Stuff(p), Dec 27, 2000

Tue Dec 26 19:23:55 EST 2000

FBI INTERCEPTS WARNED OF BROTHER'S SHOOTDOWN IN 1996.  According to
evidence presented in the ongoing espionage trial of Cuban spies in
Miami, the FBI had the alleged spies under surveillance for some time
and were routinely intercepting communications between Havana and the
Cuban intelligence operatives in Miami who had infiltrated "Brothers to
the Rescue" and other Cuban-American organizations.  While the
intercepts did not say definitevly there would be a shootdown on
February 24th, the Cuban agents were warned not to fly in Brothers
aircraft on Feb 24-27.  Apparently, that information was not forwarded
to the White House or otherwise distributed within the US intelligence
or policy communities.  Instead, it went into an FBI investigatory file
and stayed there until it was released last week in the Miami
courtroom.  White House policymakers say they would probably have been
treating both Cuba and the Brothers differently had they known of the
FBI intercepts.  [The story illustrates a long standing and continuing
difference between the culture of law enforcement and that of
intelligence.  Law enforcement tends to keep its secret info locked up
in a singel investigatory file tied to one specific case that may,
someday, go to trial.  Intelligence, on the other hand, sees itself as
an information service for the entire US government rather than one
investigation, and distributes info widely to policymakers. ]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46092-2000Dec23.html

ALLEGED BIN LADEN ALLY LOSES FIGHT TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE.  Evidence taken
from illegally tapped telephones may be used in the trial of a U.S.
citizen, Wadih El-Hage,  charged in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in
Africa, a federal judge in New York has ruled.  This is an interesting
case at the intersection of intelligence and law enforcement.  [The
phone tapping was by US intelligence in Kenya and without a warrant,
which would be routine and legal (according to US law) if El-Hage was a
foreigner.  Presumably, US intelligence suspected him of being a
terrorist but did not realize he was also an American citizen so they
did not get a FISA warrant.  --jdmac]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29409-2000Dec19.html
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2000_hr/HPSCI_04122000/index.htm

RICH HAVER HEADS INTELLIGENCE TRANSITION TEAM.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24449-2000Dec18.html

GAY RIGHTS & WOMENS GROUPS OBJECT TO COATS AS SECDEF.  Former Indiana
Senator Dan Coats, expected nominee for Secretary of Defense, is
strongly opposed by gay rights and womens groups.  Coats is now a
lawyer-lobbyist.  Before the Senate, he spent 4 terms in the House.
Prior to that, he was a district aide to then Congressman Dan Quayle,
After college and prior to law school, Coats served 2 years in the Army,
1966-68.  [Pres-elect Bush seems to have delayed a SecDef nomination,
possibly because the aforementioned opposition.  Paul Wolfowitz, Dean of
John Hopkins (SAIS) and a former Pentagon and White House official, is
also in the running.  Dark horses include Donald Rice, a former SecAF;
Donald Rumsfeld, a former SecDef; and Frederick Smith, founder of
FedEx.  --jdmac]
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28784-2000Dec19.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/23/politics/23DEFE.html
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-20001222225545.htm
OTHER APPOINTMENT RUMORS.  Retiring Rep Tillie Fowler, (R-Fla) and
former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach possible for SecNavy.  Rumint
is that George Tenet may stay on as DCI; also Paul Wolfowitz and Donald
Rumsfeld are being mentioned.  Chappie James' son, MajGen Daniel James
III, adjutant general of the Texas National Guard is a possible for
SecAF.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/inring-2000122221435.htm

TERRORISTS PLANNED SPECTACULAR FOR LAST JANUARY.  Islamic militants
headed by Osama bin Laden appear to have planned a spectacular
three-country attack last January that would have included multiple
bombings in Jordan and the United States and the sinking of a US
destroyer in Yemen, the Clinton administration's counterterrorism chief
said last week.  The attacks planned for last January either failed or
were thwarted by arrests.  [Probably because of good intelligence.
--jdamc]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43852-2000Dec23.html

WEN HO LEE INVESTIGATORS FOCUSING ON TAIWAN.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42002-2000Dec22.html

CHINESE "ESPIONAGE HANDBOOK TELLS HOW EASY WE ARE.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-20001226232548.htm

NEITHER ISRAELI SPY JONATHON POLLARD NOR INDIAN ACTIVIST LEONARD PELTIER
HAVE BEEN GRANTED CLEMENCY  -- YET.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43524-2000Dec22.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12649-2000Dec15.html

CHRISTMAS TREE AT CIA OFFICE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES would thrill even
fans of the fictional "Q" who produced pens that could fire bullets and
cars that could swim for British agent James Bond.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,40796,00.html

FAS REQUESTS CIA IG INVESTIGATION.  The Federation of American
Scientists has asked the CIA Inspector General to initiate an
investigation of classification policy and practice at the Agency after
CIA officials claimed that all historical intelligence budget
information from the earliest days of the cold war through 1970 is
properly classified today.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2000/12/ciaig.html

ISRAEL ACKNOWLEDGES "LIQUIDATION POLICY.  Senior Israeli military
officials have acknowledged a "liquidtions" policy, a tactic of hunting
down and killing individual Palestinian militants.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/22/world/22ISRA.html

WAS MARTIN BORMANN, HITLER'S DEPUTY A SOVIET MOLE?
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_nyquist/20001221_xcjny_critters_t.shtml

BRITISH SPY GEORGE BLAKE STILL WORKING IN MOSCOW.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20001219_2030.html

FSB SAYS THEY ARRESTED CIA SPY, A RUSSIAN, IN 1998.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=231764&section=default

AMERICAN "RAMBO'S" IN CAMBODIA ATTACK.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20001219_2919.html

ESPIONAGE MUSEUM TO OPEN IN WASHINGTON IN 2 YEARS.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34486-2000Dec20.html
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_151609.html?menu=news.latestheadlines

CHECKIST'S DAY, DECEMBER 20.
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/national/spy211.shtml

OBITUARY: DOUGLAS BLAUFARB, 82, RETIRED CIA STATION CHIEF
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39377-2000Dec21.html
_________________________________

BOOKS & OTHER SOURCES

JOHN PIKE, INTELLIGENCE SCHOLAR AND WEB ARCHIVIST EXTRAORDINAIRE.  John
Pike, who built the FAS (IRP) web page which has for years been (in my
opinion) the best intelligence website, recently left FAS to run his own
website and organization.  It is expected to be in operation soon.
http://www.fas.org/irp/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41034-2000Dec22.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/001219.htm

BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS: TESTIMONY OF DR KENNETH ALIBEK, Former Deputy
Director of the Soviet biological weapons program who  defected to the
US in 1992.
http://www.house.gov/hasc/testimony/106thcongress/99-10-20alibek.htm

THE DIA WEBSITE HAS BEEN MUCH UPGRADED.
http://www.dia.mil/

INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES ON THE WEB.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/pages/001216/5022257.html

COMMUNISM AND ANTI-ANTI-COMMUNISM DEBATE ON H-DIPLO.  (Look for thread
with posts by Schrecker, Haynes and/or Tanenhaus)
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~diplo/

MORE ON THE NIC's "GLOBAL TRENDS 2015" REPORT.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,92539,00.html
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/globaltrends2015/index.html

___________________________________

OLD "STUFF."
http://www.intelbriefing.com/newswatch.htm

     John Macartney
        http://www.intelbriefing.com/newswatch.htm
         stuff at intelforum.org
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