SubscribeThe List: The World’s Top Spy Agencies
January 22, 2008
“With the Cold War long over, the CIA no longer faces any real competition, right? Wrong. The world’s top espionage agencies are as busy as ever. This week, the FP List looks at the countries that best know how to wield a cloak and dagger.” (Foreign Policy)
CIA links al Qaeda, allies to Bhutto attack: paper
January 18, 2008
“The CIA blames al Qaeda and allies of a Pakistani tribal leader for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, CIA Director Michael Hayden said in a Washington Post interview published on Friday.
Hayden’s comments were the most definitive public assessment by a U.S. intelligence official of who was responsible for the assassination of the former Pakistani prime minister and opposition leader on December 27, the Post said, adding that the CIA assessment mirrors that of Pakistan.” (Reuters)
U.S. in middle of cyber war with China, Russia?
January 18, 2008
“The Cold War may be over, but the global battle over information security is heating up, as
The New Yorker magazine published this week an interview with U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Mike McConnell in which it reported that the Defense Department currently is detecting about three million unauthorized probes on its computer networks every day. The State Department fends off two million probes daily, intelligence experts said in the article.” (SC Magazine)
Iran NIE Reopens Intelligence Debate
January 17, 2008
“A National Intelligence Estimate released last month indicating that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 has reopened a simmering debate over how the Bush administration shapes intelligence findings to fit its policy objectives.
But it has also drawn attention to how such intelligence is presented. Buried deep into the 140-page Iran NIE was another conclusion: that Tehran had previously been working to build an nuclear bomb and still had some of the elements for a weapons program.” (NPR)
Tapes Destroyed Over CIA’s Objections
January 16, 2008
“The CIA official who gave the command to destroy interrogation videotapes apparently acted against the direction of his superiors, the top Republican House Intelligence Committee member said Wednesday.”
It appears he hadn’t gotten authority from anyone,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., speaking to reporters after the first day of closed testimony in the committee’s investigation. “It appears he got direction to make sure the tapes were not destroyed.”
Hoekstra said that raises the troubling prospect that there’s a thread of unaccountability in the spy culture.” (AP)
FBI wants instant access to British identity data
January 15, 2008
“Senior British police officials are talking to the FBI about an international database to hunt for major criminals and terrorists.
The US-initiated programme, “Server in the Sky”, would take cooperation between the police forces way beyond the current faxing of fingerprints across the Atlantic. Allies in the “war against terror” - the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - have formed a working group, the International Information Consortium, to plan their strategy.” (Guardian)
No Immunity, No Testimony
January 15, 2008
“Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., the former Central Intelligence Agency official who ordered the destruction of interrogation videotapes in 2005, will not be required to appear on Wednesday at a closed Congressional hearing on the matter but may be called to testify later, an official briefed on the inquiry said Monday.
Mr. Rodriguez, who led the agency’s clandestine service in 2005 and recently retired, has demanded immunity before he will agree to testify before the House Intelligence Committee. The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the destruction of the videotapes, which recorded harsh interrogations of two suspected Qaeda figures.” (NYT)
Scientists oppose move to restrict satellite data
January 13, 2008
“Ten years ago, a Canadian icebreaker was deliberately parked in an ice pack 300 miles north of Barrow and allowed to drift as scientists studied the Arctic environment and the effects of global warming.
Among those tracking the icebreaker were top-secret U.S. spy satellites. With the OK of a little-noticed but influential government committee known as the Civil Applications Committee, those reconnaissance photos were eventually released to scientists.” (News Tribune)
OU to build virtual world for Columbus Police with Homeland Security grant money
November 8, 2007
Ohio University’s School of Telecommunications and Game Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Lab have won a two-year, $702,000 grant to create a virtual world capable of making the real world safer.
The grant will help fund development of interactive digital environments in 30 high-profile Columbus buildings or sites that could be most susceptible to terrorist attacks, hostage situations or other critical incidents. The funding comes from the Urban Area Security Initiative Terrorism Early Warning Group, a unit of the Columbus Division of Police.
“The GRID Lab development, the multimedia staff and curriculum there fit in well with our purposes for our homeland security project,” said Lt. Fred Bowditch, head of the Terrorism Early Warning Group. “The eagerness of the staff, the knowledge of the staff and the product they can produce are what sold us on Ohio University.” (The Athens News)