Eye Spy Issue 84

READ BY THE WORLD’S INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

EYE SPY

INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE

A BRIEF REVIEW

ISSUE NUMBER 84 PUBLICATION DATE MARCH/APRIL 2013

Your gateway to the secret world of espionage and intelligence

EYE SPY 84 VOLUME XI NUMBER FOUR (ISSUE 84) ISSN 1364 8446 publication date: MARCH/APRIL 2013

Each print edition of Eye Spy Intelligence Magazine is 84pp - full colour throughout.

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FROM THE EDITOR - MARK BIRDSALL

IRAN’S VEVAK Welcome to this brief overview of Eye Spy Intelligence Magazine - issue 84.

In this edition of Eye Spy we present a most fascinating feature on Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) - VEVAK in Farsi. A few months ago we received an e-mail from Iran that advised the VEVAK was shortly to embark upon an ambitious programme that would see it emerge from the shadows. Since then, the Service has launched a public web site, albeit one deadly critical of the West, created a brand new logo and proclaimed it had 30,000 personnel and was “much bigger than the CIA.” For ordinary Iranians this must have come as a shock - VEVAK can now be contacted and visitors to its web site can learn of its activities and many “great successes.”

Though the VEVAK now has a new public image, one trait that hasn’t changed is its inherent ability to be caught out peddling obvious disinformation and mistruths. This is evidenced by its propaganda directorate’s long standing practise to alter imagery and factual data, plus create imaginative news stories.

Of equal relevance, and part of its ‘self-esteem’ programme, Iran recently rolled out a new stealthy-looking aircraft.

However, aviation specialists in the intelligence world have likened the Qaher F-313 (Dominant) to a UAV or model.

Perhaps that’s a little harsh, because at the very least the concept exists, although the design does look suspiciously like America’s F-22.

The F-313 announcement came around the same time Iran claimed to have launched a monkey into space and successfully brought it back down to Earth. But Iran’s media, which is controlled by officials from organisations such as VEVAK, decided to show a mixture of photographs of the animal. It didn’t take long for people to notice in one photo the monkey had a mole, and in later imagery the mole had mysteriously disappeared. On this occasion however, I think this was a genuine error and Iran’s space agency had simply used stock footage. Nevertheless, it was another serious error that together with a lack of film launch and descent footage, only conspired to create more suspicion. The authenticity of the space flight was called into question by some commentators.

Is the VEVAK a serious agency? Yes, and there is no doubt of its size and influence over many aspects of life in Iran.

But as it attempts to engage with a wider audience in an effort to become more relevant, it risks leaving itself open to inspection and scrutiny, not just by the intelligence world - but also a fascinated public and watching global media.

Thus Eye Spy has delved into its archive and secured other ‘unusual’ reporting examples, including Iranian news broadcasts showing scenes from the disaster movie ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ - this in relation to last year’s Hurricane Sandy which struck the United States. The footage played out on national television was meant to be real.

VEVAK’s strange decisions, media manipulation and Photoshop trickery are explored. We have called our feature ‘The Illusionist Hand of the VEVAK’ - it is but one of several absorbing stories and reports in an information packed edition.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF EYE SPY INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE - ISSUE 84 FOLLOWS...

PATRIOT GAMES SVR SPIES EXPOSED BY CIA AGENT Following the collapse of the SVR spy ring in the United States in 2010, many intelligence watchers investigated the background to its exposure and subsequent arrest of a dozen or so agents. How the spies were uncovered is a topic that still invokes much debate today. What is certain, the ripples from their downfall continue to expand.

In this fascinating feature we examine the arrest of some of their associates living many thousands of miles away this as a direct result of a communication sent by Anna Chapman - one of the Russian spies intent on infiltrating the higher echelons of American society.

Eye Spy also provides background on a CIA agent connected to the affair who managed to flee Russia - his dramatic journey to freedom is documented in full.

Of the CIA, President Kennedy once said: “Its successes will be secret and its failures trumpeted...�

President Kennedy

SUPER TERRORISM THE WORLD OF COUNTER TERRORISM AND INTELLIGENCE All forms of terrorism constitute a grave threat to nation states, yet none is more feared than that which falls under the banner of SUPER TERRORISM. Eye Spy presents a chilling insight into its various elements....

Materials and products such as recycled rods and liquids, sometimes called ‘atomic soup’, have been sought by terrorists for years. However, their attention is now turning to other more accessible materials...

TERRORISTS NEED ONLY GLIMPSE A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO STRIKE

THE STRANGE CASE OF PRISONER X DEATH OF A MOSSAD SPY It was one of the Mossad’s most delicate secrets - and one bound to cause controversy should details ever leak. The activities, liaisons and ultimate death of Australian-born Mossad officer Ben Zygier have once again brought unwanted attention upon Israel’s most secret service.

Zygier, 34, held dual nationality after he emigrated to Israel around 2000, and in circumstances that may never be fully understood, he became associated with the Mossad. Eye Spy investigates...

“Unless a grave crime had not been committed, it’s unlikely the Mossad would have allowed one of its own officers to have been treated in such a manner...” Eye Spy source

THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND BRITAIN’S IRON LADY He was Argentina’s most notorious killer, and newly declassified British Government Cabinet papers from 30 years ago have now shed new light on how the capture by British forces of an infamous intelligence officer at the height of the Falklands War, thrust Margaret Thatcher’s government into the centre of an extraordinary international custody battle.

THE ASSASSINATION LIST Suspected Assassin Detained

Eye Spy reports on further events and deaths connected with an assassination list secured by MI5 containing the names of around 100 people. Also featured comments made by a former MI6 agent...

TAKE TWO: THE MIRROR OF OPERATION DAMOCLES Eye Spy investigates a strange incident on the France-Swiss border which may yet turn out to be connected to Israel’s secret war with Iran. It also bears a bizarre similarity to events from years ago when the Mossad sought to assassinate German scientists involved with a Middle East weapons programme... a powerful report not to be missed

ISRAEL’S NEXT MOVE IN ITS SECRET WAR WITH IRAN?

O P E R AT I O N

PITSFORD MI5 thwart al-Qaida gang plotting worst terrorist atrocity since 9/11

MI5 and New Scotland Yard acknowledge they have derailed at least one major terror plot as big, if not bigger than 7/7, every year since 2005... the latest in an operation code-named PITSFORD Eye Spy presents a stage-by-stage account of how MI5 managed to infiltrate a group planning Britain’s “9/11”

Eye Spy presents a stage-by-stage account of how MI5 managed to infiltrate a most dangerous group planning Britain’s “9/11”

BULGARIAN BUS BOMBING INTEL SERVICE IDENTIFIES TERRORIST UNIT The terrorist unit which attacked and killed Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year has links to North America - Eye Spy reveals the international investigation which is set to cause embarrassment to some organisations and countries...

SPECIAL FEATURE INSIDE THE VEVAK ILLUSIONIST HAND OF IRAN’S SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE Eye Spy takes an indepth look at one of the world’s strangest intelligence agencies - Iran’s VEVAK. This, as its propaganda arm continues to authorise the release of flawed and blatantly obvious manipulated materials...

CYBER EXPERT MURDERED? US GOVERNMENT ASKED TO INVESTIGATE The US Government has been asked to investigate the death of a cyber expert who told his family about espionage concerns and feared for his life, this as new warnings emerge that the threat to the public from cyber attacks is increasing daily...

INTERNATIONAL PIRATES AND THE INTELLIGENCE WAR Just as al-Qaida in the Horn of Africa has attracted many followers, so too has it become a magnet for men enticed by the lure of ‘pirate treasure’. Eye Spy examines the latest developments in the ongoing ‘war’ with thousands of international pirates

WOOTTON BASSETT MEN ADMIT BOMB PLOT Three men have pleaded guilty to a number of terrorist charges, including a plot to attack a British town famous for its compassion shown to UK armed forces dead. Eye Spy investigates...

UAV COUNTER-MEASURES AL-QAIDA’S ADVICE TO AVOID DETECTION

A document prepared by al-Qaida showing operatives how to protect themselves from UAVs has surfaced in Mali.

Eye Spy examines some of the 22 guidance points, the legality of attacks by these aircraft and takes a fascinating journey back in time to discover the origin of UAVs...

END GAME FOR MR MARLBORO GAS FIELD ATTACK PLANNER ‘DEAD’ - CHAD ARMY OFFICIAL

Belmokhtar fled to a place he believed was safe he was mistaken - it was already being monitored

by MI6 and the intelligence world...

Following Eye Spy’s report in issue 83 - ‘Africa - An Arc of Instability’, we report on the international intelligence effort to track and kill one of the most dangerous men in the world

CIA STATION CHIEFS THE MILAN KIDNAP FIASCO A decade has passed since a CIA team was engaged in the ‘abduction’ of a man Langley wrongly believed was an al-Qaida terrorist. Eye Spy reflects on the repercussions as several agents are sentenced in their absentia

REMOTE VIEWING IN THE INTELLIGENCE CYCLE PART 4 Researcher Mike Finn continues his investigation into the controversial practise of Remote Viewing as researched by American and Russian Intelligence. In this feature he looks at the timeline, primary participants, agencies, operations and analysis

BLACK BOX COMMUNICATIONS MI5 AND US INTEL STRUGGLING TO MONITOR ALL THREATS The UK is set to introduce major new electronic monitoring procedures. Eye Spy investigates why such measures are deemed necessary 12 MARCH 2013: “Attacks which might involve cyber and financial weapons, can be deniable and unattributable...”

James Clapper - Director National Intelligence USA

ALSO FEATURING JOHN BRENNAN Focus on new Director Central Intelligence Agency

CYBER SERVICE Washington prepares to launch cyber countermeasures

ZERO DARK THIRTY Privileged information?

DEATH OF A BRITISH AGENT New investigation launched into murder of British agent

BRADLEY MANNING Admits intelligence leaks

JOHN KIRIAKOU CIA agent identity breach

ISRAELI SPY TALKS Jonathan Pollard set for release?

TURKISH INTEL OPS Security services arrest senior al-Qaida spokesman

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