Tag: Espionage

Operation Gladio

I enjoy doing my research…..yes it is time consuming and pretty dry but it does help me get a good look at the subjects I encounter.

A friend ask me if I could give a talk to his class, history class, on the Cold War, especially the early Cold War just after WW2….of course I could not say no….basically because he is a friend and I owe him.

Anyway I was trying to find the direction I was going to talk on and decided the spies and counter spy stuff from the time.

Most history buffs know the time in question was a time when Communist parties were making in-roads into the different governing bodies of Europe.  Other than the silly movies of the time how did the Western countries handle this rise in Communism?

NATO, which was formed just after WW2 came up with a covert answer, Operation Gladio………

Operation Gladio is undisputed historical fact. Gladio was part of a post-World War II program set up by the CIA and NATO supposedly to thwart future Soviet/communist invasions or influence in Italy and Western Europe. In fact, it became a state-sponsored right-wing terrorist network, involved in false flag operations and the subversion of democracy.

The existence of Gladio was confirmed and admitted by the Italian government in 1990, after a judge, Felice Casson, discovered the network in the course of his investigations into right-wing terrorism. Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti admitted Gladio’s existence but tried to minimize its significance.

The main function of the Gladio-style groups, in the absence of Soviet invasion, seems to have been to discredit left-wing groups and politicians through the use of “the strategy of tension,” including false-flag terrorism. The strategy of tension is a concept for control and manipulation of public opinion through the use of fear, propaganda, agents provacateurs, terrorism, etc. The aim was to instill fear into the populace while framing communist and left-wing political opponents for terrorist atrocities.

Source: TruthMove – Operation Gladio

Gladio is also suspected in the death of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro who tried to form a government that included the Italian Communist Party….he was kidnapped and later killed by the “Red Brigade”….so the tale is told…..but some thought it was all Gladio…..

This is a lengthy documentary on the group that is worth watching……

The talk was a success but I think it was the intrigue that made it so for the students…..

Class Dismissed!

Closing Thought–30Jun17

Spy vs Spy!

That’s Bond– James Bond

Since I was a teenager I have loved me some spy novels and such….but you know real-life is just as interesting as the fiction stuff.

Remember a few years back when the US caught all those Russian sleeper agents…..one was a sexy red head that could make a dead guy write bad checks.

Then there are stories of the assassinations around the world…especially the ex-KGB guy that was poisoned in the UK with his tea…..

Then I read the report of a Brit spy that was found dead stuffed into a sports bag…..

After the dead body of an MI6 spy was found locked in a sports bag in London, police said the death was “probably an accident” – but British and American spy agencies have secret intelligence suggesting Gareth Williams may have been assassinated over highly sensitive work on Russia.

A British spy whose naked body was found decomposing in a padlocked sports bag in his bathtub is among at least 14 people suspected of having been killed by Russian assassins on British soil, BuzzFeed News can reveal.

Source: The Death Of The Spy In The Bag Is Linked To Russia By Secret Intelligence Files

See what I mean…fascinating.

My question is how does a dead guy accidentally lock himself into a sports bag?

Any answers out there?

Time to say bye for the day…..hope you will join tomorrow for more stuff…..chuq

Russia, To Boldly Go…….

Looks like this situation is the one that will dominate the last days of a helluva year, 2016…..Did or did not Russia do some unauthorized hacking?

As usual there are two sides to every story…..those that are outraged and those that are trying desperately to ignore the reports with the hopes something else will materialize to capture the attention of the public…..

This whole Russia hacking thing is unusual and I just had to offer my historical perspective on the situation…..

Source: Ain’t Karma A Bitch? – In Saner Thought

It fascinates me to see how many Americans are lining up on the side of the defense of Russia….a decade ago I would have called these people idiots and morons…..

I think many Americans are too distracted with the election to care or read about something other than the “great” job Trump will do for this country (another bit of fantasy….IMO)…..

I read a piece in VOX that actually tries to explain the situation with the Russia hack…

National security has been the focus of virtually all of my professional life. I was in Washington on 9/11 and saw the smoke rising from the Pentagon. I arrived in Iraq shortly after the 2003 US invasion and spent several years living in Baghdad and writing about what had quickly become a bloody civil war. I covered the Bush administration’s decision to surge troops into Iraq in 2007 and the Obama administration’s decision to surge troops into Afghanistan in 2009. I’ve written about US spying efforts abroad and foreign spying efforts inside the US.

But I’ve never covered anything quite like Russia’s hack of the Democratic National Committee’s servers and the email account of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, moves designed to steal and then release information damaging to the Democratic presidential nominee.

Source: I’ve spent 15 years covering national security. I’ve never seen anything like the Russia hack. – Vox

True, we will have to wait an see just what tack our new president will take on this situation….I believe we are in for a long 4 years….and this could well be the opening salvo of a new Cold War.

There should be more attention to what Russia is doing with the Military…….

We began the forecasting process with Russia by looking at the country’s military capability. Russia has intervened in Syria to great fanfare, and while it has demonstrated undeniable improvements in some of its capabilities, the Russian military is far weaker than most make it out to be. Our 2016 forecast predicted a frozen conflict in Ukraine, and we came to the conclusion that this frozen conflict will be formalized in 2017 by answering a very basic question: What is the Russian military capability in Ukraine and in general?

The answer is found not by looking at events pertaining to the Ukrainian revolution in 2014, but rather the performance of the Russian military in the 2008 Georgia War. Russia achieved all of its strategic objectives in that five-day war, but serious deficiencies in Russian capabilities were revealed. Operational and tactical logistics left much to be desired, as the Russians had serious difficulties maintaining supply lines for food, fuel, and ammunition. Much of Russia’s military equipment was old and falling apart, Russian suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and electronic warfare capabilities were deficient, and use of precision-guided munitions was rare. Joint operational planning between different services was either nonexistent or ineffective.

After the war, Russia set out on an ambitious and vast military modernization program, reforming everything from doctrine to training to weapons. Russia set clear goals for reducing the number of conscript soldiers to professionalize the force. The 10-year State Armaments Program, announced by President Vladimir Putin in 2010, allocated 19.4 trillion rubles (worth $698.4 billion at the time) to revamp the equipment and weapons used by the Russian armed forces, and Russia’s military expenditures have been increasing both in absolute terms and as a percent of Russia’s GDP ever since.

Russia has taken some impressive steps forward. In 2008, it is unlikely Russia could have fielded a force and deployed it in Syria as it did in 2015. Of all the weapons Russia used in Syria, roughly 20% have been precision-guided munitions, which shows progress… but it also shows how much room Russia has to grow. Russia has deployed unmanned aerial vehicles to help with intelligence gathering, and both SEAD and joint inter-service operations have improved. According to Russian military officials, conscripts in the military have been reduced from roughly 600,000 in 2011, to 200,000 by the end of 2016.

These improvements and the media campaign around the Russian intervention, however, obscure the two most important elements to consider in evaluating the Russian military. First, despite these improvements, Russia has neither the military capability nor the political capital to conquer Ukraine, even if it wanted to. Russia beat Georgia because Georgia is a small country and Russia could overwhelm the Georgians with larger numbers. Ukraine is eight times the size of Georgia in terms of total land and can field a much larger infantry force. Many of Russia’s Rapid Reaction Forces that would be mobilized in such an action still consist of significant numbers of conscripts. Even if Russia could blitz its way to Kiev, it couldn’t hold the country, considering the long supply lines and Ukraine’s large, hostile population. And if the US or NATO decided to intervene, Russia would require even greater forces.

Second, Putin and the Russian government are aware of these limitations. Since 2008, they have been doing everything possible to modernize the Russian armed forces and to reach, if not parity, then a level of strength that could give them more strategic options. That has meant increasing military spending.
While Russia was flush with oil money, that was a perfectly logical plan. But Russia was not expecting oil prices to collapse in 2014. Russia had planned a budget on the then-conservative estimate that oil wouldn’t fall below $82 a barrel. Oil has averaged between $34 and $35 a barrel in 2016, and there’s no reason to expect the oversupplied market to give Russia significant relief in the coming year. Modernizing Russia’s forces is one of the top priorities for the government in the next three years, but it’s not clear if Russia has the money to spend.

(excerpt from a report issued by Geopolitical Futures)

Like I said…it is starting to smell a lot like 1949.

The Rosenberg Affair

You know me I will interject a little history in posts wherever I can.  I have been writing from a Left perspective for many decades……..and I do like the history of this country especially the Left movements and personalities….

Back in the days of the Cold War especially what was to be called “the Rd Scare”…..we Americans saw Commies behind every tree and even accused some of our citizens of being agents for the USSR for even uttering anything like acceptance of socialism in any form…..and in the 1950’s that was brought out into the light with the arrest of the Rosenbergs as Russian spies.

………a lengthy and controversial espionage case. In 1950, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Julius Rosenberg (1918–53), an electrical engineer who had worked (1940–45) for the U.S. army signal corps, and his wife Ethel (1916–53); they were indicted for conspiracy to transmit classified military information to the Soviet Union. In the trial that followed (Mar., 1951), the government charged that in 1944 and 1945 the Rosenbergs had persuaded Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass—an employee at the Los Alamos atomic bomb project—to provide them and a third person, Harry Gold, with top-secret data on nuclear weapons. The chief evidence against the Rosenbergs came from Greenglass and his wife, Ruth.

Both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty (1951) and received the death sentence; Morton Sobell, a codefendant, received a 30-year prison term, as did Harry Gold; and David Greenglass was later sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Despite many court appeals and pleas for executive clemency, the Rosenbergs were executed on June 19, 1953. They became the first U.S. civilians to suffer the death penalty in an espionage trial.

The case aroused much controversy. Many claimed that the political climate made a fair trial impossible and that the only seriously incriminating evidence had come from a confessed spy; others questioned the value of the information transmitted to the Soviet Union and argued that the death penalty was too severe. Communists in the United States and abroad organized a campaign to save the Rosenbergs and received the support of many liberals and religious leaders.

I have read many sources of the trial over the years and in my mind some of the “evidence” was a bit hinkey, at best……..but now there is some new news on Ethel Rosenberg…….

The newly released 1950 grand jury testimony of David Greenglass, who helped cement the executions of his brother-in-law and sister Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, offers new evidence that Ethel was innocent in the most intense spying case of the Cold War. Both Rosenbergs were convicted of conspiring to steal atomic secrets for the Soviet Union in 1951 after Greenglass said he saw Ethel transcribing information he gave the Rosenbergs—gained while serving as an Army machinist at the Manhattan Project HQ—on a typewriter in 1945. Both Rosenbergs were sent to the electric chair in 1953, though Greenglass, who spent almost 10 years in prison as a co-conspirator, later admitted he lied. In the 46-page transcript of testimony given six months before Greenglass implicated Ethel, her brother said he never spoke about the data with Ethel, only with Julius and his own wife, Ruth, reports the Guardian.

Greenglass’ testimony, ordered released after his death last year and unsealed yesterday, doesn’t disprove his later claim, reports the New York Times. He actually noted Ethel was present at key meetings, reports Politico. However, after he described Julius receiving a silver Omega watch from Russian agents and was asked if Ethel ever mentioned commendations, he said, “My sister has never spoken to me about this subject.” He said Julius discussed Greenglass staying in the Army to pass on more information, but added, “Honestly, this is a fact: I never spoke to my sister about this at all.” “There was never really any solid evidence that she had been involved in any part of espionage,” says an author on the subject. “It just confirms this idea that the government was using her, imprisoning her to get at Julius Rosenberg.” Some say it was Ruth Greenglass who typed notes for Julius to forward to the Soviets, and her husband lied to protect her.

The execution of an innocent person is nothing new in this country……

 

Israel: With A Friend Like This….. Who Needs An Enemy?

I have written many times that Israel is NOT our friend…..what we are is a tool they need to do whatever they want with impunity in the Middle East.  So far their plan is working expertly.  They have our politicians in a nut vice with campaign funding…..they have the media in their pocket and they have a mislead public in the US firmly on their side….for whatever reason whether Biblical or just ignorance.

There have been many cases where Israeli intelligence has spied on the country that was their friend.  The most notable is this guy name pollock who was caught then convicted for spying on the US for Israel….he was an American spying on his own country….what would you call him?

Then most recently it has come to light that Israeli intelligence was listening in on Sec. Kerry’s phone conversations during the last failed Middle East peace talks….and so far the US has only called Israel out in the smallest of terms….

And now with the Snowden hack job of the NSA more has come to light about our good friends in Israel…….as reported in Newsweek…

Israel was singled out in 2007 as a top espionage threat against the U.S. government, including its intelligence services, in a newly published National Security Agency (NSA) document obtained by fugitive leaker Edward Snowden, according to a news report Monday.

The document also identified Israel, along with North Korea, Cuba and India, as a “leading threat” to the infrastructure of U.S. financial and banking institutions.

In a section of the document headed “Foreign Intelligence, Counterintelligence; Denial & Deception Activities: Countering Foreign Intelligence Threats,” Israel was listed as a leading perpetrator of “espionage/intelligence collection operations and manipulation/influence operations…against U.S. government, military, science & technology and Intelligence Community” organs.

The term “manipulation/influence operations” refers to covert attempts by Israel to sway U.S. public opinion in its favor. In this, Israel has dubious company, according to the NSA: Other leading threats were listed as China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, France, Venezuela and South Korea.

Now ….with a friend like this who needs enemies.

Israel is NOT the friend that most Americans think they are…..and have shown they will step on anybody to get what they want regardless of the tactics and the good old US of A is high on their list.

All this blind obedience to Israel needs to come to an end….they are NOT the friend and ally you thought they were……time to stop treating them as if they were something special….they are not and never were.

Are You Pissed By The NSA?

Of course you are…..we all, well most of the country, was pissed to learn that the NSA maybe spying on citizens of the US.  Old farts like me were not surprised at all….we have been the subject of many spy programs from the 1960’s and 70’s……but No one remembers those days they just think that their little lives are the only ones that will be effected…..

And then there was the revelation that the US may be spying on our allies like Germany…..and that started a whole other conversation…..why should we be spying on our closest allies?  Right?

Dumb question!  That sort of thing has been going on long before the NSA tapped into Germany’s little lives…..then we ask why would we do such a thing?  Laughable at best.  It goes on all the time…..for example….the US closest ally has been spying on the US for decades……

Who?  ISRAEL, that’s who!

(Newser) – It seems that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t spy oncell phones: During the frenetic and doomed Mideast peace talks last year, John Kerry was furiously working the phones to both Israel and the Palestinians—and as der Spiegel reports in an exclusive that cites “reliable sources,” he had an audience. It seems that at the height, Kerry made some calls using unencrypted satellite phones, and Israeli intelligence—along with “at least one other intelligence service”— listened in and used the intel to their advantage.

The talks fell apart in April, but Israelis may not have liked what they heard: As Spiegel notes, relations between Benjamin Netanyahu and Kerry appear to have soured, and Kerry is taking no small amount of criticism from Israel in the current crisis. Neither the State Department nor Jerusalem would comment. But then again, it’s not that unusual, right, Mr. Secretary?

And that is just the most recent …….Ever hear of a guy named Pollock?

An American citizen that is currently in prison for espionage………he was spying on his country for Israel…….

And question what?  There is NO outrage that Israel is doing this……why does Israel seem to always get a pass on whatever it is they do?  I think the US should pick its allies more consistent with our national interests.

I have heard No one pissing and moaning about this breech of trust…..have you?  With that said, why is Israel allowed to function unchallenged?  Yes, money has a lot to do with it, but I think there is more to it than that……I just have not been able to pinpoint the reason…..as of yet.

Patriot Or Traitor?

I have been reading blogs….listening to news reports…..and reading lots of news…..all in an attempt to get an handle on this Snowden dude…..

We all have our opinions about this Snowden dude….the guy who worked for NSA for 2 weeks and took abounch of info that he has released through a journalist enabler……I have heard him called a patriot because he exposed the NSA and their dastardly techniques of checking for terrorists…..and then there is those that think him some sort of traitor for his antics……but that is for the individual to decide which Snowden is….the patriot or the traitor.

There are a few things to consider….one Ellsberg released the Pentagon papers and stood up for what he believed…Snowden ran away to hide and then released his so-called information.  Manning, you know the Army PFC that got and then released a bunch of Pentagon stuff on line….he stood and faced the consequences….Snowden ran to China another bastion of democracy and freedom (sarcasm, in case it was missed)…….

Then there is the report that Snowden had 4 laptops with information and he allowed either China or Russia to check out the hard drives……that is right….RUSSIA…..(another bastion of freedom and democracy…sarcasm once again……..).  That does not sound like someone that has the concern of American’s public best interests…..does it to you?

The story says that Snowden has gone from China to Russia then on to Cuba and finally to Ecuador……his final destination because of the extradition that is non-existent……any time a person allows state secrets fall into the hands of foreign entities then that person is a traitor!  No matter how one tries to justify the actions….a traitor is a traitor!

Sorry….none of that sounds like a patriot…..but it does sound like a traitor on the run looking for a safe haven!

No amount of justification can turn this act into something patriotic.

If Manning is a traitor….then Snowden is worse….why?  He was a coward and fled…..he could not be bothered with standing on principle….my guess is that he, Snowden, is looking for the most lucrative spot to settle down……

Let us hear from the public….is this guy a….patriot or traitor?

The Height Of Paranoia

Humor is where you find it!  And then there is the absurd…….

Remember last year when a flock of Russian spies were uncovered, especially the sexy red head (oh so much I could say on that)…..you have seen all the gadgets on the 007 movies which enhances the operatives effectiveness…..but now there is a great twist to this……

BBC News is reporting…….

Saudi Arabian officials have “detained” a vulture on accusations of being a spy for Israel, media reports say.

The griffon vulture was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the name of Tel Aviv University, prompting rumours it was part of a Zionist plot.

Last month, Egyptian officials implied the Israeli spy agency Mossad was to blame for shark attacks off its coast.

In December, the governor of Egypt’s South Sinai province, Mohamed Abdul Fadil Shousha, suggested the spy agency may have had a hand in a string of deadly shark attacks off the coast of the Sharm el-Sheikh resort.The vulture, which can have a wing span of up to 265cm (8ft 8in), was caught after it landed in the desert city of Hyaal a few days ago.

When locals discovered the GPS transmitter, they suspected the worst and handed it over to the security forces, said Israel’s Ma’ariv newspaper.

Conspiracy theories quickly began circulating in Saudi newspapers and on websites that the bird was involved in espionage.

This would give a whole new definition to the term “bird’s eye view”……..

Strolling For Dollars

It began a little over a year ago….three friends working in Iraq in or near the Kurdish area that borders on Iran…decide to go for a stroll in the mountains and valleys for a little R & R……then while marveling at the beauty of the area they were arrested by the Iranians for they had strayed into a no-no zone….into Iran…and accused of spying…..

After much international exposure and the promise that one of the crew was ill and needed medical attention…..one of the wayward hikers was released and returned home to their loved ones and a country that was so concerned about their welfare….it seems that some Omani potentate was the go between that got the person released after someone (no one knows who) posted the $500,000 dollar bail…..and the person left Iran for the West and freedom…..and after a clean bill of health and a massive debriefing the person is now on just about every network telling the world what was what…..

And now the world can worry and fret over the fate of the two remaining prisoners in Iran……

Now that I have covered most of the events of this saga, even though it is a bit simplistic, I would like to comment on what started this whole magilla……the promise of a stroll in the country………

Okay….for one, the border between Iran and Iraq is NOT clearly marked, especially in the area that these people wanted to take their stroll…..actually, it is pretty much a no-man’s land since the days of the war between the two countries……with this known and almost everybody who is in the area knows this, why would someone want to tempt fate and hike along this area?

There are two possible answers to this quandary….one…these people were just plain STUPID, if this is the case then maybe whoever they worked for should be a little more selective in their employees and the mental capacities….. and two…..they were actually spying or at least on some sort of probing action…..

There you go…..you choose which…..BTW, the sound you here is the cashing in on the experience…..