FAS | Intelligence | News | 1998 ||||

July 1998 Intelligence News

• Human Rights and Intelligence Reform by Carlos M. Salinas, Amnesty International In Focus: Volume 3, Number 20 July 1998 -- A Project of the Institute for Policy Studies and the Interhemispheric Resource Center
• Det. 2 folds flag after 5-year run - SMC organization now an OL 31 July 1998 - After five years at Onizuka Air Station, Detachment 2, Space and Missile Systems Center, inactivated during a formal ceremony Thursday.
• SA SPIES JOIN POLICE IN FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION (African National Congress Daily News Briefing - 31 July 1998) The fight against corruption in South Africa has gained a powerful new ally in the shape of the formidable National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the South African Secret Service (SASS). The organisations have been given a mandate to investigate the activities of organised crime syndicates and corruption in state institutions at any level. External incidents of corruption or irregularities involving state assets overseas come under the auspices of the Secret Service.
• AFOSI moves to new headquarters (AFNS) July 30, 1998 -- Half a century after it set up shop in downtown Washington, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations moves to new offices at Andrews Air Force Base. The command has been at Bolling Air Force Base, D.C., since 1979.
• Security warning hits PM's schedule, austerity plan By Kamran Khan The News 30 July 1998 -- Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's public appearances had to be drastically cut and his plan to present himself as an example of the government's austerity drive was shelved early this month as an intelligence agency picked up signals that warranted maximum and fool-proof security measures for the premier.
• Police ordered to release spy files The Age 30 July 1998 -- Victoria Police has failed in a bid to introduce a blanket policy of neither confirming nor denying the existence of secret intelligence files under freedom-of-information laws. The FoI requests were among a large number lodged after The Age revealed in October that the covert police Operations Intelligence Unit had spied on individuals and infiltrated mainstream community groups.
• MI5 open up: a bit ITN Online 29 July 1998 -- MI5 formally stated for the first time that it had never investigated people simply because they were members of trade unions or campaigning organisations. The rest of the active files concern foreign nationals, said to be typically members of foreign intelligence services or terrorist groups.
• MI5 site - the secret's out! Chris Nuttall BBC 29 July 1998 -- The secretive British Security Service MI5 has gone public with its own official Website. The new site itself does not give much away. "Please note that it is important from the outset that you should be discreet about your interest in joining the Service," says the careers page.
• The Security Service (MI5) This is the official web site for the Security Service, commonly known as MI5. For experienced IT professionals, MI5 is seeking a minimum of 18 months' experience in bespoke software development
• The Security Service (MI5) This is the un-official web site for the Security Service, commonly known as MI5.
• INDIA / MILITANTS Voice of America 29 July 1998 -- IN INDIA'S REMOTE NORTHEASTERN STATE OF ASSAM EIGHT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED AND 19 OTHERS WOUNDED IN A POWERFUL BOMB EXPLOSION. POLICE ARE BLAMING THE ATTACK ON BODO TRIBAL GUERRILLAS.
• TEXT: KRAMER TESTIMONY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDONESIA 24 July 1998 -- The Department of Defense supports U.S. engagement with the Indonesian defense establishment to promote stability and improved human rights in Indonesia, according to Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Franklin Kramer.
• Former CIA agent pleads guilty to extortion charge, avoids trial Philadelphia Inquirer 28 July 1998 -- Douglas Groat had been charged with espionage. He agreed to cooperate with the government. Groat agreed to help the government sort out whether his activities during or after his tenure at the CIA breached national security. And he agreed to submit any books, articles or interviews to federal officials for security review.
• OUTER SPACE -- CLEAN UP YOUR ACT by Amnon Barzilai, Ha'aretz, July 28, 1998, p. B3 -- In recent months a special team has been analyzing the Ofek-4 launch failure in January. It is not clear when the next launch will be. Meanwhile, the consolation is the unexpected longevity of Ofek-3.
• RUSSIA DISMISSAL Voice of America 28 July 1998 PRIME MINISTER SERGEI KIRIYENKO HAS PRAISED RUSSIA'S FORMER SPY CHIEF, TWO DAYS AFTER THE OFFICIAL WAS ABRUPTLY FIRED BY PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN.
• Daily News 28 July 1998 -- The Home Minister has held Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence ISI responsible for the bomb blasts in Delhi and elsewhere in the country.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing , JULY 27, 1998 - MR. RUBIN: The United States has made very clear that the war criminals indicted by the international tribunal belong in one place and only one place, and that's The Hague, to face prosecution for the horrendous war crimes and crimes against humanity and other crimes that they have committed. QUESTION: Maybe you can address - there is a fairly fantastic figure in that of the cost of this alleged operation $100 million of the American taxpayers' -- MR. RUBIN: I don't have any information on cost.
• PAK KILLINGS Voice of America 26 July 1998 - AUTHORITIES TRY TO CRACK DOWN ON GROWING POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN'S LARGEST CITY. THE M-Q-M BLAMES THE VIOLENCE ON THE BREAKAWAY GROUP -- AND ON INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES SYMPATHETIC TO ITS RIVAL.
• About 2 Million People Attacked or Threatened In the Workplace Every Year , July 26, 1998 -- About 2 million people a year were victims of violent crime or threatened violent crime in the workplace from 1992 through 1996, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today.
• Workplace Violence, 1992-96 Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report July 1998, NCJ 168634 -- By Greg Warchol, BJS Statistician -- Data from the National Crime Victimization Surveys (NCVS) for 1992-96 indicate that during each year U.S. residents experienced more than 2 million violent victimizations while they were working or on duty.
• NYPD 'SPIES' TO REPORT DIRECTLY TO COMMISH MURRAY WEISS The New York Post 25 July 1998 - In a dramatic shift, Police Commissioner Howard Safir has placed the super-secret Intelligence Division directly under his command. The change - Intelligence was previously part of the NYPD's detective bureau - was prompted partly by the recent violent rally by construction workers that caught the department off-guard.
• Big Brother is kind enough to collect - and read - your e-mail for you By JAMES MEEK The Guardian 25/07/98 -- Russia's secret police would be able to monitor, in real time, every e-mail message and Web page sent or received by Russians under a project, code-named Sorm, which is alarming the country's growing number of Internet users.
• PALESTINIAN CONVICTED OF PLANNING TO BOMB BROOKLYN SUBWAY STATION ISRAEL LINE FRIDAY, JULY 24, 1998 A United States federal jury convicted Palestinian immigrant Gazi Ibrahim Abu Maizar on Thursday of plotting to bomb a crowded subway station in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn.
• THE ATTACKS ACCORDING TO IDF INTELLIGENCE, - THE ATTACKS ACCORDING TO THE GSS by Ron Ben-Yishai, Yediot Ahronot, 24.7.98, Shabbat Supplement, p. 12) The attack this week in Jerusalem has reawakened a long-running debate between IDF Intelligence and the General Security Service (GSS). Among intelligence assessment officers in both organizations, there has been a professional disagreement regarding the extent of influence held by Hamas' political and religious leadership over the attack policy.
• LOCKERBIE TRIAL Voice of America 24 July 1998 THE SUSPECTS IN THE 1988 PAN AM AIRCRAFT BOMBING OVER LOCKERBIE IN SCOTLAND MAY FINALLY COME TO TRIAL.
• THE BRITISH SECRET SERVICE HAD A PLAN TO ASSASSINATE THE GERMAN LEADER, ADOLF HITLER PAKISTAN TELEVISION 24 July 1998
• SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE (SOE): RELEASE OF RECORDS 23 July 1998 -- The sixth set of Special Operations Executive (SOE) records, covering wartime operations in Western Europe, will be released at the Public Record Office (PRO) at Kew on 23 July 1998.
• Special Operations Executive in Western Europe Documents Released on 23rd July 1998 - The release of Special Operations Executive material represents one of the largest releases to date of files of the organisation. Files relating to policy and operations in Austria, Belgium, the Channel Islands, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Spanish Morocco and Switzerland during the Second World War have been made available for the first time.
• Russian secret police want to monitor Internet (NandoTimes.com, 22 July 1998) -- The Russian secret police would be able to monitor, in real time, every e-mail message and Web page sent or received by Russians under a project codenamed "SORM" which is alarming the country's growing host of Internet users. SORM -- the acronym for "system for ensuring investigative activity" -- would force all providers of Internet services to install a snooping device in their main computers and build a dedicated information superhighway connecting it with the security agency FSB.
• LOCKERBIE / BRITAIN Voice of America 22 July 1988 - THE UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN ARE LOOKING AT WAYS TO BRING TO TRIAL TWO LIBYAN SUSPECTS IN A SCOTTISH COURT, SET UP OUTSIDE SCOTLAND.
• IRAN / INTERIOR MINISTER Voice of America 22 July 1988 - IRAN'S PARLIAMENT APPROVED THE APPOINTMENT OF A NEW INTERIOR MINISTER. THE APPOINTMENT IS BEING HAILED AS A VICTORY FOR MODERATE PRESIDENT MOHAMMED KHATAMI
• OPERATION TAILWIND Voice of America 22 July 1998 - TWO U-S TELEVISION PRODUCERS OF A REPORT FOR THE CABLE NEWS NETWORK (C-N-N), ALLEGING U-S FORCES USED LETHAL NERVE GAS TO KILL DEFECTORS IN LAOS DURING THE VIETNAM WAR, ARE STANDING BY THEIR STORY.
• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE REVIEW OF ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING "OPERATION TAILWIND" JULY 21, 1998
• COHEN FINDS NO BASIS FOR CNN/TIME ALLEGATIONS ON "TAILWIND" July 21, 1998
• Secretary Cohen's Operation TAILWIND Press Conference , July 21, 1998
• DoD News Briefing Operation TAILWIND Tuesday, July 21, 1998 - (Participating in the briefing are Rudy de Leon, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and General Jack Singlaub (Ret.), former commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam - Special Operations Group (MACV-SOG)).
• PENTAGON REVIEW REFUTES CNN/TIME ALLEGATIONS ON U.S. SARIN USE By Susan Ellis USIA 21 July 1998 -- Defense Secretary Cohen presented the results on July 21 of a month-long Pentagon investigation which he says proves unequivocally that the United States never used Sarin nerve gas in Southeast Asia.
• TRANSCRIPT: CLINTON COMMENTS PANAM BOMBING, NERVE GAS REPORT 21 July 1998 -- President Clinton says the United States is working on ways to bring to justice the perpetrators of the bombing of a Pan American plane over Lockerbie, Scotland ten years ago.
• U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing , JULY 21, 1998 TERRORISM / LIBYA PanAm #103 Suspects: Exploration of Possible Trial in Scottish Court Outside Scotland / Ensuring Judicial Standards in Third Country / Libyan Compliance Effectiveness of Sanctions / Libyan Obligations Under UN Resolutions / US Policy Qadhafi's Health Secretary's Conference Call Today to Families of Bombing Victims / Families' Reactions Communications With Libyan Govt
• PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRY July 21, 1998 - MCCURRY: We believe that the perpetrators should be tried before a U.S. or Scottish court, and we have said so consistently. We've explored alternative ways of accomplishing that objective, but we haven't found any satisfactory way to do so yet.
• PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRYJuly 21, 1998 - The Attorney General requested the waiver from the 1995 executive order's requirements for automatic declassification. That exemption does not mean that the records will not be eventually declassified and, in fact, the FBI is committed to undertaking a systematic review in order to declassify as many of them as possible.
• TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES THE WHITE HOUSE -- July 21, 1998 -- Report to the Congress on the developments concerning the national emergency with respect to terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process.
• Confusion over security guidelines By GARY HUGHES The Age 21 July 1998 -- A review of Victoria Police covert intelligence operations and an audit of 20,000 files and documents held on community groups and individuals was prompted by articles published in The Age, a Government tribunal was told yesterday. But Sergeant Joy said he was unaware which files had been earmarked for destruction.
• 5 Diplomats to Leave Russia; Seoul, Moscow to Even Number of Intelligence Officers Chon Shi-yong Korea Herald 21 July 1998 -- South Korea and Russia have agreed that the Seoul government will bring home five more diplomats from Russia. According to officials the two countries made the decision in order to even out the number of intelligence officers on each side. Russia raised the issue of balancing the number of intelligence officers in the two countries in apparent reaction to the Korean expulsion of one of its diplomats stationed in Seoul. The dispute was the most serious diplomatic row between South Korea and Russia since they established full diplomatic ties in 1990.
• DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAMRE SPEECH FORTUNE 500 CIO FORUM Tuesday, July 21, 1998 -- This country is wide open to attack electronically. I do not believe that it's more important to protect ourselves against terrorists if it means it comes at the expense of civil liberties in the United States. But I also don't believe that civil libertarians or cyber libertarians have a right to say we as a government have no responsibility to protect American society against criminals or terrorists.
• CNN - NERVE GAS - PREVIEW Voice of America 20 July 1998 -- A PENTAGON INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGATIONS THAT U-S FORCES USED NERVE GAS DURING THE VIETNAM WAR IS DUE TO BE RELEASED TUESDAY.
• RUSSIA / S. KOREA DIPLOMAT EXPULSIONS Voice of America 20 July 1998 -- RUSSIA HAS EJECTED FIVE MORE SOUTH KOREAN THE MOVE FOLLOWS TIT-FOR-TAT EXPULSIONS OF DIPLOMATS EARLIER THIS MONTH.
• Pak. pumping in advanced arms into J&K The Hindu 20-07-1998 :: Pg: 14 Pakistan is pumping in increasingly sophisticated arms, ranging from Chinese-made rocket launchers and anti-aircraft machine guns to U.S.-made anti-armour weapons, in a calculated bid to step up its proxy war to wrest Kashmir.
• Govt in a bind over Jain Action Taken Report The Hindustan Times 20 July 1998 -- "After six years of investigations and several extensions, we have nothing concrete to proceed against" point out the Government sources. "We don't know where to look�CIA, LTTE, Mossad, DMK�all are under suspicion but nothing to go on."
• Pentagon's elite forces may train Chinese Army The Hindustan Times 20 July 1998 -- The United States is considering a proposal to train China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers by the Pentagon's elite special forces soldiers as part of the military-to-military exchanges under the evolving Sino-US strategic partnership, media reports say
• Evidence against 6 Iraqis disputed Vernon Loeb Detroit News 7/19/98 -- Declassified U.S. government evidence used to charge and detain six Iraqi opposition members is so flawed and inconsistent that national security charges lodged against them by the Immigration and Naturalization Service should be dismissed, attorneys representing the Iraqis said last week.
• Body on beach sets off spy hunt By JOHN LARKIN Sydney Morning Herald 18/07/98 -- Military experts estimate the North sends dozens of spy submarines into South Korean waters every year on missions to drop off or pick up agents, or to conduct surveillance of sensitive military installations along the coastline.
• Clinton wants power to oust Saddam, paper says (Reuters) 07/17/1998 � The Clinton administration is seeking approval from Congress for covert operations to weaken and potentially oust Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. According to the newspaper, the broad new authority "would go far beyond past CIA efforts" to spawn internal resistance and to mount covert operations inside Iraq.
• TRANSCRIPT: WHITE HOUSE PRESS GAGGLE IN MCCURRY'S OFFICE 17 July 1998 -- Q: Mike, there are reports that the White House is looking to topple Saddam Hussein? MCCURRY: I don't comment on covert operations; that's why they're called covert operations.
• Should America worry about missiles again? BY BRUCE B. AUSTER U.S. News 7/27/98 -- If Iran decided today to build a ballistic missile for an attack on New York, the weapon could be ready to launch in as little as five years--not the 12 years previously estimated. That is the unanimous conclusion of an independent commission granted unprecedented access to the CIA's secrets about the foreign ballistic missile threat to American territory.
• Peres accuses Likud of blood libel By MICHAL YUDELMAN The Jeruslaem Post - July 17, 1998 23 Tammuz 5758 - Labor Party leaders yesterday furiously rejected the statement, attributed to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, that the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and former prime minister Shimon Peres had blocked a probe into Nahum Manbar's affairs because he had made contributions to Labor.
• Top military officers demoted following spy infiltration scare By JOHN LARKIN Sydney Morning Herald 17/07/98 -- South Korea demoted three top military officers yesterday amid growing alarm at two incursions by North Korean agents in less than three weeks. A two-star admiral, a two two-star general and a one-star general were purged from the top echelons as a manhunt failed to find any trace of two communist spies believed to be at large on the east coast.
• CIA Postpones Release of Papers By John Diamond Associated Press , July 17, 1998 -- The release of classified CIA files on covert operations in Italy, France, Tibet and elsewhere will have to wait, the agency says. John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists rejected the cost argument. ``There's always money to do things they want to do.''
• NORTH KOREA SPY / U-N Voice of America 17 July 1998 -- SOUTH KOREA HAS SENT A LETTER TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL SEEKING INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OF TWO RECENT NORTH KOREAN INCURSIONS INTO THE SOUTH.
• ARGENTINA BOMBING Voice of America 17 July 1998 -- RELATIVES OF THE 86 PEOPLE KILLED IN THE BOMBING OF THE JEWISH CULTURAL CENTER IN BUENOS AIRES FOUR YEARS AGO HAVE OBSERVED THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATTACK WITH A FRESH CALL FOR JUSTICE.
• MILITARY EXPERT DIES Voice of America 17 July 1998 -- FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ARE BEING PLANNED FOR COLONEL REX APPLEGATE, A COMBAT AND COUNTER-TERRORISM EXPERT WHOSE CAREER INCLUDED DUTIES AS A PRESIDENTIAL GUARD AND COMMANDO LEADER IN NAZI-OCCUPIED EUROPE. HE WAS THE AUTHOR OF "KILL OR GET KILLED" AND "CROWD AND RIOT CONTROL."
• SECRET SERVICE / GRAND JURY TESTIMONY Voice of America 17 July 1998 -- THE FACT THAT U-S SECRET SERVICE AGENTS CAN NOW BE CALLED TO TESTIFY ABOUT A PRESIDENT'S PRIVATE MOMENTS HAS RAISED A DEBATE OVER WHETHER THIS COULD JEOPARDIZE WHITE HOUSE SECURITY IN THE FUTURE.
• MEMORANDUM FOR CORRESPONDENTSNo. 121-M July 16, 1998 -- Department of Defense announced today the possible sale to the Government of Saudi Arabia of services for the continuation of the U.S. supported effort to modernize the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) by providing training and support services. The prime contractor will be Vinnell Corp., Fairfax, Va
• CUBA FOUNDATION / TIMES Voice of America 16 July 1998 -- AN INFLUENTIAL CUBAN EXILE GROUP IN THE UNITED STATES SAYS IT WILL SUE THE NEW YORK TIMES FOR ARTICLES THIS WEEK LINKING THE GROUP'S LATE FOUNDER TO AN ANTI-CASTRO ACTIVIST INVOLVED IN TERRORIST ACTIVITIES.
• KURDS / U-S / IRAQ Voice of America 16 July 1998 -- SENIOR IRAQI KURDISH OFFICIALS AND U-S DIPLOMATS HAVE ACCUSED THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT OF PROVIDING TRAINING FACILITIES FOR TURKISH KURD REBELS OF THE KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY.
• Andhra anti-Naxal Bill put on hold The Hindustan Times 16 July 1998 -- The Andhra Pradesh Government appears to have put on hold the proposed special legislation to tackle Naxalite activities in the wake of uproar over its far-reaching provisions reminiscent of the repealed TADA.
• FRANCE SYRIA Voice of America 16 July 1998 -- RELATIONS BETWEEN FRANCE AND SYRIA HAVE OFTEN BEEN TENSE. THEY WERE AT THEIR WORST AFTER THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO LEBANON WAS ASSASSINATED IN BEIRUT IN 1981 BY GUNMEN WHO OPENED FIRE WITHIN SIGHT OF A SYRIAN ARMY CHECKPOINT.
• STATEMENT BY DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM S. COHEN ON THE RUMSFELD REPORT July 15, 1998 "We continue to maintain the world's most capable nuclear and conventional forces to deter aggression against the United States and its allies. No one should doubt our ability and determination to respond with decisive force to a missile attack."
• CONGRESS - MISSILE THREAT Voice of America 15 July 1998 -- A NEW REPORT SAYS THE BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT FACING THE UNITED STATES IS GROWING...AND WEAPONS CAPABLE OF HITTING AMERICAN SOIL COULD BE DEPLOYED WITH LITTLE WARNING.
• SEN. SHELBY COMMENTS ON RUMSFELD COMMISSION REPORT ON MISSILE THREAT AND INTELLIGENCE SHORTFALLS July 15, 1998
• DCI Statement on Declassification 15 July 1998 -- The demands for declassification review far exceed the capabilities of the personnel who are available under current budgetary limitations to perform it. I am announcing today the priorities that will guide the Agency's historical declassification efforts for the foreseeable future. We will address the remaining five covert actions identified by my predecessors as soon as the others have been completed. The fact is, we do not have sufficient resources at the current time to review the documentation involved in these five remaining covert actions.
• Letter Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet sent to members of Congress regarding the Rumsfeld Commission's report 15 July 1998 -- Our 1998 report also noted that a country could purchase an ICBM or space launch vehicle, or a turnkey facility to produce either--events that could lead to deployments in as little as a few months to a few years. Although our report made the analytic judgment that such developments were unlikely, this does not mean that we minimize the threat.
• INTERVIEW WITH JOHN HOLUM ON U.S. SECURITY POLICY U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda 15 July 1998 -- We know that countries like Iran, Iraq, and Libya are pursuing information warfare. We know that our own Department of Defense is under assault -- I think 600 times a week -- by efforts to hack into its computer systems. Some may be through so-called "innocent pranksters," although there is nothing funny about it, and some may be deliberate attempts to corrupt.
• CLINTON SCANDAL / RENO Voice of America 15 July 1998 -- ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO IS DEFENDING HER REFUSAL TO APPOINT A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO HEAD UP THE INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING VIOLATIONS BY DEMOCRATS DURING THE 1996 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
• IRAN POL Voice of America 15 July 1998 -- IRAN'S PRESIDENT HAS NOMINATED (EDS: WEDNESDAY) A NEW INTERIOR MINISTER TO REPLACE THE ONE IMPEACHED LAST MONTH.
• KOREA / INFILTRATOR Voice of America 15 July 1998 -- THE SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT IS DEMANDING AN APOLOGY FROM COMMUNIST NORTH KOREA FOR RECENT SPY MISSIONS AIMED AT THE SOUTH.
• Ballistic Missile Threat and U.S. Policy (7/14/98) -- The IC stands by its most recent assessment of Foreign Missile Developments, as provide to the Congress in March of 1998. In this regard, it remains the view of the IC that it is unlikely the countries other than Russia, China and perhaps North Korea, will deploy an ICBM capable of reaching any part of the U.S. before 2010.
• KOREA / INFILTRATION Voice of America 14 July 1998 -- SEOUL AND PYONGYANG ARE TRADING BLAME FOR AN APPARENT INFILTRATION INTO SOUTH KOREA BY A NORTH KOREAN COMMANDO.
• CUBAN EXILE DENIAL Voice of America 14 July 1998 -- CONTROVERSY IS GROWING OVER TWO REPORTS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWSPAPER WHICH SAY AN INFLUENTIAL CUBAN-EXILE ORGANIZATION BASED IN THE UNITED STATES FINANCED A SERIES OF BOMBINGS LAST YEAR IN CUBA.
• CUBA / U-S LOBBY GROUP Voice of America 14 July 1998 -- IN AN UNUSUAL MOVE, SOME PROMINENT CUBAN-AMERICANS IN FLORIDA HAVE FORMED A GROUP TO PRESS FOR LEGISLATION LIFTING U-S RESTRICTIONS ON THE SALE OF FOOD AND MEDICINE TO CUBA.
• BOMB SUSPECT Voice of America 14 July 1998 -- ONE OF THE MOST WANTED FUGITIVES IN THE UNITED STATES, ERIC ROBERT RUDOLPH, WHO AUTHORITIES SAY IS THE MAN BEHIND A SERIES OF BOMBINGS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, HAS BEEN SIGHTED IN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.
• ARGENTINA GENERAL Voice of America 14 July 1998 -- A FEDERAL JUDGE IN ARGENTINA HAS ORDERED FORMER MILITARY DICTATOR JORGE VIDELA HELD WITHOUT BAIL UNTIL HIS TRIAL ON CHARGES OF AUTHORIZING BABY-STEALING TWO DECADES AGO.
• INDIA/DEFENSE Voice of America 14 July 1998 -- INDIAN DEFENSE AUTHORITIES HAVE ORGANIZED AN EXHIBITION IN NEW DELHI DISPLAYING WEAPONS WHICH THEY SAY WERE SUPPLIED BY PAKISTAN TO KASHMIRI SEPARATISTS.
• DoD News Briefing Tuesday, July 14, 1998 - The Washington Post, in a series of articles that began Sunday, examined the JCET program and the training by U.S. Special Forces, joint training in other countries, and raised questions about whether or not these programs have sufficient oversight and scrutiny.
• Internal security scenario grim, says Home Secy Hindustan Times 14 July 1998 -- The Home Ministry has painted a grim picture of the country's internal security, stating that 210 out of 535 districts are affected by insurgency, ethnic conflict, extremism, caste clashes and other crises.
• Congress, the State Dept, & the Iraqi Opposition Iraq News, 14 July 1998 -- Last Mon, Jul 6, Asst Sec State for NEA, Martin Indyk, met Senate staffers to report on the State Dept's program to support the democratic Iraqi opposition, as mandated by recent Congressional legislation. The discussion was acrimonious. Congress has said, or came very close to saying, that it wants a policy that seeks Saddam's overthrow, not merely his "containment," through US support for an insurgency. But the administration does not want to back an insurgency.
• Back to Square One Iraq News, 14 July 1998 -- The administration document outlining its plans to assist the democratic Iraqi opposition, "Support for the Democratic Opposition of Iraq," is a taxpayer would hope, a work in progress. While renewed aid to the democratic Iraqi opposition is imperative, the document leaves many obvious questions unanswered and, more troubling, gives indications that the plan for providing assistance will repeat many of the mistakes that have marked many previous US policies associated with Iraq.
• CIA plans to infiltrate more spies into India The Hindustan Times, July 13, 1998 -- The infiltration of more spies into India and the recruitment of more agents in that country have become top priority for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the wake of its embarrassing failure to detect India's nuclear tests before the scheduled blasts took place in May.
• DOD preps office for cyber defense BY DANIEL M. VERTON Federal Computer Week 13 July 1998 The Defense Department plans to create a new military organization to spearhead DOD's effort to protect the nation's critical computer systems against information warfare attacks. According to Pike, DOD's idea does not appear to be a well-thought-out plan, given all the policy and legal issues surrounding domestic cyber- and NBC defense. "I get nervous when you talk about the Atlantic Command having the same responsibility for Baltimore as it does for Cuba," he said. "Alarm bells should be going off all over the place."
• Terry Allen Answers CAQ Attacks FROM: Terry Allen (editor of CAQ, 1990-May 1998) July 13, 1998 -- The "position paper" by Wolf, Ray, and Schaap contains distortions and lies that are potentially damaging to our reputations and demeaning to the work of not only the staff, but of the hundreds of writers and artists with whom we worked. Even a brief examination of this letter will give you some idea of how they bend and break facts to fit their agenda.
• Supporting Documents from ex-CAQ Staff [also see Response to the messages posted by former employees of Covert Action Quarterly: Bill Blum Mon, 21 Sep 1998]
• FBI Sweet on Crypto Proposal by James Glave Wired News 10:25am 13.Jul.98.PDT -- A new proposal by a computer networking industry group aims to break a long-standing logjam with the Clinton administration over data-scrambling technologies. The plan would give law enforcement agencies access to scrambled, or encrypted, information by placing a "backdoor" into routers -- the actual boxes that shuffle data across the Internet -- and the software that controls them. The plan can be easily thwarted, however. Users concerned about government access to their secrets can scramble their messages at their desktops.
• Thirteen High-Tech Leaders Support Alternative Solution to Network Encryption Stalemate July 13, 1998 -- Thirteen leading high-tech companies today announced support for a 'private doorbell' solution to the network encryption stalemate called 'operator action.' Ten of the 13 companies filed proposals with the U.S. Department of Commerce last week, asking for permission to sell strong encryption products abroad that use operator action technologies.
• N. KOREA / SPY Voice of America 13 July 1998 - SOUTH KOREAN SOLDIERS ARE COMBING THE COUNTRY'S EAST COAST FOR NORTH KOREAN SPIES FOLLOWING THE DISCOVERY OF A DEAD INFILTRATOR ON SUNDAY.
• PENTAGON / PAKISTAN Voice of America 13 July 1998 -- THE U-S DEFENSE DEPARTMENT SAYS A JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE WITH PAKISTAN HAS BEEN PUT ON HOLD FOLLOWING SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON ISLAMABAD IN THE AFTERMATH OF ITS NUCLEAR TESTS.
• U-S/CUBA Voice of America 13 July 1998 -- THE UNITED STATES HAS CONDEMNED VIOLENCE AGAINST CUBA WHETHER THROUGH SUPPORT FROM U-S-BASED GROUPS OR FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.
• PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES CHRISTOPHER W. S. ROSS FOR RANK OF AMBASSADOR THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary July 13, 1998 - The President today announced his intent to nominate Christopher W. S. Ross for the Rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State.
• Computer hackers as terrorists BY DOUGLAS PASTERNAK AND BRUCE B. AUSTER US News 13 July 1998 In a closed briefing to Congress, CIA director George Tenet said at least a dozen countries, some hostile to America, are developing programs to attack other nations' information and computer systems. China, Libya, Russia, Iraq, and Iran are among those deemed a threat. A new National Intelligence Estimate reports at least one instance to date of active cybertargeting of the United States by a foreign nation.
• Africans Use Training in Unexpected Ways By Lynne Duke Washington Post Tuesday, July 14, 1998; Page A01 -- When Rwandan troops invaded the former Zaire in October 1996, it was a rude jolt for the U.S. officials managing relations with this small central African nation. While the Green Berets trained the Rwandan Patriotic Army, that army was itself secretly training Zairian rebels. Although the United States shared the goals of dismantling the refugee camps and replacing Mobutu, the invasion took Washington by surprise.
• U.S. Expands Latin American Training Role By Douglas Farah Washington Post Foreign Service, July 13, 1998; Page A01 -- Using Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and other special operations forces, the Pentagon is conducting specialized training exercises with every army in Latin America, often avoiding effective civilian oversight or congressional restrictions that apply to other military operations abroad. Much of it is being done under auspices of the Pentagon's Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program. According to a 1991 law, such special operations exercises are allowed only if the primary purpose is to train U.S. troops. But many of the deployments in Latin America appear to go well beyond the intent of the law.
• Free of Oversight, U.S. Military Trains Foreign Troops By Dana Priest Washington Post Sunday, July 12, 1998; Page A01 -- Under a 1991 law exempting them from many congressional and White House restrictions, American special operations forces have established military ties in at least 110 countries, unencumbered by public debate, effective civilian oversight or the consistent involvement of senior U.S. foreign affairs officials. The law, Section 2011 of Title 10 of the U.S. code, allows the military to send special operations forces on overseas exercises on the condition that the primary purpose is to train U.S. soldiers.
• Key Cuba Foe Claims Exiles' Backing By ANN LOUISE BARDACH and LARRY ROHTER The New York Times July 12, 1998 -- A Cuban exile who has waged a campaign of bombings and assassination attempts aimed at toppling Fidel Castro says that his efforts were supported financially for more than a decade by the Cuban-American leaders of one of America's most influential lobbying groups.
• Mayhem in Karachi internally organised, says Altaf Hussain Hindustan Times 11 July 1998 - The Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has charged that the mayhem in Karachi far from being "foreign managed" is wholly and definitely internally organised by Pakistani security agencies under ''a deliberate plan."
• Israel plays down Lebanon arrest of spy suspects By David Horovitz The Irish Times - July 11, 1998 -- Deeply scarred by a series of high-profile intelligence fiascos in the past year, Israel is desperately playing down the significance of a new affair - the indictments in Lebanon of dozens of suspects charged with spying for Israel on the Lebanese army, the Syrian army and Hizbullah.
• MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE: THE CHANCE OF WAR NEXT YEAR IS GREATER THAN IN THE PAST by Ron Ben-Yishai Yediot Ahronot , Shabbat Supplement, July 10, 1998, pp. 6-9 -- Military Intelligence is currently preparing a situation analysis for next year. At this stage, before it is officially reported to the political echelon, a worrying picture is emerging. Military Intelligence's opinion is that if the political deadlock continues, the chance of war in the coming year is very high.
• TRW Awarded $77.8 Million Contract To Build Advanced Communications Technology Demonstration Satellite REDONDO BEACH, Calif., July 10, 1998 -- TRW Inc. has been awarded a $77.8 million contract by the National Reconnaissance Office to design, build and operate the Geosynchronous Lightweight Technology Experiment (GeoLITE) satellite program.
• SOUTH KOREA / DIPLOMAT EXPULSION Voice of America 10 July 1998 -- RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT OLEG ABRAMKIN, A POLITICAL COUNSELOR AT RUSSIA'S EMBASSY IN SEOUL, HAS LEFT SOUTH KOREA AFTER BEING ACCUSED BY SEOUL OF ESPIONAGE.
• Designing Digital Defenses By Linda D. Kozaryn American Forces Press Service 09 July 1998 -- Defense experts are gearing up to face a new danger threatening America and its allies -- cyberattacks.
• ELITE RUSSIAN HIT SQUADS TARGET U.S. LEADERS By MAGGIE HABERMAN New York Post 09 July 1998 Russia is training troops to kill American leaders in the event of war - and staking out sites near New York City to plant nuclear "suitcase bombs," former Russian military intelligence Col. Stanislav Lunev claims in a book, "Through the Eyes of the Enemy" that hit stores yesterday.
• S. KOREA / RUSSIA DIPLOMAT Voice of America 08 July 1998 -- SOUTH KOREA DECIDED ON WEDNESDAY TO EXPEL A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT, APPARENTLY IN RETALIATION FOR MOSCOW'S EVICTION OF A SOUTH KOREAN DIPLOMAT LAST WEEKEND.
• SECRETARY DALEY ANNOUNCES NEW EXPORT GUIDELINES FOR FINANCIAL SERVICE ENCRYPTION PRODUCTS July 7, 1998 -- Commerce Secretary William Daley announced today that the Clinton Administration has finalized guidelines to allow the export of U.S. manufactured encryption products of any bit-length when used by banks, financial institutions and their branches around the world to secure private electronic transactions.
• Tackling nuclear threat with help from the U.S. By Jeffrey Fleishman PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER 07 July 1998 - Quietly and with $2 million in funding, the U.S. Department of Defense and the FBI have been training officials in Georgia and three other former Soviet republics to stem the threat of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The courses -- held at the International Law Enforcement Academy -- have revealed an inability to handle chilling scenarios such as widespread anthrax contamination or uranium trafficking to Middle East countries.
• DoD "Welcomes" CNN Retraction, Apology for Sarin Report By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service 07 July 1998 -- DoD's senior spokesman said July 2 he welcomed CNN's retraction of its recent story alleging the U.S. use of sarin nerve agent in Laos in 1970 and the network's apology to veterans of the military action in question.
• Hunting war criminals The first account of secret U.S. missions in Bosnia US News 7/6/98 -- BY RICHARD J. NEWMAN -- For at least the past year, a U.S. special operations task force has been conducting one of the broadest covert operations since the Vietnam War, gathering intelligence on PIFWCs (pronounced PIF-wix), an acronym for "persons indicted for war crimes," and helping to seize them in a series of raids. The task force is large for a special operations project--involving 300 people or more-- and so far the cost of the effort is at least $50 million. The centerpiece -- code-named Amber Star -- has been a secret cooperative effort involving the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the Netherlands aimed at all PIFWCs in Bosnia, with a U.S.-only effort code-named Green Light focusing exclusively on Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb political leader.
• Privacy in the Digital Age [Lead Editorial] The New York Times, July 6, 1998, p. A10. "... the Federal Bureau of Investigation is trying hard to prevent the growing use of encryption, both in the United States and abroad, because of fears that the protective technology itself will get into the wrong hands. That shortsighted stand will undermine efforts to protect commercial transactions and may actually hamper law enforcement rather than help it."
• POLLARD SENDS MESSAGE TO HIS FORMER COMMANDER ISRAEL LINE , JULY 6, 1998 -- Jonathan Pollard's wife, Esther, met on Sunday with Rafi Eitan, Pollard's former Israeli commander, to relay a message from her husband.
• SOUTH KOREA / SPY Voice of America 06 July 1998 -- RUSSIA'S FEDERAL SECURITY SERVICE ACCUSED SOUTH KOREAN DIPLOMAT MR. CHO SUNG-WOO OF PASSING ON POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SECRETS TO SOUTH KOREAN INTELLIGENCE.
• BOMB PLOT TRIAL OPENS Voice of America 06 July 1998 -- TWO PALESTINIANS ACCUSED OF PLOTTING TO BOMB THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY WENT ON TRIAL TODAY (MONDAY) IN A FEDERAL COURT IN BROOKLYN.
• Lawmaker Wants To Name CIA Building For Bush By FREDERIC J. FROMMER (AllPolitics) 06 July 1998 (AP) -- The Senate has already passed a measure that includes a provision to rename CIA headquarters in Langley the George H. W. Bush Center for Central Intelligence. The idea came from Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, a former Bush administration official.
• Senate panel obliterates infowar funds BY DANIEL M. VERTON AND HEATHER HARRELD Federal Computer Week JULY 6, 1998 -- The Senate Appropriations Committee last month gave the go-ahead to a bill that strips the Defense Department of funds to protect against information warfare attacks. John Pike, a defense analyst with the Federation of American Scientists, said the removal of infrastructure protection funding is baffling, particularly after all the "rain dancing" that has taken place around the issue. "I would have thought this would have been totally noncontroversial."
• IRAQIS IN U-S DETENTION Voice of America 06 July 1998 -- SIX IRAQIS ARE FACING POSSIBLE DEPORTATION BECAUSE THEY ARE CONSIDERED A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY. THE IRAQI'S AND THEIR ATTORNEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR JAMES WOOLSEY, VEHEMENTLY DENY THIS CHARGE.
• Germany: Prosecutions Of GDR Officials Coming To A Close By Roland Eggleston (Radio Free Europe RFE/RL) , 6 July 1998 -- German officials increasingly believe that the trials of former Communist functionaries are coming to a close. The latest case involved a judge and a state prosecutor who were responsible for the execution of two East German intelligence agents accused of espionage and planning to defect to the West. They were the last executions of the East German regime.
• Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense John J. Hamre Saturday, July 4, 1998 -- President Clinton and Secretary of Defense Cohen have made preparing the American homeland against chemical and biological weapons a top priority. The Department of Defense and the intelligence community must work hand in hand with law enforcement to deal with this far-reaching threat.
• CIA honors two `true legends' held in China from 1952 to '70s Robert Burns - Associated Press July 3, 1998 -- On the same day President Clinton arrived to a red carpet welcome in China last week, retired spies John ``Jack'' T. Downey and Richard G. Fecteau received a prestigious Director's Medal for surviving two ``dark decades'' in Chinese prisons -- the longest any CIA officers have been held captive abroad and lived to tell about it.
• U-N / LIBYA SANCTIONS Voice of America 02 July 1998 -- THE U-N SECURITY COUNCIL TODAY (THURSDAY) MAINTAINED SANCTIONS ON LIBYA, IMPOSED IN CONNECTION WITH THE 1988 BOMBING OF A PAN AM AIRLINER OVER SCOTLAND.
• DoD News Briefing Thursday, July 2, 1998 - 1:30 p.m. What is the Pentagon's reaction to CNN's statement today retracting its report on Operation TAILWIND?
• CNN NERVE GAS Voice of America 02 July 1998 -- THE CABLE NEWS NETWORK HAS RETRACTED A STORY SAYING U-S FORCES USED DEADLY NERVE GAS DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.
• INDUSTRIAL SECURITY AWARDS PRESENTED July 2, 1998 -- Steven T. Schanzer, director of the Defense Security Service, has announced the recipients of the James S. Cogswell Award for outstanding industrial security achievements in 1998. This annual award is presented to contractors for their exemplary industrial security programs.
• MONEY LAUNDERING Voice of America 01 July 1998 -- AN INTERNATIONAL COALITION TO COMBAT CONCEALMENT OF PROFITS FROM DRUG TRAFFICKING -- THE EGMONT GROUP -- HAS CALLED FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNITS IN MORE COUNTRIES.