SA Intelligencer Number 86
11 April 2011 Editor: Dalene Duvenage Contributions and enquiries dalene@4knowledge.co.za Click on titles below to access the articles
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Great News! A South African won the US Masters! Superb golf Charl Schwartzel!
From the editor It has been 7 weeks since the last SA Intelligencer, which means this is a bumper issue with international intelligence developments. The SA Intelligencer is read by thousands of intelligence professionals all over the globe as a one-stop shop of news in the intelligence world. People ask me where I get all the information and how do I decide what to publish and what not? As an African intelligence professional, my focus is first and foremost on happenings here in our continent, as little of it gets wider coverage and many of my readers are from Africa. Secondly, as an intelligence officer, I always wonder what the intelligence angle is of the news carried by the mass media. I would try to get a balanced analytical or comment clipping that discusses the “so what?” Also, I try to put myself in the shoes of my readers all over the globe – and try to include issues that might be of interest to them. All material are openly available on the internet for free if you know where and how to get it (do my Internet Intelligence course to find out!). I don’t use grey sources and give credit to the publications or websites where I got the info from. As Janeof-all-trades, and specialist-of-none, I sometimes get frustrated that I don’t know the story–behind-the-story, and might fall in the trap of carrying material that might be tainted or false. But I know my readers are intelligent intelligence officers and see the SA Intelligencer as just another source of information that has to be evaluated and rated. My readers prefer a document that they can print, read and distribute for their own and their agency’s situational awareness. Click on the article in the TOC on the next page to access specific articles. All the articles are linked to the original document-click on source link to access it. Happy reading! Dalene Duvenage Pretoria, South Africa
SA Intelligencer 10 April 2011 Number 86 Page 2 Africa Page 3 Libya: Suspicion mounts as US unlocks Moussa Koussa’s foreign assets CIA & MI6 in Libya: U.S.-British covert operations exposed Libya: The Intelligence Challenge South Africa: Spooks back to their old tricks South Africa: Crime intelligence ‘completely dysfunctional’ Seychelles and Russia meet to discuss security challenges Kenya: How Spy Agency Helped to Nail the Ocampo Six Kenya: Moi to Pay Former Deputy Intelligence Boss Sh130 Million Zimbabwe: Deputy Chief of ZCIO dies Zimbabwe: Intelligence relations with China China helps build state intelligence complex for Mugabe Zimbabwe: UK Spy Named in Parly Votes-for-Cash Claim Ghana: National Security invites Newspaper Editor for questioning Botswana: Concern over erosion of parliamentary committee on intelligence Gambian President appoints new army boss Algeria: Two former soldiers convicted of spying for France Re-Making Egypt’s notorious State Security Agency Middle East ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Page 13 Israel: Cabinet unanimously approves Yoram Cohen to head Shin Bet Israel Charges Engineer in Gaza Port Sudan attack carried out on lead from Abu Sisi Israel passes law revoking citizenship for spying Israeli Military Intelligence monitoring foreign left-wing organizations Kuwait: Iranian diplomats may be ejected for spying Europe ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Page 17 EU commission keen to set up new counter-terrorism office France: Ange Mancini named national coordinator of intelligence France: Renault Apologizes to Employees Fired in Spy Case Russia: Spying Devices’ Ruling Outlaws Cell Phones Romania: The regional seminar 'A Synergistic Approach to Strategic Knowledge in the Wider Black Sea Region' UK: Russian spy' granted legal aid to battle deportation NATO nations deepen cooperation on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance Sweden Rules There Was No Unlawful US Spying Netherlands: AIVD report: threat from right-wing extremism limited Norway:Annual Report of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) Italy: National Intelligence Estimate of 2010 Russia: Dmitry Medvedev fires FSB deputy head over lavish party Asia ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Page 24 U.S.-Pakistan intel operations frozen as ties remain strained Pakistan: ISI DG to visit US on April 11 India: Make spy agency's audit public: HC India to revamp economic intelligence agency South Korea: President replaces 2 of 3 deputy chiefs at NIS Indonesia: Intelligence agencies struggling with problems Indonesia: Debate over new intelligence bill continues ASEAN defense chiefs agree on intelligence sharing Oceania ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Page 29 Australia Warns Top Companies On Cyber Spy Threat Australia: Former spy named ambassador to Japan Australia: New laws aim to boost spy agencies Australia: Engineers off to US for secret cyber school Gillard hack a test run for new ASIO unit? New Zealand: Top US official visits New Zealand: New SIS bill 'lacks accountability' CIA's Leon Panetta not eager to swap jobs: agency North America ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Page 33 U.S. Spy Agency Is Said to Investigate Nasdaq Hacker Attack Obama Changes Order of Succession for Intelligence US Intelligence Community Worldwide Threat Assessment DNI Orders New National Intelligence Estimate On National Security And Collapse Of U.S. Manufacturing CIA to review role of agents overseas Senior Leadership Changes in CIA Canada: Security agencies still not sharing data Canadian MPs call for spy boss's head Latin America .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Page 40 Ecuador's Correa lashes out at U.S. embassy for spying Guyana: Jagdeo’s office approves funds for spy equipment Costa Rica: CIA Financed Costa Rica's Intelligence Service Espionage On Drug Trafficking: Former Security Minister
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Libya: Suspicion mounts as US unlocks Moussa Koussa’s foreign assets JOSEPH FITSANAKIS Intelnews April 6, 2011
Eyebrows were raised in intelligence circles on Monday, after the United States lifted its freeze of foreign assets belonging to Libya’s former intelligence chief, who defected to London last week. Libya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Moussa Koussa, who headed the country’s intelligence agency from 1994 to 2009, managed to escape to the UK from Tunisia on a Swiss-registered private airplane. He is currently reported to be in an MI6 safe house in England, allegedly being interrogated about his inside knowledge of the regime of Muammar al-Gaddafi. But Koussa is Moussa Koussa also thought to be the mastermind behind the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed nearly 300 people. The 57-year-old defector is also believed to have facilitated Libya’s funding of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and to have authorized the assassination of several Libyan dissidents living in Britain. In light of that, the news that Washington lifted its
sanctions on Koussa’s sizeable fortune abroad is worth noting. It is also interesting to note that Britain’s Foreign Secretary, William Hague, is reportedly pressuring European Union member-states to follow the US’ example in also unfreezing Koussa’s foreign assets. According to the London-based Daily Mail, Hague told the Commons that unlocking the Libyan defector’s assets abroad would provide an “incentive for members of the regime to abandon its murderous work”. Washington appears to be following a similar line of argument. Another theory, however, is that put forward by British intelligence observer Gordon Thomas, author of numerous books on intelligence history. According to Thomas, Koussa has acted as an agent-in-place for MI6 and the CIA “for a decade”, and his defection was carefully choreographed to combine maximum propaganda effect for the West, as well as maximum security and a new, worryfree life for Koussa himself.
CIA & MI6 in Libya: U.S.-British covert operations exposed Abayomi Azikiwe, Pan-African News Wire, Apr 7, 2011 (Editor: Excerpt)
The New York Times, the Washington Post and other corporate news sources are now openly admitting that the opposition forces fighting the Libyan government are supported and coordinated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Britain’s MI6 with incountry special forces. President Barack Obama in March signed an order dispatching CIA operatives to identify targets for bombing and to vet potential leaders within the rebel forces in the event of toppling the Libyan government.
Al Jazeera says in a recent article that both U.S. and Egyptian Special Forces are providing training to the rebel groups at a secret facility in eastern Libya. This adds greater clarity to the insistence on the part of the Obama administration that the current leader of Libya, Moammar Gadhafi, be forced from office. The U.S. wants a compliant regime in control of this oil-rich North African state of more than 6 million people.
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battlefields of North Africa with the objective Egypt’s military receives in excess of $1.5 of toppling Gadhafi ... he may stand as the billion a year from the U.S. for training, best liaison for the United States and allied equipment and cooperation with Washington. NATO forces in dealing with Libya’s unruly An unidentified rebel fighter described being rebels.” trained in military techniques by U.S. and Egyptian military forces. This same study revealed that Haftar played an important role in June 1998 in establishing “He told us that Thursday night (March 31) a the so-called Libyan National Army, the new shipment of Katyusha rockets had been military wing of the National Front for the sent into eastern Libya from Egypt. He didn’t Salvation of Libya “with say they were sourced strong backing from the from Egypt, but that was their route through. He Central Intelligence Agency.” Not only did the said these were state-ofthe-art, heat-seeking CIA set up the LNA but it also created a training rockets and that they need to be trained on camp in Virginia where how to use them, which members of the group was one of the things the were taught American and Egyptian counterinsurgency and Photo: Newser special forces were there destabilization tactics by to do.” (Al Jazeera, April 4) the U.S. government. U.S. cover story falls apart The Nation magazine, in an April 3 article entitled, “The CIA, the Libyan rebellion, and The Obama administration claims it does not the president,” concludes, “An event that know who the so-called “rebels” are in Libya. Americans were led to believe was an But Khalifa Haftar, officially appointed leader autonomous rising on the model of Egypt of the military campaign against the Libyan turns out to have been deeply compromised government, has for many years been from the start, and compromised by American financed and supported by the CIA. For two meddling. All the external parties are in Libya decades he lived in Virginia near CIA for different reasons. Things could not have headquarters in Langley. A report by the gotten this far without the CIA.” right-wing Jamestown Foundation declares, “Today as Colonel Haftar finally returns to the Ed: More on Haftar McClatchy Newspapers
Libya: The Intelligence Challenge The Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies: 1 April 2011
On Thursday 31 Mar 2011 NATO took over command and control of the forces assigned to the Libyan mission. However, NATO as an organization does not collect intelligence, but instead relies on NATO members to provide intelligence support commensurate with the mission assigned to NATO. Of the 28 NATO members it appears that only the US, UK, France, Canada, Denmark and Belgium are providing forces to the Libyan mission. In addition Qatar and UAE are also apparently providing forces. This composition of forces requires a very complex intelligence
structure. Any intelligence shared through existing NATO channels may have to go to all 28 members of NATO, whether or not they are providing forces, which may not be ideal for some. Qatar and UAE requires creative thinking with respect to pipelines and sharing arrangements, something that NATO has learned to cope with in previous missions such as Afghanistan. The requirement for rapid and actionable intelligence in support of both the no-fly zone and missions targeting ground forces presents a significant challenge to the NATO commander. There is always the
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question of who is providing sensitive and accurate intelligence from which NATO then tasks forces to conduct attacks. In the end while each nation, such as Canada, delegates operational control to NATO, each nation never actually delegates what is called “Full Command�, i.e. the ultimate responsibility for all actions taken by their own forces even though they are operating within a NATO
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mission. This results in a not insignificant challenge to each participating country’s intelligence organizations who must support NATO and their individual national authorities at the same time. This is a balancing act of strategic importance to the success of the mission too often overlooked as well as not always well understood by both senior military and political leaders.
South Africa: Spooks back to their old tricks Mail and Guardian Editorial 8 April 2011 (Ed: excerpt) was brought back to head it in a clear reward 'The wars that turned South Africa's for looking after the president's interests. intelligence services into a political Rumours about his questionable business battleground are over for now: a clear victory relationships and his political loyalties now has been won, and the spoils are being abound and it is apparent that he has divided. Unfortunately the consolidation of intensely hostile relations with some of his immense powers in the hands of spies loyal to senior staff. This story will only get messier. Jacob Zuma and the ANC likely signals worse But it is in crime intelligence that we are to come, if not for the party, then for seeing the clearest repetition of the pattern democracy." that characterised the years between Zuma's So said the Mail & Guardian in May 2009 three removal from office in 2005, and his weeks after Zuma became president and triumphant 2009 return. As the recently began repopulating the upper ranks of the arrested Richard Mdluli goes to war against spy agencies that had been torn apart in the his boss, General Bheki Cele, it is clear that ruling party's succession tussle. Astonishingly, spies are once again busily assembling that now seems an optimistic assessment. dossiers on each other, and on senior We were worried at the time that the politicians. They are tracing intricate networks appointment of trusted Zuma lieutenants to of corruption, patronage and party factional all of the most senior intelligence jobs would agendas based on evidence that ranges from fuel the growth and politicisation of an the ephemeral to the terrifying solid. unaccountable secret state, heightening the Meanwhile, the depth of ties between the already extraordinary potential for its abuse spooks, the politicians and underworld bosses by those loyal to the president, rather than is once again in open view. the Constitution. Those concerns remain The soundtrack is the awful grinding noise of urgent, but the events of the past fortnight preparations for the 2012 elective conference have made it clear that we underestimated of the ANC. The dangers are not abstract. the fissile character of the ANC, and the Organised crime and corruption find both extent to which intelligence thinking, their occasion and their excuse in the war of methodology, and personnel are embedded the spies, while democratic choice is stolen in its internal politics. In short, the spooks are from citizens and handed over to plotters. at it again. State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele As we report this week, the director general reorganised the intelligence services, he said, of the National Intelligence Agency, Gibson to ensure focus on "core priorities", but he Njenje, is likely to leave the NIA. A key Zuma has stubbornly resisted the real reforms that supporter in the agency before he was fired were proposed by a ministerial commission over his role in setting up surveillance of just before he was appointed. prominent Thabo Mbeki supporters, Njenje
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South Africa: Crime intelligence ‘completely dysfunctional’ City Press , 3 April 2011, Julian Rademeyer and Jacques Pauw
part of “an internal investigation on various The arrest of crime intelligence head Richard aspects within the crime intelligence Mdluli for the murder of an alleged “love environment”. rival” 12 years ago comes amid a growing Cele is said to have a vested interest in the corruption scandal centring on the police’s Mdluli case amid suggestions that he is taking crime intelligence division. steps against senior personnel Last week, City Press revealed that whom he believes have crime intelligence officers linked to embarrassed him. Last month, City alleged Czech “mob boss” Radovan Press reported that tensions Krejcir were implicated in the between Cele and Mdluli were illegal wire-tapping of Hawks running high after two police investigators probing his activities. intelligence operatives paid an Additional revelations have unannounced visit to Public painted a portrait of the crime Protector Thuli Madonsela’s office. intelligence division as a rogue A senior crime intelligence officer police unit crippled by nepotism, this week described the unit as corruption, mismanagement and and “completely SAPS Crime Intelligence Chief isolated fraud. dysfunctional”. He said a bitter Richard Mdluli This includes allegations that feud was raging between senior police Mdluli arranged the irregular promotion of officers appointed by Cele and those “who Colonel Nkosana “Killer” Ximba – now one of are seen to be the old guard”. Levels of his co-accused – from constable to colonel; a distrust have reached such high levels that decision which, under normal circumstances, the Hawks recently resorted to using the would have had to be approved by national National Intelligence Agency for operational police commissioner General Bheki Cele. support. Police spokesperson Colonel Vish Naidoo said Editor: Read Mail and Guardian’s article “Spy yesterday that Cele had “neither signed nor boss alerted Zuma about plot” on the approved the promotion” of Ximba, adding background of Mdluli’s arrest. that the promotion was being investigated as
Seychelles and Russia meet to discuss security challenges Eturbonews, Mar 28, 2011
Seychelles and Russia are set to deepen cooperation over security issues following discussions held with a high-level Russian delegation led by the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, HE Mr. Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev, during a brief stop-over in Seychelles on Saturday. The Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Mr. Vincent Meriton and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Jean-Paul Adam met the delegation, who were en route to South Africa, discussed on arrival the security challenges currently being faced by Seychelles; more notably the scourge of
piracy in the Indian Ocean, which both sides agreed needed further attention. Areas of for further cooperation focused on specialized training opportunities for Seychellois personnel, Seychelles' participation in Russian-led international security forums, and greater coordination of military assets in the region. "Russia is one of the countries that share our view that we are at a turning point in our fight against piracy, and we really need to increase our efforts. Part of this will be through stepping up military presence and actions at sea, and the second part relates to institution
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building in Somalia where Seychelles has led the way with our transfer agreements with Somali authorities recently. The third way is to tackle money laundering which is linked to ransom money paid to pirates and is also linked to other illegal activities such as terrorism," said Minister Adam. "Russia has also offered to assist us with training in
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various areas such as anti-terrorism training for the military and police, as well as intelligence gathering among others," Minister Adam concluded. The two delegations also discussed other sectors for the two governments to deepen cooperation, including tourism and education.
Kenya: How Spy Agency Helped to Nail the Ocampo Six AllAfrica.com, Emeka-Mayaka Gekara, 26 March 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
Evidence gathered by the national intelligence agency may have been used to nail post-election violence suspects waiting to appear before the International Criminal Court pre-trial judges. brief to the commissioners in private," the Inquiries by the Sunday Nation revealed that NSIS boss said. testimonies by the National Security The spy chief also told the commission that Intelligence Service (NSIS) and provincial politicians in some parts of the country used security officials before Justice Philip Waki's coded language, asking their people to rise up commission on post-election violence and get rid of some communities. He provided valuable information for said NSIS did its part to inform other ICC prosecutor Luis Morenosecurity agencies of possible violence. Ocampo's case. It was his testimony that all relevant While testifying before the Waki departments were adequately Commission, top security officials briefed, but failed to act accordingly. - including NSIS director general "Kenyans are still asking: 'Where was Michael Gichangi - disclosed that the NSIS?' I want to tell them that we the agency had gathered and did our part, but the State security relayed intelligence on individuals agents failed to respond as expected who funded and organised gangs because they were overwhelmed by such as Mungiki and Kalenjin the magnitude of the violence," said Warriors to cause chaos during Maj-Gen Gichangi. The agency the 2007 election period. produced regular and special reports On July 21, 2008, Gichangi and security briefs at provincial and testified that the NSIS had names of district levels in the months leading up to the politicians who bankrolled the militias and 2007 General Election. Intelligence reports, requested to reveal their identities in private. some of which were made available to the "We established they were politicians who Waki Commission and apparently transmitted were seeking elective posts as civic leaders to the ICC, named possible suspects for the and Members of Parliament as well as others violence in Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, Naivasha and from the private sector but, because of the Nairobi sensitivity of the matter, we will avail that
Kenya: Moi to Pay Former Deputy Intelligence Boss Sh130 Million All Africa.com, Pamela Chepkemei, 7 April 2011 (Editor: Excerpted)
Former President Daniel Moi has been ordered by a court to pay former deputy boss of the Special Branch (now National Security
Intelligence Service, NSIS) Sh130 million as damages for loss of property he suffered when he was detained 28 years ago. High
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Court Judge Jeanne Gacheche sitting in Nairobi, ordered that the former President pays Stephen Mwangi Muriithi Sh50 million as punitive damages and another Sh80million as compensation. The Sh80million will earn a compounded interest rate of 12 per cent to be calculated from 1982. Muriithi had filed the case seeking compensation for the property they jointly
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owned with Moi which was taken away by the former President without his consent during his detention. But Justice Gacheche suspended her orders for two weeks to enable Moi's lawyer to make a formal application to have the decision suspended as they lodge an appeal. The judge found Moi liable for the detention of Muriithi in 1982. The former intelligence boss was detained for three years without trial.
Zimbabwe: Deputy Chief of ZCIO dies The Zimbabwean.co.uk, Monday, 11 April 2011 HARARE - Mernard Muzariri (pictured), the deputy head of Zimbabwe's spy organisation, the Central Intelligence Organisation, died this morning. Muzariri died at the private St Annes hospital in Harare. He is said to have died of cancer, according to official sources. The CIO deputy director-general, was one of the intelligence chiefs who loomed largely in the shadows, unknown to the public. Muzariri, who hailed from Mashonaland Central, is scheduled to be declared a national hero. He headed the Internal Division of the CIO before he was promoted to the position he
held at the time of his death. The Information ministry declined to comnment on the matter, referring enquiries to the Department of the President. The Department of the President referred the matter to the CIO, where calls were not being picked up. It is understood chief secretary to the President and Cabinet Ray Ndlukula has been tasked with handling the matter. He could not be immedaietly reached for comment. But mourners were said to be gathered at his home in Rock Valley.
Zimbabwe: Intelligence relations with China Zimbabwe Telegraph, 13 March 2011 (Ed: Excerpted)
A Chinese businessman, Sam Pa, is casting a long and warped shadow over Zimbabwe as it heads towards what many fear He has been identified as the financier of a covert operation whose purpose is to sustain President Robert Mugabe’s regime. The details of the deal that this mysterious Hong Kong-based magnate has cut with Mugabe’s national intelligence chief, Happyton Bonyongwe, have not been disclosed officially and officials loyal to Mugabe and Bonyongwe deny any connection. International researchers into his opaque business activities have noted a similarity with
his wheeler-dealing in other African countries, where companies he represents are alleged to have manipulated networks within the elites and used closed-door negotiations to secure a large stake in strategic mineral resources. Oil-rich Angola, a rising economic power in Africa and the main source of China’s oil, was a prime example. He has also invested heavily in mineral-rich Guinea and Tanzania. Madagascar since the coup has been another focus of attention. Now it looks as if Zimbabwe is falling under the spell of this canny Chinese investor. Pa conducts his
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business largely under the radar, keeps his name and face out of the headlines and is said to use a variety of different identities and nationalities which he changes with nonchalant ease depending on the country and situation he is in. In the case of Angola, the relationship was built up by key figures in the presidency and intelligence services and is now controlled by General Helder Vieira Dias. Dias, known as �Kopelipa�, is the most powerful man in the country after president Jose Eduardo dos Santos. In Zimbabwe, elements of the Bonyongwe deal have now begun to emerge and it fits his pattern of drawing members of a country's elite into lucrative joint ventures so that, over time, he becomes indispensable to them. They allege that in return for diamonds and mineral resources to supply China's booming economy Pa has provided funds and equipment to Bonyongwe's Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to enable it to deliver an electoral victory for Mugabe and his party. Pa has also ploughed money into vehicles for the CIO, providing the intelligence service with more than 100 Nissan pickup trucks, so increasing its operational capability against the regime's opponents, the sources said. He was also involved in funding a CIO hearts and minds programme and Mugabe's anti-sanctions campaign against Western governments headed by Britain and the United States which have hit Mugabe and key regime figures with a travel ban and asset freezes. He has underwritten a seed and fertiliser inputs programme to win over the large farming vote which is vital for a Zanu-PF victory. Most striking, the sources alleged that in early 2010, he had offered to match the salaries of the entire staff of the CIO, the
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police and the armed forces to ensure their loyalty to the Zanu-PF cause. There is no evidence that the money has been paid and the low salaries continue to cause resentment in the services. Subsequently, they said Bonyongwe, himself, had proposed that the CIO should pay off all the party's debts. The intelligence chief's suggestion caused concern in the upper echelons of Zanu-PF as questions were asked about where and how the CIO had got its hands on so much money. The unease was not dispelled when it was revealed that Pa was behind the funding and was in a commercial relationship with Bonyongwe, the sources said. It was believed that the Chinese businessman was to be the beneficiary of lucrative diamond concessions in the Marange diamond fields negotiated by Bonyongwe. The intelligence chief used his position to intimidate local companies to sell assets to Pa at knock-down prices. Marange is home to one of the world's richest diamond deposits. Experts say it could make anywhere in the region of $75-billion to $200-billion in the next 50 years if exploited properly. But the industry is riddled with corruption and mismanagement. The sources alleged that, using different aliases, Pa had flown out of Harare and military airbases last year with about 60000 carats of gem-grade diamonds and 69kg of industrial diamonds. "No other foreign businessman in Zimbabwe has such enormous influence," said one CIO officer familiar with the Pa dossier. "Pa has burrowed into the very heart of the regime. '' It was in 2008 that Pa was first introduced to Bonyongwe and realised that he was a man he could do business with. The introduction was made by the head of the Tanzanian intelligence service, CIO sources said.
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At its core is the China International Fund (CIF) which heads a network of more than 20 associated companies. The CIO sources said they always assumed that Pa had Chinese intelligence connections. In 2009, a US congressional commission published a scathing report about the 88 Queensway Group. It said its lack of transparency and public accountability was a
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"major concern" for the United States as it acquired assets globally by stealth. It implied strongly that CIF could be falsely representing itself as a private business when it was actually an arm of the intelligence and public security services out to increase China's influence and guarantee the supply of oil and raw materials from Africa to fuel its runaway economy.
China helps build state intelligence complex for Mugabe SWRadioAfrica, By Tichaona Sibanda, 3 March 2011
Construction of the government’s secret electronic eavesdropping complex just outside Harare is moving at a ‘very fast pace’ SW Radio Africa learned on Thursday. It’s believed the complex will, amongst many other things, be used to monitor internet use and telephone calls in Zimbabwe. The ‘snooping’ project, according to a source, is to become the government agency that monitors communications around the whole country. Robert Mugabe officiated at the launch of the building site in 2007. He said then ‘the role of defending Zimbabwe cannot be left to mediocre officers incapable of comprehending and analytically evaluating the operational environment to ensure that the sovereignty of our state is not only preserved, but enhanced’. It’s believed the current system used by the CIO is able to monitor e-mails, phone calls and internet use for only a small number of high profile opponents of Mugabe, like the entire leadership of the two MDC formations.
An information analyst told us the Chinese, who are constructing the complex, are capable of equipping the snooping project with a programme called Mastering the Internet (MTI). This program enables most security agencies to ‘spy at will’ on emails, website visits, social networking sessions, and telephone calls made over the internet on a massive scale. Reports in the media said the complex, along the Harare to Bindura highway, is also an intelligence academy that will be operated by the CIO and local military intelligence. ‘We are told its going to be a military school, while others say it’s going to be a SADC intelligence academy. But whatever it is its massive, looking at the space used for the project,’ the councillor said. It has been described as the biggest spend on military infrastructure in Zimbabwe in decades.
Zimbabwe: UK Spy Named in Parly Votes-for-Cash Claim AllAFrica.com, Farirai Machivenyika, 31 March 2011 (Editor: excerpted)
A BRITISH intelligence operative is behind MDC-T's claim that Zanu-PF tried to bribe legislators ahead of Tuesday's Speaker of the House of Assembly elections, it has been alleged. Mr Tim Cole, who works from Britain's Embassy in Harare, has been accused
of masterminding what Zanu PF is saying is a smear campaign. Yesterday, Tsholotsho North House of Assembly representative Professor Jonathan Moyo, one of two Zanu-PF lawmakers accused of trying to bribe the MDC-T MPs,
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said he was aware of Mr Cole's role. MDC-T on Tuesday alleged that Prof Moyo, and two others offered cash inducements of US$5 000 each to five legislators for them to vote for Zanu-PF's Cde Simon Khaya Moyo in the Speaker ballot. MDC-T's Mr Lovemore Moyo won the election. Prof Moyo said Mr Cole was central to the allegations. "It is notable that a British intelligence officer, Tim Cole, was a central part of the MDC-T circus that made the defamatory allegations. He castigated Mr Cole for abusing his diplomatic cover to instigate illegal regime change in Zimbabwe. Spokesperson in the British Embassy Mr Keith
Ghana: National questioning
Security
Ghanaweb: 8 April 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
The Editor of the Ghana Daily newspaper has been invited by the National Security outfit presumably to be questioned over some publications by his paper bordering on national security issues. Mr. Livingstone Pay Charlie, who confirmed his invitation in an interview with Citi News, said he suspects his invitation has something to do with a story he recently published claiming that the Deputy National Security Coordinator had been dismissed. “I have started a paper and I happen to have done a couple of stories on National Security. The last one we did was when we reported from sources that the number two man from the National Security had been booted out. It has even caused some ripples in Government with people
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Scott last night said: "The allegation (of Mr Cole's involvement) is totally absurd. This is not the first time British intelligence operatives have been implicated in Zimbabwe's internal State affairs since the formation of the inclusive Government in 2009. Last year, Mr Charles Heatly was fingered in the establishment of parallel government structures in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office. Mr Heatly came to Zimbabwe at the MDC-T leader's express request to the British government and is said to have been instrumental in crafting various policy proposals that came from the PM's Office. (Ed: way too many Moyo’s me thinks!)
invites
Newspaper
Editor
for
trying to get the details of why Mr. Kosivi Dorgbor, the number two man in charge of operations at the National Security ought to go. Mr. Livingstone Pay Charlie becomes the second journalist in recent times to be invited by a security agency over their publications. The Editor of the Daybreak Newspaper, Prince Prah, was reportedly the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for reporting that there were going to be changes in the top hierarchy of the Ghana Armed Forces, which the Army claimed was false. The Ghana Journalists Association has condemned the recent developments and urged all security agencies to open themselves up for media scrutiny.
Botswana: Concern over erosion of parliamentary committee on intelligence Ditshwanelo, 6 April 2011
The Botswana Centre for Human Rights wishes to express its serious concerns about the threats by opposition members of
parliament to resign from the Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence which plays an oversight role over the Directorate of
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Intelligence and Security (DIS) (Botswana Guardian 1 April 2011). The opposition MPs from The Botswana Congress Party (BCP), The Botswana National Front (BNF) and The Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), find it impossible to provide the necessary parliamentary oversight due to the secrecy surrounding DISS spending and alleged vetting of reports by the President before they are presented to the Parliamentary Committee. It is clear from the concerns raised by the opposition MPs, that the Parliamentary Committee does not have adequate, reliable information, to enable it to effectively monitor the DISS. The Parliamentary Committee also seems to lack the power to raise the necessary questions and receive the
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answers to conduct its work effectively. With very little opportunity to fully implement what the electorate expects of them, the Parliamentary Committee is not in a position to identify and discourage any impropriety by DISS. DITSHWANELO calls for an urgent review of the rights and responsibilities of the Parliamentary Committee in keeping with the rules of democratic governance. There is need for the continued existence of the Parliamentary Committee to ensure parliamentary oversight of the DISS. Resignation of all opposition parties from the Parliamentary Committee would render it an empty shell, accountable only to the ruling party. Such a situation would make a mockery of Botswana being a multi-party democracy.
Gambian President appoints new army boss PANA 23 March 2011
The Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, has named Colonel Alhagie Martin, as the new commanding officer of State Guards, the high profile presidential security wing of the country’s army, a statement from the presidency announced Tuesday. According to the statement, President Jammeh has also ordered the redeployment of Brigadier General Serign Modou Njie, the former State
Guards Commander, to serve as the chief of the Republican and National Guards. Both appointments are said to be with immediate effect. In the recent past, Gambian security forces have witnessed frequent transfers and sacking of top officers following the alleged abortive coup of 2009, led by former army chief General Lang Tombong Tamba.
Algeria: Two former soldiers convicted of spying for France Ennahar, 09 April, 2011
The Algerian authorities sentenced on Thursday to ten years in prison two former soldiers and a computer scientist for spying for France, the press reported Saturday in Algiers. The military Boucharma Khemissi, 41 and Heroual Redha, 29, and the computer scientist Oumkima Nacer Eddine, were sentenced by the Assize Court of Annaba (northeastern) for "treason to the benefit of a foreign State" and "supporting a terrorist group." A sister of Rédha Heroual was
sentenced to six months in jail for failing to report crime." The case broke in July 2009 when a military denounced himself to the secret service of his country, saying he had been recruited by a French military attaché stationed Consulate of Annaba who promised a visa and a residence in France. With his accomplices, he was responsible for photos of sensitive places (presidency, government departments, fire stations, nuclear reactor, oil facilities) and provide information about a bodyguard of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and a Russian expatriate working for the Algerian army.
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Intelligence developments Re-Making Egypt’s notorious State Security Agency Ahramonline.com, Dina Ezzat , 5 Apr 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
"It is a matter of weeks,” states a ministry of interior senior official to Ahram Online regarding the complete overhaul of Egypt’s National Security, who abused their powers during the ousted Mubarak era and were commonly known for interrogations, beatings and torture. “We have done the initial selection of top generals and we are finalising the selection of officers. There will be training on the new concept and mode of operation. National security will no longer be about the regime, but about the nation," said the official source. The source describes the new National Security to be "a much smaller service than [the dissolved] State Security." According to this and other ministry of interior sources the size of the new agency will be roughly fifty per cent of the previous service. This, they say, is due to the expected reduction of surveillance officers operating across the nation who were "monitoring everything and everyone, almost." The operation of the new service of National Security "will refrain" from digging its nose in the private lives of opposition figures, journalists and civil society activists. The volume of personal surveillance and eavesdropping will also be reduced considerably. "The objective will be to protect the nation from major criminal attacks, be they political or financial," said another ministry of interior source. He added that while Islamists in the general sense of the word should not be subject to surveillance by the new National Security Service "potential cooperatives of major
extremist groups, like Al-Qaeda, will certainly be watched." As for government security, sources agree it will be approached from an entirely different perspective than that of the past. This new approach would require National Security Service to alert of possible assassination attempts against top state figures as possible crimes rather than to pursue and persecute opposition figures as potential political hazards. The job is then about protecting lives and not reinforcing the regime. Close coordination is expected to be institutionalised between the National Security Service and the Intelligence Service. "This was not exactly the case in the past because they [the heads of the two services] were competing for the favour [of the toppled president]," said an officer of the previous state security who is now being re-trained before joining the new national security service. Ministry of Interior sources say that the selection of those transferred from State Security to National Security was based on two basic criteria: professional efficiency and clearance from violations of minor or major of human rights under the previous regime. Most of the officers transferred from State Security to National Security have been "selected by a board" from "the younger officers." Of those "very very few" had serviced on the desks in charge of monitoring the national front. "Those who were involved in threatening and torture are out. Many of them chose to retire and some were offered an early retirement
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package," said one the state-now-national security officer. Meanwhile, the ministry of interior is soliciting expertise from several European countries, especially Germany, to get technical help on the formation of the National Security. A key question is whether or not the new service will operate on the basis of the same set of rules and regulations that governed the operation of the dissolved service. Some of these rules,
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ministry of interior sources say, will be completely thrown out, while others will be rewritten and some will be kept. Essentially, the same sources add, the right of National Security to exercise eavesdropping, recording of phone calls and private encounters will be reduced to a minimum and will be made conditional to the approval and surveillance of the prosecution.
Israel: Cabinet unanimously approves Yoram Cohen to head Shin Bet Barak Ravid and Haaretz , 10 April 2011 (Ed: Excerpted)
education at the prestigious religious seminary Midrashiyat Noam in Pardes Hannah. After his schooling, he enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces' elite Sayeret Golani infantry unit. After completing his military service in 1982, he began his career with the Shin Bet as a field guard in the West Bank. He then took the Shin Bet's Arabic language instructional course before The prime minister's choice of taking up the job of coordinator Cohen to replace Yuval Diskin, in the Ramallah district. Aside whose six-year term ends on May from one year during which he 15, came as a surprise as he was not served in south Lebanon, Cohen initially considered a leading spent his entire career in candidate for the job. Ramallah, Jerusalem and the "Yoram was the spearhead of southern West Bank. activity in the agency over the past Incoming Shin Bet chief Yoram For four years he served as few years," Netanyahu said when announcing deputy Shin Bet chief and the head of the the appointment late last month. "Cohen is a Arab and Iranian anti-terror branch. In 2003, real field man." he returned to the West Bank as head of the Cohen, 51, cut his teeth in the organization by Shin Bet's Jerusalem bureau. taking part in anti-terrorism operations Cohen's tenure marked the start of tighter against Palestinian groups. He has manned a cooperation between the IDF and the Shin long list of positions throughout his career. Bet, who shared information and collaborated Born in south Tel Aviv, Cohen received his on targeted killings of suspected Palestinian Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved the appointment of Yoram Cohen to head Israel's general security services, the Shin Bet. Netanyahu hailed Cohen, a former Shin Bet deputy chief, as the right man to lead the security services in Israel's war against terror, and its intelligence and technological battles.
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terrorists, arrests of terror suspects, and the dismantling of most of the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. "He has more than left his fingerprints on a very large chunk of the service's abilities and achievements," said MK Israel Hasson, a former deputy Shin Bet chief. "He did most of his service in Judea and Samaria, but he has a very extensive perspective. He has an extraordinary ability to see things in a much wider, organizational context." Cohen served as deputy to the current Shin Bet chief Diskin. In 2008, he moved to the United States, where he worked as a research fellow with the Washington Institute for Near
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East Policy. Some of his position papers and works were published under his name. Despite his experience in the West Bank, Cohen's works included analyses of the southern front, including Hamas' efforts to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip and the Islamist organization's fighting capabilities against the IDF during Operation Cast Lead. Cohen, a father of five, is the first observant Jew to be named to head the organization. "The fact that he is religious is quite significant," said a former senior official with the service. "Especially in light of the fact that one of the main fronts that he'll have to deal with is the settlers."
Israel Charges Engineer in Gaza Wall Street Journal, 5 April 2011
Israel charged a Gaza power plant engineer with being a senior figure in Hamas' military wing who developed rockets used against Israeli cities and who established an academy to train officers in the Islamic militant group. The allegations, part of a 19-page indictment issued in a Beersheba district court Monday, were the first official explanation of why Dirar Abu Sisi was brought in secret from Ukraine to an Israeli jail in February. The case remains under partial gag order, leaving open questions about how Mr. Abu Sisi was arrested and brought to Israel, and whether Ukrainian authorities assisted. The Gaza engineer faces multiple counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, activity in a terrorist organization, and production of weaponry offenses. His lawyer, Smadar Ben Natan, said on Monday that he falsely confessed to some of the charges in the indictment under the strain of Israeli interrogation. Mr. Abu Sisi denied during a court appearance on Thursday allegations he was a member of Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. He said that he was questioned about Sgt. Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held in Gaza by Hamas for nearly five years.
The indictment alleges that Mr. Abu Sisi studied missile technology at the Kharkiv military engineering academy in Ukraine under a professor who was an expert on Scud rocket systems. Ukrainian officials have said they are investigating Mr. Abu Sisi's disappearance. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called in the Israeli Ambassador to Kiev last week and handed over a series of questions about the disappearance. The incident, however, hasn't caused an outward rift in relations After returning to Gaza and finding work at the local power plant, the indictment alleges Mr. Abu Sisi was recruited by Hamas and worked with the military wings top commanders to extend the range of the locally made "Qassam" rockets and to upgrade anti-tank missiles. The indictment also alleges that after the Israel offensive in Gaza against Hamas two years ago, Mr. Abu Sisi was tasked with establishing a military academy to implement the lessons learned during the conflict. Mr. Abu Sisi was taken off a Kharkiv-to-Kiev train shortly after midnight on Feb. 19, according to his wife Veronika. Later that day Mr. Abu Sisi was jailed in Israel, according to an Israeli human rights group. News of the
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arrest didn't emerge until mid-March. Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
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said Mr. Abu Sisi had "intimate" knowledge of the internal workings of Hamas.
Port Sudan attack carried out on lead from Abu Sisi JPOST.COM, 04/07/2011
Dirar Abu Sisi gave Israeli intelligence 'valuable information' that led to the attack on arms smugglers in Port Sudan, Sudan, a source told Kuwait newspaper Al Jarida reported Thursday. According to the source, Abu Sisi passed along the sensitive information to Israel during his remand since he was abducted by a train in Ukraine last
month. The source also told Al Jarida Wreckage of the Port that Israel also received valuable information on smuggling routes and cells operating from Sudan, through Egypt, and to Gaza, from a number of southern Sudanese refugees who have immigrated to Israel.
Israel passes law revoking citizenship for spying BBC, 29 March 2011
Israel's parliament has passed a law that allows courts to revoke the citizenship of anyone convicted of spying, treason or aiding its enemies. The bill, which was passed by 37 votes to 11 in the Knesset, was sponsored by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's hardline Yisrael Beiteinu party. But critics say it is discriminatory towards Israel's Arab minority, which makes up a fifth of the population. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (Acri) said the bill showed politicians had "lost sight of a basic concept in
Israeli Military organizations
Intelligence
Haaretz.com, 21 March 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
Military Intelligence is collecting information about left-wing organizations abroad that the army sees as aiming to delegitimize Israel, according to senior Israeli officials and Israel Defense Forces officers. The sources said MI's research division created a department several months ago that is dedicated to monitoring left-wing groups and will work closely with government ministries. In recent weeks, the head of the new unit has been taking part in discussions in the Prime Minister's Office about how to prepare for the
democracy... that citizenship is neither a privilege nor a prize but rather a protected right". Someone convicted of terrorism would also lose their right to all allowances paid by the Israeli state, such as child allowances and welfare. Israel's Shin Bet security service "opposed the amendment on grounds that the current legislation provided sufficient deterrence and punishment, and the wording of the amendment was 'too wide' and lacked checks and balances," he added.
monitoring
foreign
left-wing
possible arrival of a Gaza-bound flotilla in May. "We ourselves don't know exactly how to define delegitimization," said one ministry official. "This is a very abstract definition. Are flotillas to Gaza delegitimization? Is criticism of settlements delegitimization? It's not clear how Military Intelligence's involvement in this will provide added value." Military Intelligence officials said the initiative reflects an upsurge in worldwide efforts to
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delegitimize Israel and question its right to exist. "The enemy changes, as does the nature of the struggle, and we have to boost activity in this sphere," an MI official said. "Work on this topic proceeds on the basis of a clear distinction between legitimate criticism of the State of Israel on the one hand, and efforts to harm it and undermine its right to exist on the other." The new MI unit will monitor Western groups involved in boycotting Israel, divesting from it or imposing sanctions on it. The unit will also collect information about groups that attempt to bring war crime or other charges against high-ranking Israeli officials, and examine
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possible links between such organizations and terror groups. The unit's other spheres of responsibility have yet to be clearly defined, but are expected to involve pinpointing the subjects that Israel's other intelligence agencies should investigate, sources said. The unit has the support of Brig. Gen. (res) Yossi Kuperwasser, the director general of the Strategic Affairs Ministry and a previous head of MI's research division. During the second intifada, he pushed for the intelligence community's large-scale involvement in public advocacy and diplomatic matters, a stance that was criticized by other MI officers.
Kuwait: Iranian diplomats may be ejected for spying Gulf Times, 4 April 2011
Kuwait’s foreign minister said yesterday it may expel three Iranian diplomats over a spying row in the Gulf Arab state and his government had withdrawn its ambassador from Tehran. Sheikh Mohamed al-Salem alSabah accused Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards of being behind a spy cell in Kuwait, whose relations with Iran have deteriorated over the past year. “The government will take
the required actions towards the (three) diplomats and they should be kicked out,” the foreign minister said. He gave no time frame for any expulsion. Earlier this week, a Kuwaiti court sentenced three men - two Iranians and a Kuwaiti - to death for being part of an alleged Iranian spy ring in a case that has strained bilateral ties.
EU commission keen to set up new counter-terrorism office EU
Observer,
31
March
2011
(Ed:
excerpted)
The European Commission is testing the water for creating a new EU internal security body on the model of Catherine Ashton's European External Action Service (EEAS). Speaking at a European Parliament hearing in Brussels on Wednesday (30 March), commission counter-terrorism director Olivier Luyckx envisaged a new entity that would pull together existing security agencies Cepol, Cosi, Eurojust, Europol and Frontex under EU counter-terrorism co-ordinator Gilles de Kerchove.
"There is new room for action at EU level," he said. "This is how I see the change: to set up a system that would mirror the one that is being set up for monitoring external crises [in the EEAS], a one-stop shop for informationsharing." Luyckx cited Guideline V on Operational Coordination of the EU's recently-adopted Internal Security Strategy as containing the "embryo" of the project: "Today, crisis centres in member states share contacts and information on a voluntary and informal
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basis. We need to go a step further and to see, while respecting the division of labour set up in the EU treaty, how to make those linkages in a tighter way." He underlined that the new body would not be an EU intelligence service which carries out its own operations in the field. "We have no mandate, no appetite and no perspective for doing intelligence work. But we are prepared to add value if mandated by member states," Luyckx said. Speaking at the same hearing, Austrian counter-terrorism chief Peter Gridling went even further. "It is time to ask ourselves this question: 'Is it realistic to start thinking about a future EU intelligence service?'" he said. "I think it's realistic to start thinking about it."
France: Ange intelligence
Mancini
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Austria and Belgium first proposed a European intelligence service after the Madrid train bombing in 2004. But they were shot down by big member states, not least the UK. Gridling noted that EU capitals still have "different positions" on the subject and laid out some of the obstacles on the way. Gridling gave a rare insight into current EU intelligence co-operation. All 27 EU countries plus Norway and Switzerland share secrets inside the non-EU body, the Club de Berne. They share secrets on terrorism in a Club de Berne offshoot, the Counter Terrorist Group (CTG). The CTG is also a non-EU body but talks to the EU institutions via the Joint Situation Centre, a branch of Ashton's EEAS.
named
AFP, 24 February 2011 (Ed: Google translation)
First boss of the Raid in the 1980s, now prefect of Martinique, he replaces Bernard Bajolet, appointed ambassador to Afghanistan. Angelo Mancini, 66, is leaving Martinique, where he was prefect in 2007 to become national coordinator of intelligence (Coordonnateur National du Renseignement -CNR). Appointed on Wednesday by the Cabinet, he will succeed Bernard Bajolet, appointed ambassador to
national
coordinator
of
Afghanistan. This service attached to the Presidency of the Republic has the task of bringing together the Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DCRI), headed by Bernard Squarcini, the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE), piloted by Erard Corbin Mangoux and Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM), headed by General Didier Bolelli.
France: Renault Apologizes to Employees Fired in Spy Case New York Times, 14 March 2011(Ed: excerpted)
Renault apologized on Monday to three executives that it had accused of industrial espionage as the focus of the inquiry turned to an internal security agent who had been investigating the case. The Paris prosecutor, Jean-Claude Marin, said the investigation had shifted toward “a possible swindle” inside Renault’s internal intelligence service, which acts as an internal police and security service. In a matter that has gone from sensational to embarrassing, Carlos Ghosn, Renault’s chief
executive, and Patrick Pélata, the chief operating officer, presented their “sincere apologies and regrets, personally and in the name of Renault,” to the three fired employees. The Paris prosecutor, Jean-Claude Marin, said the investigation had shifted toward “a possible swindle” inside Renault’s internal intelligence service, which acts as an internal policing and security service. “At this stage we do not know whether we are dealing with
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just fraud or a deliberate attempt to destabilize Renault,” he said. At an extraordinary board meeting late Monday, Mr. Pélata offered to resign, fulfilling a pledge that he made last week. But Mr. Ghosn did not accept the resignation. The company did promise compensation for the “serious personal harm that the three executives and their families have suffered” from their dismissals, which stemmed from accusations that they had sold secrets from Renault’s electric vehicle program. The company also pledged to enact a plan to bolster its internal governance and offered to rehire the employees.
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For their part, Mr. Ghosn and other Renault executives involved agreed to give up their 2010 bonuses and their 2011 stock options. At the center of the inquiry was Dominique Gevrey, a member of the carmaker’s internal security service who had played a crucial role in Renault’s investigation into the espionage claims. Mr. Gevrey was arrested Friday as he tried to leave Paris for Conakry, Guinea. He had a ticket booked to return to Paris this week. He was charged Sunday with organized fraud and has asserted his innocence. Before working at Renault, he had a background in military intelligence.
Russia: Spying Devices’ Ruling Outlaws Cell Phones The St. Petersburg Times, April 6, 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
Got a dictaphone? A cell phone with voice recording function — say, an iPhone? Or maybe a laptop that can record your Internet phone conversations? It’s up to three years in jail for you, or a fine of 200,000 rubles ($7,000), unless you obtained permission for your gadget from the Federal Security Service. This, at least, can be inferred from the Thursday ruling of the Constitutional Court that upheld the law making “spying devices” the exclusive domain of the special services. The problem is, the list of such devices takes a single page and is vague enough to allow law enforcement agencies to interpret it in wildly varying ways — a privilege officials do not fail to use. The Criminal Code outlaws sale or purchase of “special technical devices intended for covert collection of information,” unless it is done on an FSB license and the gadgetry is used solely for investigative purposes. The
clause was contested by five people charged over it in separate cases, but the Constitutional Court threw out their lawsuits. Purchase of such devices “may lead to the breach of privacy,” the court said in its ruling. The logic appears to contradict the presumption of innocence, but the verdict does not touch upon the subject. The list of “spy devices” was compiled by the government, which does not specify models or even types of gadgets. Instead, it speaks only of things like “technical devices for covert collection and registration of acoustic information,” a description that most voice recorders fit squarely. Of the five unsuccessful complainants, four are businessmen producing or reselling gadgetry — which remains available at electronics markets such as Moscow’s Savyolovsky.
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Romania: The regional seminar 'A Synergistic Approach to Strategic Knowledge in the Wider Black Sea Region' Actmedia, 6 April 2011 Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) Director George Maior and Sergei Konoplyov, manager of the Harvard Black Sea Security Programme (BSSP), in Bucharest on Monday opened the works of the regional seminar 'A Synergistic Approach to Strategic Knowledge in the Wider Black Sea Region,' taking place in the period April 4-6. The programme on the Black Sea Security, organized by the Harvard University, joins significant political decision makers in the Wider Black Sea Region and US officials in order to develop the dialogue, to understand the regional security challenges and to encourage problem solving in the common interest fields. George Maior, the head of the Romanian Intelligence Service, said Monday that countries need to keep an eye on Black Sea security in the light of recent upheavals across the Arab world. The Black Sea region straddles Europe, Asia and the former Soviet Union. A number of conflicts have been brewing in the region for decades. Officials from the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Romania and Armenia attended the
conference. In the interval April 7-8, the participants in the seminar will move to Vienna to participate in the 'EU and the Black Sea Region' conference, organized by the Austrian Defence Ministry. In the second week of the programme (April 10-15), the participants will go to Harvard Kennedy School in Boston, where 20 trainees of 9 states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Ukraine, Turkey), will attend training courses, having as central topic the new threats and challenges to international security. The annual programme on the Black Sea Security is aimed at ensuring an academic frame for the debate of multiple approaches on regional security, with a focus on the Wider Black Sea region, underlining the importance of understanding the complex risks and threats, the synergy of efforts in their prevention and combat, as well as the importance of the strategic knowledge supporting the decision making in the field of security.
UK: Russian spy' granted legal aid to battle deportation This is London.com, 5 Apr 2011 (Ed: Excepted)
Alleged Russian spy Katia Zatuliveter has won legal aid to help fight her case against deportation, the Evening Standard has learned. Taxpayers' money will be used for her appeal against the Home Secretary's decision to send her home - despite huge cuts in funding for cases involving thousands of Britain's poorest people.
Ms Zatuliveter, 25, a former aide to MP Mike Hancock, has hired one of the country's top QCs. The move is likely to cost the public tens of thousands of pounds, if not more. But ministers are seeking to implement a contentious ÂŁ350 million cut in the ÂŁ2 billion legal aid budget. Ms Zatuliveter was arrested in December after MI5 told Home Secretary Theresa May it believed she had
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been passing information to Russian intelligence. She denies involvement in spying. She is said to have had a meeting at Westminster's Portcullis House with a man MI5 believed to be a Russian agent. As Mr Hancock's parliamentary aide, Ms Zatuliveter had access to potentially sensitive information given to the Commons defence committee. She was held at an immigration detention centre but granted bail. She will try to overturn the deportation order at a
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hearing at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, due to be held in October. Ms Zatuliveter was on a highly skilled migrant visa and came to Britain to study at Bradford University. She began working for Mr Hancock, Liberal Democrat MP for Portsmouth South, in November 2006. She was given a House of Commons pass and initially paid expenses only, but later became a full-time researcher helping the MP with his work on the defence committee.
NATO nations deepen cooperation surveillance and reconnaissance Opensourcesinfo.org, March 21, 2011
In the spirit of “smart defence”, nine Nations have launched at the end of February a fiveyear project that will significantly boost the Alliance’s ability to tackle new challenges such as piracy by rapidly sharing imagery and other information from intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. Under the agreement, technology that is currently being successfully used in Afghanistan will be further developed and applied in a wider context. This will make it easier and faster for Nations to share imagery from high-priced assets, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, surveillance aircraft and other such assets, as and when necessary. “These assets – and their deployment – are very expensive,” said Lieutenant Colonel Arle Brustad of Norway, Chairman of the nineNation project team. “By rapidly sharing imagery, we can avoid having multiple assets deployed in the same location, cover a significantly larger area, or cover a specific area for a longer period. In effect, what we get is more intelligence for our Euro.” The project was launched in Rome in February 2011 and formally briefed to the
on
NATO armaments and C3 community on 21 February. The level of effort will amount to over 100 million Euro and involve Industry from the nine participating Nations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Multi-intelligence All-source Joint ISR Interoperability Coalition (MAJIIC 2) succeeds the original MAJIIC, which resulted in the Alliance being able to rapidly share full motion video in Afghanistan. “MAJIIC delivered very real benefits in Afghanistan,” said Mr. Joe Ross, Technical manager for the project at the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A). “For instance a commander can instantly access imagery from another Nation’s UAVs, meaning that he does not have to deploy his own multi-million asset, or can deploy it in other area, allowing for the most efficient use of these expensive assets.” Technical work has already begun, and major exercises are scheduled for 2012.
Sweden Rules There Was No Unlawful US Spying Cryptome, 4 April 2011 (original document) (Ed: excerpted)
intelligence,
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Sweden Chief Public Prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand, rule on 4 April 2011 that the US did not spy illegally in this country, Verbatim from his report: ”At the beginning of November 2010, Norwegian media related that US authorities had been monitoring individuals in several countries since the year 2000 as a part of their security measures to protect US embassies and US embassy staff. There was information to indicate that the US Embassy made use of separate premises in downtown Oslo, where 15-20 former police officers made up a “Surveillance Detection Unit” (SDU) which monitored and photographed a large number of people, for example, during demonstrations. The information was reportedly entered into a database named “Security Incident Management and Analysis System” (SIMAS). On the website for the US Ministry for Foreign Affairs, one could also read that this
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register could contain biometric data such as hair colour, race, height and skin colour. After the Swedish Security Service and the US Embassy in Stockholm met on 5 November, a press release from the Swedish Security Service confirmed that the Embassy was performing surveillance of a nature similar to that in Norway. Based on this information, I decided to initiate an investigation on suspicion of unlawful intelligence activities. During the investigation, as is usual procedure, a consideration was also made of criminal offences other than that which gave rise to the investigation. Consequently, the investigation also considered whether crimes against the Personal Data Act and breach of professional confidentiality could also have been committed … There is nothing to indicate that breach of professional confidentiality was committed. Since there is no reason to believe that such a crime was committed, the investigation will be discontinued.
Netherlands: AIVD report: threat from right-wing extremism limited AIVD Report website updated on 29 March 2011 (Ed: own translation from Dutch)
Executive summary: The threat from extreme right-wing and right-extremism against the democratic order of Netherlands is limited. There exists a variety of mutually exclusive viewpoints, persuasions and worldviews in these groups. In addition the small support base, personal rivalries, ideological differences and organisational fragmentation has led to a reduction in the groupings’ active supporters. All these factors resulted in the limited power of the Extreme Right. The AIVD
is of the opinion that, while the momentum that led to this status remains the same, the threat of these right-wing extremists will not change or it may reduce even further. The perception of the threat these groups pose is far greater that what the research of the AIVD has found. Although their threat to the democratic order is small, it remains important for the AIVD to investigate and identify the nature, severity and magnitude of these groups.
Norway: Annual Report of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) Report 23 February 2011 (Ed: Google translation with rudimentary sensemaking by editor)
Executive summary: Radicalization and the international interface that some people in PST’s spotlight enjoys, provides a threat characterized by increasing uncertainty. Although there are few people in Norway who support the extreme Islamism, activities
in certain communities can contribute to an intensification of the threat environment in 2011. Some extreme Islamists is today more globally oriented, and it is mainly those that may pose a direct threat against Norway in the coming year.
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Several states' intelligence services are active in Norway. In sneaky (ed: sic) ways they try to obtain information and influence the Norwegian government's decisions. The activities are especially aimed at the Norwegian Defence and Security Policy, oil and gas sector, high technology businesses, as well as some exile groups in this country. Increased capacity of cyber intelligence has also given many of the services the opportunity to enhance information gathering in Norway. The right and left extreme environments will not in 2011 pose a serious threat to Norwegian society. There was no increased activity in the right-wing extremist groups in 2010, and this activity will probably continue in 2011. A higher level of activity among some groups hostile to Islam may lead to increased
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polarization and unrest, particularly in and around markets and demonstrations. Norwegian companies in 2011 will continue to be targets for procurement of goods, knowledge and technology that can be used to develop weapons of mass destruction. Most procurement efforts can be traced back to Iranian companies. Norwegian officials are frequently subjected to unwanted attention, and various types of harassing and intimidating behavior. The number of threats lodged against the Norwegian government officials has in recent years been stable. We therefore expect that the Norwegian officials in 2011 will receive serious threats that necessitate investigative and protective measures. It will also be a risk that officials can be subjected to physical attacks.
Italy: National Intelligence Estimate of 2010
http://www.sicurezzanazionale.gov.it, 25 February 2011 Editor: Unfortunately the document cannot be accessed and translated into English. Access the above website for the full Italian version.
Russia: Dmitry Medvedev fires FSB deputy head over lavish party Daily Telegrapgh 23 Feb 2011
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, has fired the deputy head of Russia's FSB security service after the top spy was reported to have held a lavish birthday party for himself costing ÂŁ62,000. of the FSB's six powerful deputy directors in In a sign that Mr Medvedev is keen to flex his unusually abrupt and public fashion. muscles ahead of a presidential election next year which Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, Mr Ushakov's dismissal came as local media is also eyeing, Mr Medvedev's reported that the top spy had decision looked like electioneering. spent the equivalent of ÂŁ62,000 Although Mr Putin has a reputation entertaining guests at his 60th as a no-nonsense politician, he has birthday party at the end of often been reluctant to fire officials January at an elite Moscow in the past, preferring to publicly restaurant. One of Russia's most dress them down instead. But Mr famous singers, Alla Pugachova, Medvedev, who is keen to was said to have sung to the convince sceptics that he is his own guests and other reports man and not Mr Putin's puppet, suggested he had developed an sacked 60-year-old Vyacheslav Ushakov, one expensive habit for hunting big game in
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Africa. A spokeswoman for Mr Medvedev said that Mr Ushakov had been sacked by presidential decree for "shortcomings in his work and for ethical lapses". The FSB took the unusual decision to comment on the matter, saying Mr Ushakov had not been fired in connection with the deadly Moscow airport bombing earlier this year. It also dismissed speculation that he had
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been sacked for leaking information on a sensitive investigation into illegal gambling in the Moscow region. Gennady Gudkov, an MP and veteran of Russia's special services, said the manner of Mr Ushakov's sacking raised eyebrows. "The language used to part company with the deputy director of the FSB and fire him from the military was very rare," he said.
U.S.-Pakistan intel operations frozen as ties remain strained Yahoonews, April 9, 10:05 (Ed: excerpted)
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Joint U.S.-Pakistan intelligence operations have been halted since late January, a senior Pakistani intelligence officer said, reflecting strain in a relationship seen as crucial to combating militants and the war in Afghanistan. Uneasy U.S.-Pakistani ties have become even more tense after a string of diplomatic disputes so far this year, including a massive drone strike in March and the case of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who shot dead two Pakistanis on Jan. 27 in the eastern city of Lahore. "Presently, joint operations are on hold," a senior Pakistani intelligence officer told Reuters, adding that they were halted after Davis killed the two men. A Pakistani court has since acquitted Davis of murder and he has been released. Previous joint operations between the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the CIA have led to the capture of high-profile al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. "The agency's ties to the ISI have been strong over the years, and when there are issues to sort out, we work through them," CIA
spokesman George Little told Reuters. "That's the sign of a healthy partnership." But a U.S. official familiar with the state of relations said the Pakistanis are making more effort to curb, restrict, or at least more intensely monitor, CIA activities. The revelation that armed CIA contractors such as Davis were working in Pakistan deeply angered and embarrassed the ISI. Since then, a few dozen contractors the ISI says are associated with the agency -- the exact number is unclear -- and part of a parallel intelligence network have quickly and quietly left the country. A small contingent of American troops training Pakistanis in counter-insurgency is also in danger of being reduced. The frequency of drone strikes, an unacknowledged CIA program that the United States considers its most successful weapon against al Qaeda and the Taliban leadership and which relies on at least some Pakistani cooperation, also has fallen, with just nine strikes in March compared to a peak of 22 in September 2010. The latest strike, on March 17, killed at least 45 people, leading Pakistan's chief of the army, General Ashfaq Kayani, to issue a rare, public criticism of the United States, which in turn is frustrated at
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Pakistan's apparent reluctance to launch a major military offensive against militants in its tribal North Waziristan region that borders Afghanistan. A semi-annual White House report on Afghanistan and Pakistan harshly criticised Pakistan as having "no clear path toward defeating the insurgency." In equally harsh
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terms, Pakistan rejected the report and said it would deal with insurgents in its own way. The strain in relations could hinder efforts by the Obama administration to get the annual $1.5 billion in economic assistance for Pakistan appropriated for the 2012 fiscal year through Congress, said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA Middle East expert who has advised the White House.
Pakistan: ISI DG to visit US on April 11 Dunyanews, 8 April 2011 Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha will leave for the United States on April 11 and is expected to meet several officials of the Central Intelligence Agency. The lack of confidence for sharing intelligence between the ISI and the CIA will be discussed in the
NISISI
Director
General
meeting. Pasha will also be discussing the drone attacks in North Waziristan. According to sources, the ISI DG and the CIA chief have been in telephonic contact since the release of US gunman Raymond Davis but this will be their first face-to-face meeting.
India: Make spy agency's audit public: HC Times of India, Apr 7, 2011 (Ed: excerpted – read this article in context of growing discontent in India over endemic corruption in government and the security threat this pose)
The country's top intelligence agency for providing technical inputs to thwart terror attacks will now have to place its internal audit before a parliamentary panel. The Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to act as per law and place a secret audit it did of the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) before the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament. The NTRO functions under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and was dragged to HC by an ex-employee who alleged there was large-scale financial bungling in the agency. On Wednesday, the PMO and NTRO placed their report before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Reva Khetrapal, saying that the NTRO
had taken action against the errant officials responsible. The government said departmental proceedings have been initiated against the erring officers who committed alleged administrative and financial irregularities causing loss to the public exchequer in the functioning of the NTRO. Referring to a media report, the petitioner said the CAG had found several financial, technical and administrative irregularities in the purchase of sensitive equipment worth Rs 750 crore. Amit Kumar, counsel for the petitioner, claimed the CAG also found security lapses in laying down specifications for procurement. The audit has also noticed possible misuse of secret funds but these funds are out of its purview, he added.
India to revamp economic intelligence agency Indo Asian News Service, 5 April 2011
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Amid increasing cases of tax evasion, frauds and corruption, India Tuesday announced it would revamp its nodal economic intelligence agency. President Pratibha Patil has sanctioned the constitution of a committee that will make recommendation to restructure the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), the finance ministry said in a statement. CEIB is the nodal agency responsible for economic intelligence, and monitoring and fighting economic offences like tax evasion, money laundering and smuggling. The four-member committee will study the CEIB's structure and make
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recommendations to 'streamline and strengthen the existing financial intelligence gathering and its dissemination'. The committee will submit it report to the government within two months. The committee includes S.S. Khan, a former member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Vijay Lakshmi Sharma, a member of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), Kewal Ram, senior economic advisor in the consumer affairs department, and a CEIB representative.
South Korea: President replaces 2 of 3 deputy chiefs at NIS The Korea Times, 4 April 2011
talks on economic and defense cooperation. President Lee Myung-bak replaced two of the President Lee also faced calls to sack NIS chief three deputy chiefs of the spy agency, Won Sei-hoon regarding the Monday, in a reshuffle that incident, but didn’t do so this was widely viewed as the time. beginning of a major shakeup Opposition parties have raised of his security team. questions that Won became the Jeon Jae-man, diplomatic spy chief although he had no minister at the country’s experience in any related fields. embassy in Beijing, was He served as a vice mayor of appointed the first deputy Seoul City when President Lee chief of the National was mayor. Intelligence Service (NIS), in charge of overseas and North Jeon, 56, a native of Busan, is a Jeon Jae-man, First deputy chief of career diplomat who has mainly Korea-related affairs. The new third NIS deputy chief is Lee been dealing with Japan-and Chinarelated affairs. He will replace Kim Jong-myung, a senior officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lee will Sook, who served in the post since 2009. Kim is rumored to be the top handle counter-espionage activities as well as intelligence candidate for ambassador to the United States, Japan, China or on science and industries. Russia. The second deputy chief was Diplomatic sources said Lee may retained. The reshuffle came replace the ambassadors as well as after the NIS was harshly some security advisors soon in line criticized over allegations that its with the international efforts to agents spied on the Indonesian Lee Jong-myung, resume the stalled six-party talks on delegation in February at a Seoul Third deputy chief of NIS denuclearizing North Korea. hotel in a failed attempt to steal Lee Jong-myung, 54, graduated from the classified information on planned arms deals. Korea Military Academy and has served in key The delegation was visiting the country for military posts.
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Indonesia: Intelligence agencies struggling with problems The Jakarta Post, 14 March 2011 Protracted problems in the country’s intelligence services like poor legal foundations, leadership, coordination, professionalism and even technological issues have not only impeded intelligence agencies from performing duties like security and defense, but have also lured the institution into the abuse of their role. Unlike the reforms that swept the military (TNI) and the police after the fall of Soeharto’s authoritarian rule in 1998, intelligence agencies coordinated by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) have received less attention from policymakers. The sluggish progress of reform at these agencies has led to allegations that intelligence personnel have engaged more in securing the interests of the ruling party and sidelining political opponents than serving the interests of the public in improved security. A Friday article by the Australian media outlet The Age discussed allegations that President Yudhoyono had instructed BIN to spy on his rivals — revelations that were the result of fallout from leaked US diplomatic cables distributed by WikiLeaks. Critics say this type of practice is frequent in the country’s intelligence community. The rivals cited by The Age that were spied upon
include former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, former TNI commander Gen. (ret.) Wiranto and former law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra. During the New Order regime, it was obvious that Soeharto used the intelligence community to maintain power by all means necessary, including the murder and kidnapping of people opposed to his policies. But, aside from being used for political purposes, concerns are also rife that the intelligence community in the future will be involved in killing Indonesian citizens deemed, subjectively, a threat to the country’s stability. The murder of human rights activist Munir on board a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam in 2004, which many accused BIN of having a role in, has not forced policymakers to immediately pass a law to prevent intelligence groups from misusing their authority. Unlike in most developed countries that have separate agencies for domestic and foreign intelligence, BIN authority encompasses both. The agency is also tasked with coordinating other intelligence services, including those of the military — the Strategic Intelligence Agency — and the police force.
Indonesia: Debate over new intelligence bill continues The Jakarta Post, l Araf and Diandra Megaputri, Jakarta, 31 March 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
During the reform era, Indonesia’s security sector reform agenda recorded positive achievements such as the enactment of the Defense Law, the National Police Law and the Indonesian Military Law. However, those achievements failed to comprehensively regulate the security sector, specifically Indonesia’s intelligence community. So far regulations on national intelligence bodies are covered only by presidential decree. Due
to that concern, the House of Representatives drafted a bill on intelligence. Enacting an intelligence law should be part of the intelligence reform agenda. Therefore, the law should not only be aimed at strengthening the capacity of intelligence agencies but also re-arranging the structure and functions of their activities in a democratic way. There are several basic democratic principles that the House’s proposed bill should not miss include human
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rights, civilian supremacy over the security sector, the division of responsibilities, a legal foundation, political non-partisanship, transparency and accountability. Unprofessional and ineffective intelligence communities are characterized by excessive military influence, misuse of intelligence agencies for political interests, extraconstitutional activity, a lack of legal liability for malfeasance and a lack general and budgetary of oversight. Unfortunately the House’s intelligence bill contains various weaknesses as it has not fully accommodated democratic principles. The human rights NGO Imparsial, for example, expressed concern on the unlimited authority to intercept communications given by the bill to the nation’s intelligence agencies. (Ed: Read complete submission here) There is no doubt that Indonesian intelligence agencies need the authority to intercept suspicious communications. However, such authority needs to be regulated by standard procedures such as the prior consent of a court or prosecutor. Unfortunately, the intelligence bill fails to require such oversight. Furthermore, the definition of intelligence information secrecy as stated in articles 24 and 39 of the bill is not sufficiently specific and may lead to multiple interpretations and threaten the freedom of information and the freedom of press. Moreover, the government proposed that the final bill authorize intelligence agencies such as the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to make
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arrests. This authority might violate human rights as it may legitimize abductions considering the secretive nature of intelligence operations. Giving intelligence agencies arrest authority might not only undermine the criminal justice system but also lead to overlapping authority among security actors. In order to enhance intelligence accountability, multiple levels of oversight should be established and conducted not only by the House but also the intelligence community itself, in addition to executive oversight, judicial oversight and popular oversight. In an organizational context, the structure of the intelligence community should be differentiated through a strict division of job areas such as foreign intelligence, domestic intelligence, military intelligence and law enforcement intelligence. Unfortunately, the substance of the intelligence bill focuses on a new body called the National Intelligence Coordinating Body (LKIN). Therefore, it is important to regulate the objection and complaint mechanism for intelligence agents when it comes to the potential for an operation to break the law. Such objections and complaints should be addressed to the intelligence commission in the House before the operation is conducted. This mechanism is important to prevent human right violations. Finally, the intelligence bill should consider the balance between national security and personal liberty.
ASEAN defense chiefs agree on intelligence sharing The Jakarta Post, 31 March 2011 A conference of military top brass from 10 ASEAN countries has produced seven agreements on information sharing, including on the exchange of intelligence analysis
between countries in the region, during a meeting in Jakarta on Thursday. Indonesian Defense Force (TNI) commander Admiral Agus Suhartono said the military
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officials discussed ways of exchanging military intelligence. The militaries of the ASEAN countries would also cooperate on disaster management and maintaining transnational security, he said on Thursday, as reported by tribunnews.com. He also said the military
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would hold joint training exercises. “The points which we have reached an agreement on will be reported to the ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Force Informal Meeting [ACDFIM],� he said.
Australia Warns Top Companies On Cyber Spy Threat Dow Jones, 8 April 2011
Australia's government briefed some of the country's leading corporates Friday on the growing threat from cyber hackers, warning companies the risk has reached a point where public and private sector networks are under continuous threat. The confidential briefings, part of an annual dialogue between business and intelligence agencies, were especially aimed at companies with international exposure and comes in the wake of recent press reports cyber hackers have attempted to breach government computers. "Security agencies are finding malicious cyber activity is increasing to a point where systems in both government and the private sector
are under continuous threat," Robert McClelland, the country's attorney general, said in a statement. "The threat to critical infrastructure such as banking, telecommunications and government systems is not something we can be complacent about," he said. Australia's top intelligence agencies delivered the warning, the Office of National Assessments and the Defence Signals Directorate, while there were also discussions with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and Federal Police.
Australia: Former spy named ambassador to Japan The Australian, 7 April 2011
AUSTRALIA'S new spy who has also worked in Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd today appointed Bruce Miller to the top diplomatic post, replacing long-serving ambassador Murray McLean. Mr Miller is currently the deputy director of the top secret spy agency, the Office of National Assessments.
Bruce Miller, DDG of Office of National Assessments
ambassador to Japan is a former the Prime Minister's department. He has previously worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. He will take up the post in July, overseeing relations with Australia's second largest trading partner. His role will include the monitoring of Australian reconstruction assistance following
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last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami. A Japanese speaker, the new
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ambassador was posted to Japan from 2004 to 2009, and 1992 to 1996.
Australia: New laws aim to boost spy agencies The Australian, 24 March 2011
THE Gillard government has unveiled new legislation to broaden the reach of Australia's national security and intelligence agencies to better deal with increasing threats. The Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill contains changes to the ASIO, intelligence services and criminal code legislation designed to improve the operational capabilities of key spy agencies, said Attorney-General Robert McClelland. The bill refers to so-called non-state actors - a term encompassing terrorist groups, peoplesmugglers and transnational crime. They will also tighten restrictions on the use of employment information involving intelligence personnel. Mr McClelland described the legislation as an "important step in the government's review of national security legislation". He also sought to allay fears intelligence agencies were operating with increasing impunity, saying they were subject to tough oversight measures. " These include the parliamentary joint commitee on intelligence and security, and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. "The government is committed to ensuring that national security oversight bodies are well-equipped to undertake their vital roles," Mr McClelland said. The legislation follows the release of two reports showing a sharp increase in
telecommunications interception and use of surveillance devices by law-enforcement agencies. They reveal that surveillance devices are most frequently used in murder and drug offence investigations. For the year ending June 30, 2010, a total of 522 warrants authorising the use of surveillance devices were issued to law enforcement agencies - a 28 per cent increase on the previous year. Another 117 applications were made to extend existing warrants past the 90-day limit, marking a 105 per cent increase on last year. No applications for extensions of surveillance device warrants were refused. During the same period there was a six per cent decrease in the number of arrests compared to 2008/2009, a 59 per cent decrease in the number of prosecutions commenced and a 14 per cent increase in the number of prosecutions involving evidence gained by a surveillance device, the report said. Australian Federal Police were the most prolific users of telephone taps at a cost more than $9.5 million.
Australia: Engineers off to US for secret cyber school Sydney Morning Herald, April 9, 2011
AUSTRALIA's top civilian cyber unit is sending hundreds of engineers to be trained at a US government facility implicated in creating the world's most potent cyber weapon, Stuxnet. The engineers, from the Computer
Emergency Response Team (CERT), have been sent to the Idaho National Laboratory for many years, where they are trained in defending Australia's critical infrastructure from cyber intrusion. Such intrusions can
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potentially down power plants, communications facilities and other infrastructure. The Idaho National Laboratory is home to a massive re-creation of such systems, and engineers there can practise attacking and defending them. But earlier this year The New York Times alleged the laboratory played a role in the creation of the Stuxnet worm, which was later used to damage Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. Although there is no conclusive evidence, it is believed Stuxnet was created by Israel's spy agency, Mossad, with ''deniable'' assistance from the US. Some of that assistance, the Times claimed, occurred after the German engineering giant Siemens provided information about its computer controllers that are used to operate industrial machinery around the world - including at Natanz - to the Idaho facility. ''It gave the Idaho National Laboratory ‌ the chance to identify well-hidden holes in the Siemens
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systems that were exploited the next year by Stuxnet,'' the Times wrote in January. When asked, the Idaho National Laboratory told the Times it would not comment on its ''classified missions''. The role of CERT engineers at the Idaho National Laboratory was revealed by the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, during a speech on Tuesday. Yesterday a spokesman for Mr McClelland described the facility as a ''world leader in cyber security training''. ''Working closely with the owners and operators of critical infrastructure and systems of national interest, CERT Australia is a critical part of the Government's approach to cyber security and helps ensure threats and vulnerabilities are detected and mitigated,'' the spokesman said.
Gillard hack a test run for new ASIO unit? ZDNet, 29 March 2011 The Federal Government has kept mum on an alleged cyber-espionage hack on computers owned by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and several cabinet ministers, but it should be well prepared to investigate the attack. News Ltd papers reported China-based statesponsored attackers broke into the parliamentary email accounts of the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith, retaining access for up to a month. The accounts were not used to Australian Premier Julia disseminate sensitive emails, according to the reports. The Federal Government has not denied the attacks, nor said if its fledgling cyber counter-espionage unit within the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has been asked to take the lead on an investigation.
The department said only that it is "the long standing practice of successive Australian Governments not to comment on the operations of security and intelligence agencies". The new counter-espionage unit would be the logical choice to spearhead any investigation. Over the years, the Federal Government has been building cyber defence capabilities for attacks on its assets. At the initial signs of an attack, government security boffins rally at the first point of contact — the Cyber Gillard, Photo: GETTY Security Operations Centre (CSOC) within the Department of Defence. The CSOC is a coordination unit which makes use of information security operatives from the Attorney-General's Department including the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Australia and the ASIO counter-
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espionage unit, as well as staff within the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD). The attacks would be de-constructed to determine if it is an attack on the private sector, critical infrastructure, or national security including espionage. Depending on the outcome, one of those units will be chosen to lead the investigation, while the other units offer support. In the case of ministerial computer attacks such as this one, ASIO's counter-espionage unit would likely spearhead an investigation along with defence operatives if the hacking is statesponsored, which it reportedly is. The unit was established to monitor and investigate espionage attempts against
national security interests and relay attack alerts to select agencies and critical infrastructure owners. If, on the other hand, the attacks are deemed to be a matter for the critical infrastructure or the private sector, it would fall into the realm of CERT Australia. This agency was created in late 2009 and disseminates non-espionage-related information security alerts to critical infrastructure owners and produces limited consumer advisories. Last year, that agency fielded 187 "cyber incidents" which ZDNet Australia understands ranged from serious attacks against national infrastructure to minor service interruptions.
New Zealand: Top US official visits NZ Herald, Mar 17, 2011
Prime Minister John Key yesterday met the most senior US intelligence officer believed to have visited New Zealand. Director of National Intelligence Lieutenant General James Clapper, who also met other senior Government officials, is the chief adviser to the US President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council, and heads the 16-member Intelligence Community.
New Zealand: New SIS bill 'lacks accountability' The Dominium Post, 7 April 2011 A new law to beef up the powers of the Security Intelligence Service removes accountability from the secretive agency, a human rights watchdog says. Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan told the security and intelligence committee yesterday that the law does not protect privacy and freedom of expression rights or the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The parliamentary committee was held behind closed doors in the Beehive's Cabinet room, despite a public outcry. Labour and the Greens have objected to the closed sessions, saying submissions were not called for in the usual way. A move to have hearings in the open was defeated. Ms Noonan, Green Party MP Keith Locke and
Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly made their evidence public yesterday, immediately after appearing before the select committee. Prime Minister John Key, committee chairman, said he would release submissions – if organisations or individuals didn't object. Mr Locke said the bill gave the SIS "too many specific powers to invade people's privacy" without significant justification. The system of accountability for the agency was not "nearly sufficient". "The track record of the SIS in getting it right is not good. In those few cases which have come to public attention ... such as the [Bill] Sutch and Ahmed Zaoui cases, the SIS was found to be dreadfully wrong."
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Ms Kelly said the legislation opened the possibility of the SIS creating an "army of informants" immune from prosecution. The bill updates and modernises legislation covering the agency. It deals with the .
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warrants framework, tracking devices, surveillance and technology such as mobile phones
CIA's Leon Panetta not eager to swap jobs: agency Reuters, 7 April 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
Leon Panetta is happy as CIA director and has not been asked by President Barack Obama to consider changing jobs, the agency said on Thursday, as speculation swirled over changes in top U.S. security posts. Robert Gates has made clear he plans to step down as defense secretary this year and the military's top officer is expected to retire, prompting speculation about who will move where in Obama's impending reshuffle of military and intelligence chiefs. One scenario being speculated has Panetta -who turns 73 in June -- replacing Gates and the director's office on the seventh floor of CIA headquarters being taken over by General David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan. Some Washington insiders even link machinations over the presidential election in 2012 to the Petraeus-for-Panetta scenario. They suggest the White House wants to find a high-profile post for Petraeus to ensure he will not be tapped by Republicans to challenge Obama, a Democrat. Sources familiar with White House thinking say there is no doubt Petraeus is under consideration for CIA chief if Panetta moves. People close to Petraeus have not gone out of their way to shoot down the idea but have not touted it either. "Director Panetta is proud to lead the men and women of the CIA and is focused squarely on the agency's mission," CIA spokesman George Little told Reuters. "He isn't seeking any other job and
hasn't been asked by the president to take on a different role." Gates, 67, a former CIA director and a holdover from the administration of Republican President George W. Bush, has made no secret of his eagerness to leave the Pentagon. He has been unusually outspoken about the need to limit U.S. military involvement in Libya and it is unclear whether he would support any expansion of operations beyond air strikes and patrols -- if Obama were to make that decision. People familiar with Panetta's views say he would be open to discussing a job change with Obama. But his willingness to talk is no guarantee he would actually agree to a request from Obama to move from the CIA's pastoral campus in Langley, Virginia, to the more frenetic Pentagon. As a former congressman, federal budget director and White House chief of staff, Panetta has broad experience sorting out political disputes and complex government management problems. When Obama named him as CIA director in 2009, veteran intelligence officials muttered about his unfamiliarity with the darker arts of spying. But Panetta has bonded with CIA staff -- not least by fighting off attempts by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to take away some of the CIA director's historical powers. Panetta appears to be enjoying his adventure in the intelligence
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community. People who know him question why he would want to trade his current job for bigger headaches trying to tame
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competing military bureaucracies at the Pentagon.
U.S. Spy Agency Is Said to Investigate Nasdaq Hacker Attack Business Week, 30 March 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
The National Security Agency, the top U.S. electronic intelligence service, has joined a probe of the October cyber attack on Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. amid evidence the intrusion by hackers was more severe than first disclosed, according to people familiar with the investigation. The involvement of the NSA, which uses some of the world’s most powerful computers for electronic surveillance and decryption, may help the initial investigators -- Nasdaq and the FBI -determine more easily who attacked and what was taken. It may also show the attack endangered the security of the nation’s financial infrastructure. “By bringing in the NSA, that means they think they’re either dealing with a statesponsored attack or it’s an extraordinarily capable criminal organization,” said Joel Brenner, former head of U.S.
counterintelligence in the Bush and Obama administrations, now at the Washington offices of the law firm Cooley LLP. The NSA’s most important contribution to the probe may be its ability to unscramble encrypted messages that hackers use to extract data, said Ira Winkler, a former NSA analyst and chief security strategist at Technodyne LLC, a Wayne, New Jerseybased information technology consulting firm. The probe of the attack on the second biggest U.S. stock exchange operator, disclosed last month, is also being assisted by foreign intelligence agencies, said one of the people, who declined like the others to be identified because the investigation is confidential and in some cases classified. One of the people said the attack was more extensive than Nasdaq previously disclosed.
Obama Changes Order of Succession for Intelligence Courthouse News Service, Thursday, 10 March 2011
President Obama has issued an Executive Order altering the order of succession in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The previous order of succession should the director die or otherwise be unable to fulfill the duties of the office was the Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Management, followed by Deputy Director for Collection, then Deputy Director for Analysis. Obama's order changes this to
emphasize domestic intelligence and counterterrorism by making the Deputy Director for Intelligence Integration first in line to succeed the Director followed by the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and then the National Counterintelligence Executive. The Director of National Intelligence reports directly to the president and all intelligence gathering agencies, outside of the military, report to the Director of National Intelligence.
US Intelligence Community Worldwide Threat Assessment Eurasia Review, March 13, 2011 (Ed: excerpted; original Clapper statement here)
This statement goes into extensive detail about numerous state and non-state actors, crosscutting political, economic, and military
developments and transnational trends, all of which constitute our nation‟s strategic and tactical landscape. Although I believe that
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counterterrorism, counterproliferation, and counterintelligence are at the immediate forefront of our security concerns, it is virtually impossible to rank—in terms of longterm importance—the numerous, potential threats to U.S. national security. The United States no longer faces—as in the Cold War—one dominant threat. Rather, it is the multiplicity and interconnectedness of potential threats—and the actors behind them—that constitute our biggest challenge. Indeed, even the three categories noted above are also inextricably linked, reflecting a quickly-changing international environment of rising new powers, rapid diffusion of power to non-state actors and ever greater access by individuals and small groups to lethal technologies. We in the Intelligence Community believe it is our duty to work together as an integrated team to understand and master this complexity. By providing better strategic and tactical intelligence, we can partner more effectively with Government officials at home and abroad to protect our vital national interests. Terrorism will remain at the forefront of our national security threats over the coming year. Robust counterterrorism (CT) and information sharing efforts continue worldwide, and this extensive cooperation has stopped a number of potentially tragic events from occurring and hindered many others. Moreover, these efforts are changing the nature of the threat we face, with clear progress being made in some fronts, but new challenges arising elsewhere. The core al-Qa‟ida, which we define as the group‟s Pakistan-based leadership and cadre organization, continues to be damaged by ongoing CT efforts on the part of the United States and its allies. The Iranian regime continues to flout UN Security Council restrictions on its nuclear and missile programs. There is a real risk that its nuclear program will prompt other countries in the Middle East to pursue nuclear options. We continue to assess Iran is keeping open
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the option to develop nuclear weapons in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that better position it to produce such weapons, should it choose to do so. We do not know, however, if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons. Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile programs pose a serious threat to the security environment in East Asia, a region characterized by several great power rivalries and some of the world’s largest economies. North Korea’s export of ballistic missiles and associated materials to several countries, including Iran and Syria, and its assistance to Syria in the construction of a nuclear reactor, destroyed in 2007, illustrate the reach of the North’s proliferation activities. Despite the October 2007 Six-Party agreement in which North Korea reaffirmed its commitment not to transfer nuclear materials, technology, or know-how, we remain alert to the possibility North Korea could again export nuclear technology. The Afghan Government will likely continue to make incremental progress in governance, security, and development in 2011. The Taliban-led insurgency, despite tactical defeats and operational setbacks in 2010, will threaten US and international goals in Afghanistan through 2011. Pakistan-based militant groups and al-Qa‟ida are coordinating their attacks inside Pakistan despite their historical differences regarding ethnicity, sectarian issues, and strategic priorities. This offensive orientation has included greater efforts at making al-Qa‟ida propaganda and videos available on Pakistanfocused, Urdu-language sites. We remain attentive, however, to the possibility that Beijing‟s perceptions of its influence and clout could fuel more assertive Chinese behavior, or increase the potential for unintended conflict between China and its neighbors, especially in the maritime realm. As of early February, the situation in Egypt remains quite fluid. Cairo has witnessed some
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of the largest protests in decades—the largest to take place during Hosni Mubarak‟s 30-year tenure as President. Instability, fueled in large part by economic and political grievances, clearly has reached a critical point in recent weeks and will have a long-lasting impact throughout North Africa and the Middle East. Iraq will likely sustain a generally secure path through the end of 2011, even as US forces continue to draw down in accordance with the US-Iraq bilateral security agreement. Despite slow progress on political goals, the continuing preference of Iraqi citizens to pursue change through the political process rather than violence is the most important driver supporting this trend. The Intelligence Community judges Tehran will continue to view the United States as an existential threat and as partly responsible for postelection unrest. Iran will seek to undermine US influence in the Middle East by sponsoring opposition to US initiatives, backing groups that oppose US and Israeli interests, working to undermine cooperation between Washington and moderate Arab allies, and strengthening its deterrent capability against threats from the United States and Israel. Africa in the coming year is likely to continue what is now a decade-long trend of economic and political progress. As in the past, however, this progress is likely to be uneven and subject to sudden reversal. Last year was marked by significant improvements in US-Russian relations. Russia has demonstrated a willingness to cooperate on some top priorities that it shares with the United States, such as signing the New START Treaty, cooperating on transit and counternarcotics in Afghanistan, and pursuing the pressure track against Iran‟s nuclear program. Some Russian elites still express suspicion that MD is ultimately directed against Russia. Russia shows no willingness to
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discuss the status of—much less withdrawal of its troops from—South Ossetia and Abkhazia, contested territories inside Georgia‟s internationally-recognized borders. Despite the fact that Russia has moved closer to membership in the WTO, some Russian officials and key lobbies have lingering doubts the move is in their interests. The direction of Russian domestic politics is a major unsettled question for 2011 and 2012. Events in the Western Balkans will again pose the principal challenges to stability in Europe in 2011. Bosnia-Herzegovina’s continuing uneasy inter-ethnic condominium and unresolved issues regarding Kosovo, including the future of Serb-majority areas in northern Kosovo, Belgrade’s efforts to re-open the question of Kosovo’s status, and Pristina’s weakness in rule of law and democracy remain sources of tension requiring Western diplomatic and security engagement. In Latin America, recent positive trends, such as deepening democratic principles and economic growth, are challenged in some areas by rising narcoviolence, populist efforts to limit democratic freedoms, and slow recovery from natural disasters. The continued deterioration of Cuba’s economy in 2010 has forced President Raul Castro to take unprecedented and harsh economic actions that could spark public unrest over the coming year. Regional efforts that lessen US influence are gaining some traction. Planning proceeds for the creation of a community of Latin American and Caribbean States—slated for inauguration in Caracas in July—that excludes the US and Canada. Organizations such as the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) are taking on issues once the purview of the OAS. Indeed, South American countries, with one or two exceptions, increasingly are turning to the UNASUR to respond to disputes
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or unrest in the region. Competing ideologies and regional rivalries will limit the effectiveness of these institutions. In addition to the threat posed by state intelligence services, the intelligence capabilities and activities of non-state actors are increasing in scope and sophistication. And, the cyber environment provides unprecedented opportunities for adversaries to target the US due to our reliance on information systems. The US faces increasing challenges in protecting sensitive technology from technologically competent parties, including nation-states, terrorists, and international criminal syndicates given the pace of technological diffusion across the globe. Potential threats to economic security may result from the large imbalances in international trade and investment flows. More than 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries. The growing pressure generated by growing populations, urbanization, economic development, and climate change on shared water resources may increase competition and exacerbate existing tensions over these resources. In the absence of mitigating action, fresh water scarcity at local levels will have wide-ranging implications for US national security. This
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scarcity will aggravate existing problems— such as poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutions— and thereby threaten state or regional stability. A whole-of-government approach— using the best modeling expertise from agencies outside the IC—will be needed to assess the impact of water and other resource scarcity on state stability. It is unlikely that any country will be able to detect cases early enough to prevent the spread of another new, highly transmissible virus should one emerge during the next five years, despite pandemic preparedness efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and many nations over the past decade. Once such a disease has started to spread, confining it to the immediate region will be very unlikely. In last year‟s threat assessment, the IC noted that extremists may take advantage of a government‟s inability to meet the health needs of its population, highlighting that HAMAS‟s and Hizballah‟s provision of health and social services in the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon helped to legitimize those organizations as a political force. This also has been the case with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
DNI Orders New National Intelligence Estimate On National Security And Collapse Of U.S. Manufacturing LaRouche, April 1, 2011 The Director of National Intelligence (DNI), General James Clapper, has ordered a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) ``to assess the security implications of waning manufacturing activity in America.'' According to a report in Forbes magazine, Gen. Clapper issued the order on March 3, and has appointed a senior intelligence official, Lawrence Gershwin, to manage the effort, which is the most authoritative
analysis prepared by the U.S. intelligence community. The announcement of the new NIE coincided with news that the U.S. trade deficit jumped by 33 percent in 2010. According to the Forbes account, in 2007, when Secretary of Defense Gates ordered a rampup of production of armored trucks for the Iraq "surge," he found that there was only
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one steel plant in the United States capable of producing the quality of steel required for the trucks. And that company, in Coatesville, PA, already behind in defense contract orders. To deal with the crisis, Gates obtained a waiver permitting the purchasing of foreign steel for the expanded truck production.
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had been bought by the European steel firm Arcelor Mittal and was Gershwin has been with the National Intelligence Council since 1981, and since 1994, has been the National Intelligence Officer for Science and Technology.
CIA to review role of agents overseas Rules of engagement to be probed after shootings by contractor in Pakistan Washington Post, 21 March 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
The CIA has launched an internal review of how it trains and deploys security officers overseas. The review comes after a fatal shooting by one of the agency's contractors in Pakistan triggered a diplomatic crisis and new recriminations between the two nations' spy services, United States officials said. As part of the probe, the agency is expected to examine decisions on where security guards are sent to, the scope of their activities in foreign assignments, and the rules of engagement that govern how and when they may use lethal force, they said.
CIA director Leon Panetta ordered the review last month 'with an eye towards strengthening the ability of agency security officers to protect operations and personnel', said another US official. The Justice Department is investigating the Davis shooting, which occurred when he was engaged in what CIA officials refer to as 'area familiarisation' work in a busy section of Lahore. Mr Davis said the two men he shot were armed and attempting to rob him at a traffic signal.
Senior Leadership Changes in CIA CIA.gov, 22 Feb 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
Stephanie L. O’Sullivan, who has served with distinction as our Associate De puty Director, was confirmed by the Senate late last week as the next Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence. V. Sue Bromley, an Agency veteran of 28 years, will become our new Associate Deputy Director. Sue has served as our Chief Financial Officer since June 2009. As a former OMB director, I can attest to her exceptional skill and diligence in managing one of the most complex budgets in government. Before that, Sue helped lead our analytic effort for two years as Deputy Director for Intelligence. She has made vital contributions to the fight against al-Qa’id a and its violent allies, both as Deputy Director of the Counterterrorism Center and as Chief of the Operations and Management Staff in the National Clandestine Service, where she helped plan, justify, and distribute a large increase in funding for counterterrorism operations after the September 11th attacks. Having served in a range of other Agency jobs, including as Deputy Director of the Crime and Narcotics Center, Sue is extraordinarily qualified to help lead the CIA at a time when there is no shortage of global challenges demanding our attention.
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Canada: Security agencies still not sharing data Canada needs powerful intelligence czar to coordinate information, Senate report says Postmedia News March 25, 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
understand that there is an absolute Almost a decade after 9/11, the many arms requirement to share information in the of Canada's national security network still do interests of protecting the country. not share all their intelligence about terrorist "In today's world, the ability to pull all that threats with sister agencies, says a data together on an ongoing, real-time basis parliamentary report. The fix, says the new with a high level of integration is really interim report by the special Senate fundamental to what our police Committee on Anti-terrorism, and other organizations do to is to clarify and expand the combat terrorism." Stephen mandate of the national Rigby, former president of the security adviser (NSA) to the Canada Border Services Agency prime minister, giving the (CBSA), was appointed NSA in office statutory powers to November. coordinate national security activities and share counter"His ability to force information terrorism intelligence across to be shared on a timely basis government. would be part of that ..." said Segal. "He does not have that The Air India inquiry made a authority [now], he has the bully similar recommendation last pulpit and he has the goodwill of summer, which the Harper all the security agencies to share government rejected in with him when they can and December, saying it did not Canadian National Security Adviser how they can in the national want to create a new Stephen Rigby interest. bureaucracy. Each agency has its own mandate and The unanimous report by the Senate different legislative rules governing the committee, which heard testimony from execution of that mandate, particularly the leading security intelligence experts and collection and disclosure of information, senior police, found interagency intelligencenotes the Senate report. While only CSIS, sharing has improved over the past decade CBSA and the RCMP report to the minister of but, "needless compartmentalization of public safety, the committee concluded that information about terrorist threats and lack of "national security issues are too important to coordination still seem to persist today, to be entrusted to a single department or some degree." agency, and it should not be the role of a In an interview Thursday, Conservative minister to be involved in the management of Senator Hugh Segal, committee chair, said the any national security investigation. "That NSA's role and expanded powers need to be responsibility must fall instead to the NSA." established in legislation, "so people
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Canadian MPs call for spy boss's head Torontosun.com, March 23, 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
and to replace him as the head of CSIS. “The Opposition MPs have once again called for report is very clear in the facts that there Canada's top spy to resign or be fired, this seems to have been no basis for the public time using the power of a Commons allegations. They were deeply disturbing and committee report to do so. Liberal, Bloc destructive to thousands of Canadians, Quebecois and New Democrat MPs on the especially Chinese-Canadians,” Liberal MP Commons public safety committee tabled a and public safety critic Mark Holland told QMI report Wednesday that criticized CSIS director Agency. Richard Fadden for “"You can't say there are comments he made last people under the influence summer about foreign of foreign powers. What interference. does that mean? It casts "We're, in fact, a bit worried aspersions on everyone," in a couple of provinces that Holland said. "Fadden must we have an indication that resign." there's some political Security experts disagree figures who have developed with the call for Fadden to quite an attachment to foreign countries," Fadden Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) go. According to John Thompson of the Mackenzie said in an interview with the Director Richard Fadden Institute Thompson it's not CBC last June. "There are just China trying to influence Canada's several municipal politicians in British politicians or direct the activities of their exColumbia and, in at least two provinces, there pats living in Canada. He lists Iran and Russia are ministers of the Crown who we think are as culprits, as well and countries in Latin under at least the general influence of a American, Africa and even Western Europe as foreign government," Fadden said. Asked by involved in espionage in Canada. CBC if China was one of the countries spying or trying to influence Canadian politicians, Conservative MPs have tabled their own Fadden said media reports to that effect were report defending Fadden, and the generally accurate. government has rebuffed calls for his resignation. The committee report calls on the Stephen Harper government to apologize for Faddens remarks, to clear the air over the exact nature of the allegations Fadden was speaking about
Ecuador's Correa lashes out at U.S. embassy for spying Reuters, 8 April 2011
Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa on Friday accused the U.S. embassy of spying on the country's police and military, adding the espionage was a factor in his expulsion this week of the U.S. ambassador.
Ecuador on Tuesday told Washington's envoy Heather Hodges to leave the Andean country over diplomatic cables reporting alleged police corruption that were released by WikiLeaks. "The serious thing is that
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WikiLeaks said they (the U.S. embassy) have U.S. embassy official believed Correa's office informants in the police and armed forces ... also knew it. This is espionage," Correa Correa acknowledged there is said in a radio interview, corruption in the police force and adding the embassy had a said his government is striving to duty to inform his stamp it out. government if it had "The serious issue is that if they evidence of a crime, but had have information from inside the not done so. police, instead of letting the Correa is an ally of left-wing government know ... they say governments in Venezuela nothing, and they try to involve the and Bolivia, both of which country's President," he said in the ordered U.S. envoys out of radio interview. their countries in 2008. Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Calling the expulsion on Wednesday the decision to expel "unjustified," Washington is Hodges was made to defend expelling the Ecuadorean Correa's honor, even though trade envoy in the country and ties with the United States might scrapped a round of trade Ecuador Pres Correa: Reuters suffer. talks in a tit-for-tat move. The United States is Ecuador's The Ecuadorean government said the cables largest trade partner. The OPEC-member signed by Hodges' office suggested senior country shipped about 35 percent of its Ecuadorean police commanders were aware exports to the United States in 2010. of corrupt practices in the force and that one
Guyana: Jagdeo’s office approves funds for spy equipment Daily Herald, 29 March 2011
GEORGETOWN, Guyana--The Office of the President has approved the payment of US$583,375 to a United States of America company reportedly for the provision of intelligence gathering equipment. The payment which was approved last December was channelled through the Demerara Bank Limited to the Florida bank account of a company called Phoenix American Technologies at the Sun Trust Bank in Miami. Pheonix American Technologies established in 1991 and located in Miami Florida, is a
leading provider of intelligence gathering systems, offering a broad array of specialised technology and integrated solutions. The company is registered with the U.S. Department of State to export defence equipment and technology pursuant to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Of late the Office of the President has been integrally involved in the intelligence gathering process, especially controlling stipend payment to military officers who are part of an elite intelligence gathering unit.
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Costa Rica: CIA Financed Costa Rica's Intelligence Service Espionage On Drug Trafficking: Former Security Minister INSIDECOSTARICA.COM, 24 March 2011 (Ed: excerpted)
The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) financed, for ten years, an espionage operation against drug trafficking conducted by specialized agents of Costa Rica's Dirección de Inteligencia Seguridad (DIS) - Intelligence Service. The daily La Nacion reported that a team of officers, as confirmed by the former minister de Seguridad, Rogelio Ramos, and the former head of the DIS, Roberto Solorzano, worked from homes rented by private security companies hired by the CIA and with vehicles and training provided by the U.S. To work with this group, according to Ramos and Solorzano, agents had to pass rigorous recruitment tests including a polygraph (lie detector). Costa Rica DIS director, On Monday, Ramos, in an and Pres Chinchilla interview with the La Nacion, confirmed the intelligence operation called "CINEC" was established by former president José María Figueres Olsen (1994 - 1998), in order to fight more effectively against drug trafficking organizations. The La Nacion says it had on Tuesday sent a note to presidenta Chinchilla on the Ramos statements, asking for a current status on the espionage operation. The presidenta responded by instructing the current DIS director, Mauricio Boraschi, to request from Ramos a report on his facts. On Wednesday, after receiving the letter from Boraschi, Ramos sent a clarification to La Nacion in which he confirmed the existence of the program, but backed away from his original version on the illegal operation. In addition, Ramos told the daily any questions on the illegal activities were to be directed to the former head of the DIS. La Nacion says it requested an interview with Ramos to explain the diplomatic cable filtered
by Wikileaks, which says that he threatened the government of Oscar Arias and the U.S. Embassy in San José to reveal "dirt on the Arias administration" if they questioned his tenure as ministro de Seguridad from 2000 to 2006. Ramos insists that he never threatened the Arias government or the embassy. He admitted that he met with a CIA agent and told him that if he was called by Congress to appear, "would reveal exactly what it is I did with you" in the fight against drug trafficking. Solorzano confirmed to La Nacion that in fact the CIA funded house rentals, vehicles and some equipment for the "special unit", but categorically denied that during his tenure of any illegal activity Mauricio Boraschi such as wiretapping or opening bank accounts. "The DIS does not have the ability to wiretap. You should investigate who is doing the wiretaps with ICE and you will fall over backwards. The DIS does not have the equipment, or anything", added the former head of the DIS. Solórzano also denied that the team of special agents spied on civilians or were involved in political espionage. The current DIS director (Boraschi) told the daily "at the DIS there is no agreement or legal instrument to finance operations, less with the government of the United States. The operations and investigations conducted by the DIS are financed with resources of the institution, ie the state budget". Boraschi also insisted that all DIS agents work out of facilities owned by the institution or in facilities rented under rules of the government for contracting or in "borrowed" facilities like at the airports or borders.