as Brazil's are at risk. Latin American leaders were quick to blame the crisis on the irresponsibility of the US. This highlights an occurring trend and may become more commonplace in years to come: Latin American nations voluntarily distancing themselves from US political and economic policy. Altamir Lopes, the head of the economic research department for Brazil's Central Bank, claims the crisis will be the first step in an emerging trend of multilateral cooperation with the US and other nations. An emergency meeting on the economic crisis in November between Presidents George Bush and Lula da Silva of Brazil shows this prediction is already true…One nation that has gained a foothold in the region through trade and closer political ties is China. As US influence ebbed amidst low popularity and frustration with Washington, China has stepped in to snatch up Latin America's abundance of natural resources, especially oil, copper and iron ore. Between 2006 and 2007, trade between China and Latin America increased by 46 percent to US$102.6 billion. This number may continue to rise as China increasingly looks to the US' "backyard" for raw materials to fuel its industrialization. China and Latin American nations are politically aligned as well; Peru's rejection of Tibetan sovereignty and Paraguay's recent reversal to formally recognize Taiwan are but two examples……(ISN, 30 Oct 08)

U.S. spent $4 billion more on spying in fiscal '08 than '07

The U.S. spent $4 billion more on spying in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 than during the previous year, the director of national intelligence said yesterday. Spending on strategic intelligence by the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and other U.S. intelligence organizations reached $47.5 billion in fiscal 2008, compared with the $43.5 billion appropriated for fiscal 2007. The majority of the money supports electronic eavesdropping, wiretapping and the vast, high-speed data-mining operations of the National Security Agency, which has headquarters at Fort Meade. The budget also funds satellite photo reconnaissance and collection and analysis by agents of the CIA, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Treasury Department and others. The budget appropriations, which were highly classified until 2007, do not include funds for tactical, or localized, military intelligence collection and analysis done by the armed forces and the Pentagon…..(Baltimore Sun, 29 Oct 08)

Change Expands Eligibility for Intelligence Hires

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has taken steps to make it easier for U.S. intelligence agencies to recruit first-generation Americans with foreign relatives. In an Oct. 1 directive, McConnell removed a requirement restricting access to "sensitive compartmented information," the highest level of classified information, to employees whose family members or close associates were U.S. citizens. In the past, there had to be a formal waiver of the citizenship requirement and a "compelling need" to hire people who did not meet the condition. The fear was that foreign governments or groups might subject relatives or friends to physical or mental stress or torture to gain information from a U.S. intelligence employee. With the changes, McConnell continues implementing a proposal he offered more than 18 months ago during his confirmation hearing. At the time, he said he wanted to be able to employ individuals "who might have native language capabilities" but are barred from serving "in some of these very sensitive positions in the intelligence community."……(Washington Post, 29 Oct 08)

Intelligence Agencies Face Austerity

The steep buildup in government spending on intelligence programs continued over the past year, according to figures made public on Tuesday, but American intelligence agencies are also bracing for a new era of austerity.

Spending on intelligence operations increased by some 9 percent last year, to $47.5 billion, Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, said Tuesday. That figure includes most intelligence spending, including the budget for the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the operation of spy satellites, but it does not include several billions that the military services spend annually on intelligence operations. When the military spending is included, the new figure confirms that the American intelligence budget has doubled over the past decade, primarily to meet the demands of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a worldwide campaign against Al Qaeda. In 1998, the last time the intelligence budget was publicly disclosed before a 2007 law made it mandatory, it stood at $26.7 billion, and there were more F.B.I. agents working in New York City than C.I.A. officers operating around the world. The size of the 2009 budget, under which the intelligence agencies are currently operating, remains classified…..(New York Times, 29 Oct 08)

New FBI Powers: A Necessary Step for Counterterrorism

On October 3, the Department of Justice published the revised Attorney General Guidelines (AGG), which govern all Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) activities, including those involving international terrorism. The AGG comes into effect on December 1, 2008, and will consolidate procedures controlling the FBI's various investigative programs. Although members of Congress, civil rights groups, and the media have criticized the AGG, the revision is a necessary and important step for the FBI's counterterrorism investigations as well as all of the Bureau's investigative programs. Justice Department and FBI officials, however, will have to exert strong leadership to ensure the appropriate and effective implementation of the guidelines……(Washington Institute/Policy Watch #1418, 28 Oct 08)

Drug Cartel Spy In U.S. Embassy in Mexico?

The U.S. State Department is investigating an allegation that an employee of the American Embassy in Mexico City passed sensitive information to a major drug cartel.

The report stems from a scandal at the organized crime unit of the Mexican attorney general's office, where 35 employees were accused yesterday of passing information about investigations to the Beltran-Leyva narcotics organization. The informants collected as much as $450,000 a month, The Associated Press reported. A unnamed protected witness (who The New York Times said went by the alias "Felipe") also told authorities that he spied for the drug cartel on U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents while working as a criminal investigator at the U.S. embassy, according to El Universal, a Mexico City newspaper. DEA intelligence chief Anthony Placido said at a Washington news conference today that he was concerned about Felipe's claims, but said he couldn't confirm that embassy information about drug-enforcement measures had been passed on to drug lords…….(Washington Post, 28 Oct 08)

Head of National Intelligence Mike McConnell to speak here

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, a Greenville native and a key Bush administration figure in the high-profile national debates on domestic surveillance and terrorism intelligence, will speak at Wade Hampton High School's inaugural "Legion of Honor" ceremony on Sunday, his office said today…McConnell is being honored at Wade Hampton along with graduates U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, theologian and author John Stephen Piper, newscaster Jane Robelot DeCarvalho, civic leader Camilla Francis Hertwig and opera singer Myra Cordell. The Legion of Honor was established this year as a way to honor graduates of the high school. The installation ceremony begins at 3 p.m. in the high school auditorium……(Greenville Online, 28 Oct 08)

Man Convicted of Killing CIA Agent Is Released in Georgia

A onetime soldier jailed in the former Soviet republic of Georgia for the 1993 murder of American spy Freddie Woodruff has been released from prison, a surprise development in a saga long enveloped by mystery and intrigue. Anzor Sharmaidze, who was convicted of murder in 1994, left Ksani Prison near the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, after being granted parole Friday by a district court, according to a senior official at Georgia's Ministry of Justice. His unexpected release came less than a week after an article appeared in The Wall Street Journal detailing allegations by key witnesses that they had been beaten and forced to finger Mr. Sharmaidze for the killing of Mr. Woodruff, the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Tbilisi. Mr. Sharmaidze, now 36, initially confessed to the murder but says he did so after being severely beaten. His exit from prison leaves the guilty verdict against him intact but reduces pressure on Georgian authorities for a full re-examination of Mr. Woodruff's murder. Reopening the case would put a spotlight on Georgia's justice system, which critics of the country's pro-Western government say is often driven by political expediency. ….(Wall Street Journal, 28 Oct 08)

US replaces CIA Director in Pakistan

Apparently to build new cooperation and warmer relationship with the new Pakistani leadership CIA Chief Gen. Michael V. Hayden has replaced his Station Director in Pakistan with a more moderate and highly experienced official. Diplomatic sources have confirmed that recently removed CIA Station Chief in Islamabad was considered closer to ex-President Pervez Musharraf and had been relying on pre-elections policies of Pakistan. Some observers believe that it was CIA “mis-calculations” that widened the gap of misunderstanding here and led to some “mis-adventure” against Pakistan. Some of the moves such as ground attack was considered as “highly harmful” to the mutual interests of the two states. The sources told this correspondent that newly appointed CIA Station Chief in Islamabad is expected to improve coordination with his Pakistani counterpart at a time when the two allies in war on terror have developed some mis-understanding on ways and means to counter terrorism and the extremism…..(Pak Observer, 28 Oct 08)

U.S. Navy accepts delivery of Truxtun guided-missile destroyer

The U.S. Navy has accepted delivery of the guided-missile destroyer Truxtun (DDG 103) from Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (NGSB) during a ceremony in Pascagoula, Miss. Truxtun completed acceptance trials Oct. 3, and the ship got underway Sept. 30 from NGSB Pascagoula for a multiday trial in the Gulf of Mexico. All major systems and equipment, including the ship's Aegis combat system, were tested by the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey……(MS Kennedy Corp, 28 Oct 08)

DNI Directive Eases Clearance Restrictions on Foreign Ties

The Director of National Intelligence issued a directive (pdf) this month that will make it easier for a person whose spouse or immediate family is not a U.S. citizen to gain a security clearance for access to intelligence information.

The new policy lowers a barrier that has long impeded intelligence agency hiring of qualified area experts, linguists and others simply because of their family ties. Under the prior policy (Director of Central Intelligence Directive 6/4), one of the criteria for obtaining access to classified intelligence was that “The individual’s immediate family must also be US citizens.” Although an exception to that standard could be granted by a senior official, it was only permitted in case of a “compelling need.” Now, a clearance for those with foreign ties can be granted without a “compelling need,” though it may still involve additional processing. “Subjects who have immediate family members or other persons who are non-United States citizens to whom the subject is bound by affection or obligation may be eligible for access to SCI and other controlled access program information as the result of a condition, deviation, or waiver from personnel security standards.”…..(FAS, 27 Oct 08)

DNI Releases Budget Figure for 2008 National Intelligence Program

Consistent with Section 601 of the "Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act

of 2007," Public Law 110-53, the Director of National Intelligence is disclosing to the public the

aggregate amount of funds appropriated by Congress to the National Intelligence Program (NIP) for

fiscal year 2008 not later than 30 days after the end of the fiscal year. The aggregate amount appropriated to the NIP for fiscal year 2008 was $47.5 Billion. Any and all subsidiary information concerning the intelligence budget, whether the information concerns particular intelligence agencies or particular intelligence programs, will not be disclosed. Beyond the disclosure of the top-line figure, there will be no other disclosures of currently classified budget information because such disclosures could harm national security……(ODNI, 27 Oct 08)

Students, IT Firm Take on Community-wide Open Source Challenge

The "Open Source Challenge," a highlight of the 2008 DNI Open Source Conference, allowed analysts external to the Intelligence Community to test their skills against real intelligence problems using only publicly available intelligence. Participants were given a one-week deadline to supply answers to one of two questions: (1) Is Al Qaeda a cohesive organization? and (2) Who will be the leader in alternative fuels? Entries were judged by a panel of senior IC representatives based on six criteria: precision, fresh insight, creativity, data visualization, sourcing and use of open sources, and timeliness. Teams from Mercyhurst College of Erie, Pa. and iJET Intelligent Risk Systems of Annapolis, Md. were judged to have submitted the most compelling research and analysis. Both teams presented their work before a conference audience of 1,600 people……(ODNI, 27 Oct 08)

Post-9/11 CIA has shifted its emphasis for foreign ops

The CIA has more than doubled the number of science and technology officers sent overseas to support foreign spy operations since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "Hundreds" of the specially trained officers have moved abroad to provide eavesdropping and communications devices, disguises and other high-tech support for field agents as the CIA has re-emphasized intelligence collection from human sources, according to agency information provided in response to a USA TODAY inquiry. The CIA said the increase represents a 150% hike in overseas staffing for its Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T), which fills the role made famous by "Q" in James Bond films. The agency won't disclose the exact number of officers involved because its budget and staffing are classified, but the figures represent a rare public acknowledgement of the heightened pace of its foreign operations. The shift also reflects an increased emphasis on "close access" programs, in which information is collected directly from sources on the ground, as opposed to remotely via satellite or aircraft……(USA Today, 27 Oct 08)

Army portal tops 1 billion log-ins

Army Knowledge Online tallied its 1 billionth log-in this week, more than any other Web portal in the federal government, officials announced on Wednesday. Launched in 2001, the Army's intranet is being expanded across the entire Defense Department. Army Knowledge Online is a collection of applications and social networking tools on the service's secure network, such as e-mail, file storage, discussion forums and video messaging. Its more than 2 million users include active-duty soldiers, as well as National Guard and Reserve members, civilian employees, and the Army's contractor workforce. "AKO is basically the mode of communication for the Army," said Lt. Col. Ken Fritzsche, chief of operations for the portal. "I like to say we were Web 2.0 before Web 2.0 was defined. Users have been able to post original content and make their own Web pages since before the term was coined." Those capabilities have expanded to include blogs, wikis and social networking profiles that are updated automatically with biographical information for everyone in the Army. Users can share profiles and information, much like popular sites such as Facebook and MySpace, to find people with common interests, jobs or locations……(Gov Exec, 24 Oct 08)

IRS gets favorable progress report on information security

The Internal Revenue Service has made strides in implementing information security measures, but must be more consistent about configuring systems properly and protecting against unauthorized access, the IRS inspector general reported this week. The agency completed the certification and accreditation process, protected personal identifiable information appropriately, and tested security controls and contingency plans for all 22 of its information technology systems, according to the IG's fiscal 2008 report on compliance with the 2002 Federal Information Management Act. The IRS also provided appropriate oversight of contractor systems in almost all cases, and conducted a complete inventory of nearly every major information system that interfaces with the agency's network. That said, there are still areas in need of improvement, auditors said. "While the IRS improved its certification and accreditation process, more needs to be done to adequately secure its systems and data," the IG reported. The IRS developed an agency-wide information system security configuration policy that incorporates recommendations from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, but implemented the policy only 71 percent to 80 percent of the time, the IG found. Furthermore, not every computer running the Microsoft Windows XP or Vista operating systems complied with the standard security settings defined by the Office of Management and Budget's Federal Desktop Core Configuration mandate. The deadline for adopting the configurations for all agency systems was Feb. 1……(Gov Exec, 24 Oct 08)

Bush to visit NSA today amid spying dispute

…The White House said Bush will meet with the NSA director, Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, and the director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, to discuss intelligence issues. Bush will also meet with employees of the NSA to thank them for their service, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. The spy agency conducts global electronic eavesdropping of phones and e-mail by collecting and sifting signals carried by fiber-optic cable and satellite transmission. It is under public fire for allegedly having encouraged its analysts to listen to and record personal conversations between American troops, aid workers and journalists in Iraq and their families back home. According to the allegations, first raised more than a year ago and then amplified in a new book on the NSA published last week, at least two NSA intercept operators monitored and recorded personal conversations in violation of presidential directives and NSA guidelines. Based on the initial allegations, McConnell asked the NSA's inspector general more than a year ago to investigate them……(Baltimore Sun, 24 Oct 08)

Former CIA man died after volume on hospital heart monitor was turned down

A former CIA man died after the volume of an alarm on his hospital heart monitor was turned down, an inquest has heard. American Alan Bel, 60, suffered a heart attack – but medics failed to notice because they were not alerted because they could not hear the alarm. Consultant cardiologist Dr Bernard Clarke told the inquest that ‘on the balance of probabilities’ staff could have saved the 60-year-old if the machine had been working. And Manchester coroner Nigel Meadows said a ‘serious failure’ of the heart monitor had contributed to the death of Mr Bel who retired from the CIA spy agency 30 years ago……(Daily Mail, 24 Oct 08)

US: New Pakistani spymaster in Washington visit

The new head of Pakistan's intelligence service, Ahmed Shuja Pasha, will arrive in the United States capital, Washington D.C. this weekend for meetings with CIA’s director Michael Hayden, diplomatic sources told Pakistani daily Dawn. "The CIA and ISI chiefs will discuss various options from removing this distrust between Pakistani and US intelligence communities," said a senior diplomatic source, cited by Dawn. A top US military official, Gen. David Petraeus, will arrive in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for talks with his Pakistani counterparts next week. He will also visit Afghanistan……(AKI, 24 Oct 08)

Bush plans to establish U.S. diplomatic post in Iran

The Bush administration will announce in mid-November, after the presidential election, that it intends to establish the first U.S. diplomatic presence in Iran since the 1979-81 hostage crisis, according to senior Bush administration officials. The proposal for an "interests section," which falls short of a full U.S. Embassy, has been conveyed in private diplomatic messages to Tehran, and a search is under way to choose the American diplomat who'd head the post, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the step hasn't been announced and discussions of it have been limited to a small circle of government officials. It's not known how Iran has responded. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last month that he'd consider the idea, which first surfaced over the summer……(McClatchy Newspapers, 23 Oct 08)

Huge New Biodefense Lab Is Dedicated at Fort Detrick

…When the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center at Fort Detrick is fully operational in March, about 150 scientists in the lab will be tasked with protecting the country from a bioterrorist attack through prevention or containment. Another goal is to allow investigators to fingerprint biological agents such as viruses and bacteria, quickly tracing their source and catching the offender. But critics cite the case of Bruce E. Ivins, a researcher at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, also at Fort Detrick, as evidence that such installations might help bioterrorists get access to lethal agents. FBI investigators think Ivins, who committed suicide in July, was responsible for the 2001 anthrax attacks.…..(Washington Post, 23 Oct 08)

Why won't NSA classify 'public' report on wiretaps?

When Congress passed a landmark electronic-spying bill last summer, the measure included a key provision that ordered the inspectors general of U.S. intelligence agencies to produce the first-ever public report on President Bush's warrantless-surveillance program. The report isn't due until next July—long after Bush leaves office. But when the inspectors general recently submitted their first "interim" report to Congress under the measure, it wasn't made public. Instead, the brief document, written by CIA inspector general John Helgerson, was marked classified—a move that has drawn a stiff protest from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes.

In an Oct. 10 letter, Reyes complained to Helgerson (who is coordinating the review by 16 different inspectors general) for submitting a secret interim report when Congress envisioned a document that could be shared with the public. The letter essentially said, "Here's what the law says, please explain why you're not following the law,"…..(Newsweek, 23 Oct 08)

Officials weigh creating domestic intelligence agency

There is no easy answer as to whether the United States would be well-served by a domestic intelligence agency, a nonprofit research institution concluded in a new report. "If America's counterterrorism-focused domestic intelligence, broadly conceived, is found wanting -- and how to do better while preserving civil liberties is the policy challenge -- changing organizations is one approach," said Gregory Treverton, director of the RAND Corp.'s Center for Global Risk and Security and author of the report, during a Capitol Hill briefing on Tuesday. But there are other ways of improving counterterrorism activities that should be considered, including revising laws, spending more money to enhance existing capabilities, and improving leadership or the means for sharing information, he said. RAND studied the issue at the request of the Homeland Security Department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Two years ago, Congress directed that office to conduct "an independent study on the feasibility of creating a counterterrorism intelligence agency." The request stemmed from the failure of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials to anticipate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks…..(Gov Exec, 22 Oct 08)

Retired FBI Agent Testifies About Relationship With Boston Gangsters

Gangsters James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi were portrayed Tuesday as valued partners in the FBI's war on organized crime — rather than vicious killers, one of whom would wind up next to Osama bin Laden on the bureau's 10 Most Wanted list. Retired FBI agent Nicholas Gianturco described inviting the two gangsters into his home for dinner about five times. He said they brought the wine. During the second meal, he said he accepted expensive crystal stemware from Bulger, who didn't like sipping from Gianturco's cheap, grocery store wine glasses. On another occasion, Gianturco said he arranged to have Bulger and Flemmi present at a dinner for a couple of high-profile former New York FBI agents, authors of successful books about their careers fighting organized crime. Gianturco was one of three retired Boston FBI agents who testified Tuesday as defense witnesses for ex-agent John Connolly. Connolly, being tried on murder and conspiracy charges, is accused of leaking information that Bulger, Flemmi and members of their Winter Hill Gang used in 1982 to kill John B. Callahan, former president of the parimutuel company World Jai Alai. The gang was part of an effort to take over the company, which had operations in Hartford and Florida…..(Courant, 22 Oct 08)

Mullen Confers With Russian Counterpart

The two top officers of the U.S. and Russian armed forces met for unannounced consultations Tuesday in Finland, at a time of heightened tensions between their countries due to Russia's invasion of Georgia and a U.S. plan to build a missile defense system in Europe. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sat down with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, head of the Russian general staff, to discuss Georgia, Afghanistan, naval operations in the Black Sea and other issues, according to a spokesman for Mullen. The tone of the meeting was "generally positive," said the spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby. "They did not agree on every issue, nor did the chairman expect them to. The relationship between our two militaries has certainly been changed by events in Georgia."……(Washington Post, 22 Oct 08)

Trial of US, Italian agents resumes in Italy

A trial of 26 Americans, most of them CIA employees, and five Italian secret service agents resumed Wednesday, but the court said it would ask Rome to clarify whether some testimony could compromise Italy's national security, a prosecutor said. The defendants are charged with kidnapping an Egyptian cleric from Milan in February 2003, allegedly as part of the CIA's program to secretly move terror suspects to a third country. The cleric was suspected of recruiting volunteers to train with al-Qaida in Afghanistan. None of the 26 American defendants have turned up for the trial, and the CIA has refused to comment on the case. U.S. officials have said no U.S. citizen would be extradited, even if Rome requested it. Prosecutor Armando Spataro said Wednesday that the judge will formally ask Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi to clarify when national security concerns come into play during testimony. The issue was highlighted by the refusal of two Italian secret agents to answer specific questions, citing classified information…..(AP, 22 Oct 08)

Director of National Intelligence and Senior Intelligence Community Leaders to Speak at 2008 GEOINT Conference in Nashville

The following advisory was issued today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence:

What: The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF), will host its fifth annual GEOINT Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mr. Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence (DNI), will be one of the conferences ….(Press Release, 21 Oct 08)

FBI chief to stay on under new president, aide says

FBI Director Robert Mueller, a leader of the Bush administration's fight against terrorism, intends to serve out a 10-year term and has sought to quash rumors he would soon quit, a spokesman said on Tuesday. There has been speculation Mueller would leave during the presidential transition following the November 4 elections. "Stop the rumors about me leaving," spokesman Richard Kolko quoted Mueller as telling aides. He said Mueller made clear he did not intend to leave until his single term expires in September 2011…..(Reuters, 21 Oct 08)

Congress cancels novel satellite program

With a federal budget crunch looming, Congress this month canceled Pentagon plans to buy and launch two commercial imagery satellites to complement its network of classified spy craft, military and space industry officials said. House and Senate intelligence appropriations committees cut all funds for the satellite program during a conference to work out differences in the classified 2009 bills that approve intelligence spending. They also wiped out the remaining 2008 funds. The exact amount is classified, but the program was expected to cost about $1.7 billion, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the classified information. With the Iraq war continuing, the Afghan war heating up and the national financial bailout casting a $700 billion shadow, the cancellation means the next administration will not be locked into an expensive and potentially controversial program, industry officials said…..(AP, 21 Oct 08)

U.S. policymakers mull creation of domestic intelligence agency

The United Kingdom has MI-5, which roots out spies and terrorists in the British Isles. Canada has CSIS -- the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Now Congress is asking: Should the U.S. have its own domestic intelligence agency? On Monday, at the request of Congress, the RAND Corporation outlined the pros and cons of establishing a domestic intelligence agency. It also discussed different ways to organize a new entity, either as part of an existing department or as a new agency. But there's one thing you won't find in the report -- a recommendation on what to do. "We were not asked to make a recommendation, and this assessment does not do so," the report says. Instead, says RAND's Gregory Treverton, the report provides a "framework" for policymakers to use when deciding whether and how to reorganize counter-intelligence efforts at home…….(CNN, 21 Oct 08)

ESRI to Showcase a Complete Platform for Geospatial Intelligence Workflows at GEOINT Symposium

ESRI will demonstrate the power and flexibility of its ArcGIS software platform to manage geospatial intelligence during the GEOINT 2008 Symposium, October 27–30, 2008, in Nashville, Tennessee. National security, defense, and intelligence professionals will see how the unique capabilities of geographic information system (GIS) technology integrate and share all elements of the intelligence workflow. The ArcGIS technology platform connects sensors, warfighters, analysts, and decision makers through a shared network of desktops, servers, mobile devices, and data appliances. This geospatially enabled intelligence permits agencies, through netcentric operations, to share data simultaneously throughout a community of interest the moment it becomes available. GIS technology allows agencies to select, fuse, and analyze complex intelligence data through a map-driven interface as they transform GIS knowledge into action…….(Spatial News, 20 Oct 08)

Top US Spy Boss: Investigation Underway into ABC News Report

The inspector general for the National Security Agency, the NSA, has begun an investigation into allegations that US intelligence operators intercepted, recorded and shared intimate phone calls and "phone sex" between hundreds of American citizens, the Director of National Intelligence, J.M. McConnell, has told US Senators. In a letter released today, McConnell said the NSA was unaware of the allegations, made by two former intercept operators, until ABC News reported them. Former Army Arab linguist Adrienne Kinne and former Navy Arab linguist David Murfee Faulk told ABC News they observed and participated in intercepting private calls between Americans while they were detailed to a NSA listening post at Fort Gordon, outside Augusta, Georgia. Kinne said calls by American journalists, aid workers and soldiers serving in Iraq were targeted for interception, because, she says she was told, there were "special waivers" to make it legal…..(ABC, 20 Oct 08)

DARPA Contract Description Hints at Advanced Video Spying

Real-time streaming video of Iraqi and Afghan battle areas taken from thousands of feet in the air can follow actions of people on the ground as they dig, shake hands, exchange objects and kiss each other goodbye.

The video is sent from unmanned and manned aircraft to intelligence analysts at ground stations in the United States and abroad. They watch video in real time of people getting in and out of cars, loading trunks, dropping things or picking them up. They can even see vehicles accelerate, slow down, move together or make U-turns.

"The dynamics of an urban insurgency have resulted in a rapid increase in the number of activities visible in the video field of view," according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Although the exploits of the Predator, the Global Hawk and other airborne collectors of information have been widely publicized, there are few authoritative descriptions of what they can see on the ground. But some insights into the capabilities of the Predator and other aircraft can be drawn from a DARPA paper that describes the tasks of a contractor that will develop a method of indexing and rapidly finding video from archived aerial surveillance tapes collected over past years...During the Cold War, satellites and aircraft took still pictures that intelligence analysts reviewed one frame at a time to identify the locations of missile silos, airplane hangars, submarine pens and factories, said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, an expert in space and intelligence matters. "Now with new full-motion video intelligence techniques, we are looking at people and their behavior in public," he said.…..(Washington Post, 20 Oct 08)

Mystery surrounds CIA chief Lebanon trip

CIA Director Michael Hayden sparks controversy by holding covert meetings with top Lebanese officials in a secret visit to the country. Michael Hayden arrived in Beirut on Thursday in a visit that gained little but controversial media attention. Hayden arrived in the Lebanese capital for talks with top Lebanese officials on security cooperation against regional and international terror, reported As-Safir daily, a local media outlet.
"Over the past few years prominent security officials, including the heads of Interpol and FBI, have visited the country on propaganda trips meant to enhance cooperation in security matters," claims Elnashra.com, a local website……(Press TV, 19 Oct 08)

FBI resources limited for economic probes: report

The FBI, after years spent focusing on national security, is struggling to find agents and resources to investigate wrongdoing tied to the country's economic crisis, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.

Citing current and former FBI officials, the Times said cutbacks in its criminal investigative workforce following the September 11 attacks left the FBI weaker in areas like white collar crime. The cutbacks were the result of a shift in focus to terrorism and intelligence matters. More than 1,800 agents, or nearly one-third of all those in criminal programs, moved into those areas…Records and interviews show that FBI officials have warned of a looming mortgage threat since 2004, and asked the Bush administration to fund such nonterrorism investigations, but the requests were denied and no new agents were approved for financial criminal investigation work, the newspaper said. Internal FBI data shows the cutbacks were especially sharp in areas of white collar crime like mortgage fraud, with more than 600 agents lost, or more than one-third of 2001 levels…..(Reuters, 18 Oct 08)