FAS | Intelligence | News | 1998 ||||

December 1998 Intelligence News

• JOINT TASK FORCE ON COMPUTER NETWORK DEFENSE NOW OPERATIONAL USIA 30 December 1998 -- The Department of Defense December 30 officially stood up its Joint Task Force on Computer Network Defense (JTF-CND) under the command of Air Force Major General John H. Campbell. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen approved the formation of the joint task force on December 4,1998.
• TEXT: CLINTON CONTINUES NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO LIBYA USIA 30 December 1998 -- President Clinton notified Congress December 30 that as a result of the Government of Libya's continued support for terrorism, he will continue the national emergency with respect to Libya.
• TEXT: DOD SAYS JOINT TASK FORCE FOR COMPUTER SECURITY NOW READY USIA 30 December 1998 -- The Department of Defense announced December 30 that its Joint Task Force on Computer Network Defense (JTF-CND) is now operational.
• TEXT: COMMERCE UPDATES EXPORT CONTROLS ON ENCRYPTION PRODUCTS USIA 30 December 1998 -- New regulations significantly streamlining government export controls on powerful encryption -- products that scramble computer data -- will be published by the Commerce Department, making the government more efficient and enhancing the global competitiveness of U.S. businesses.
• TEXT: WORLDWIDE CAUTION ISSUED BY STATE DEPARTMENT USIA 28 December 1998 -- The Department of State issued a worldwide travel caution "to remind American citizens of the need to remain vigilant with regard to their personal security practices during and after the holiday season and beyond.
• U-S / BIN LADEN Voice of America 25 December 1998 -- SAUDI MILITANT OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS RENEWED HIS CALL FOR ATTACKS ON THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL.
• AFGHAN BIN LADEN Voice of America 24 December 1998 -- SAUDI MILITANT OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS DENIED INVOLVEMENT IN THE BOMBING LAST AUGUST OF TWO AMERICAN EMBASSIES IN AFRICA. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME BIN LADEN HAS COMMENTED ON U-S ALLEGATIONS HE MASTER-MINDED THE ATTACKS.
• REPORTERS TOLL Voice of America 24 December 1998 -- THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS SAYS 50 JOURNALISTS WERE KILLED THIS YEAR WHILE TRYING TO CARRY OUT THEIR JOBS.
• CORRUPTION / CARTER CENTER Voice of America 24 December 1998 -- THE U-S BASED "CARTER CENTER", HEADED BY FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER, IS BRANCHING OUT FROM ITS INTERNATIONAL ELECTION-MONITORING TO A NEW ACTIVITY -- HELPING GOVERNMENTS FIGHT CORRUPTION.
• TEXT: U.S. EXPELS MEMBERS OF CUBAN U.N. MISSION USIA 23 December 1998 -- The U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York advised the Cuban Mission to the United Nations that three of its diplomatic personnel must depart the United States for activities incompatible with their status as members of a U.N. mission.
• U.S. Plan to Help Mexican Military Fight Drugs Is Faltering By TIM GOLDEN The New York Times December 23, 1998 - An ambitious U.S. effort to help train and equip Mexico's armed forces to pursue drug smugglers is in a shambles, officials of both countries say, souring U.S. relations with an ally that Washington has worked intensely to court. Pentagon officials have questioned the Mexican army's use of the special-forces troops they helped to design and train. According to U.S. intelligence reports, the drug flights that the plan was designed to combat have virtually ceased. But that appears to be because the traffickers turned to smuggling schemes like containerized shipping before the enforcement strategy ever got off the ground. CIA's collaboration with a small drug-intelligence unit of the Mexican army, while largely secret, has been reasonably successful.
• CLINTON / LOCKERBIE Voice of America 21 December 1998 -- PRESIDENT CLINTON IS RULING OUT ANY COMPROMISE ON WHERE THE BOMBERS WHO BROUGHT DOWN PAN AMERICAN [AIRLINES] FLIGHT 103 SHOULD BE IMPRISONED IF THEY ARE CONVICTED.
• LOCKERBIE ANNIVERSARY Voice of America 21 December 1998 -- MEMORIAL SERVICES ARE BEING HELD IN BOTH BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES TO MARK THE EXACT MOMENT (1903 U-T-C / 2:03 PM EST) 10 YEARS AGO WHEN A NEW YORK-BOUND U-S AIRLINER EXPLODED AND CRASHED OVER LOCKERBIE, SCOTLAND
• U-N / LIBYA TRIAL Voice of America 21 December 1998 -- THE UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN SAY (MONDAY) THEY WILL SEEK ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST LIBYA IF THAT COUNTRY DOES NOT HAND OVER TWO ALLEGED TERRORISTS TO THE NETHERLANDS FOR TRIAL.
• TRANSCRIPT: CLINTON AT 1OTH ANNIVERSARY OF PAN AM 103 BOMBING 21 December 1998 -- For the past 10 years, the United States has "never given up the search" for ways to bring to justice the two suspects in the bombing of flight Pan Am 103, President Clinton says.
• THE LOCKERBIE BOMBING: TEN YEARS LATER Voice of America 19 December 1998 -- THE LIBYAN TERRORISTS WHO ARE SUSPECTED OF BLOWING UP PAN AMERICAN FLIGHT 103 REMAIN AT LARGE.
• TEXT: U.S., SWISS TO SPLIT $175 MILLION IN ILLEGAL DRUG MONEY 18 December 1998 -- The United States and Switzerland signed an agreement December 18 to split evenly more than $175 million in illegal drug proceeds, according to a press release issued by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.
• PAKISTAN / MILITARY Voice of America 17 December 1998 -- NEWLY ESTABLISHED MILITARY COURTS IN PAKISTAN HAVE SENTENCED TWO MEN TO DEATH. THE JUDGMENTS ARE THE FIRST BY THE MILITARY COURTS THAT PRIME MINISTER NAWAZ SHARIF SET UP IN SINDH PROVINCE AFTER HE DISMISSED THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN LATE OCTOBER. HE SET UP THE COURTS IN AN ATTEMPT TO QUELL VIOLENCE IN THE PROVINCE.
• TERROR INDICTMENTS Voice of America 16 December 1998 -- U-S AUTHORITIES CHARGED FIVE MORE SUSPECTS WEDNESDAY WITH PARTICIPATING IN THE BOMBING OF THE U-S EMBASSY IN TANZANIA FOUR MONTHS AGO.
• U-S/MEXICO DRUGS Voice of America 16 December 1998 -- TOP U-S AND MEXICAN OFFICIALS HAVE REAFFIRMED THEIR DETERMINATION TO COMBAT DRUG PRODUCTION AND TRAFFICKING ACROSS THEIR COMMON BORDER.
• IRAN DEATHS REACT Voice of America 16 December 1998 -- IRAN'S SUPREME RELIGIOUS LEADER HAS CONDEMNED A WAVE OF SUSPICIOUS DEATHS IN THE COUNTRY AND IS BLAMING THEM ON ENEMIES OF THE STATE.
• TEXT: MEXICO-U.S. ANTI-DRUG CONTACT GROUP JOINT COMMUNIQUE 16 December 1998 -- The Mexico-U.S. High Level Group for Drug Control concluded its two days of joint planning representing its 6th set of meetings on how to combat illicit drugs.
• TEXT: US ATTORNEY, FBI ISSUE NEW INDICTMENTS FOR ATTACK ON US EMBASSY USIA 16 December 1998 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued the following release on December 16 about the indictment of five new individuals for their alleged participation in the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania last August.
• GULF TERRORISM ALERT Voice of America 15 December 1998 -- U-S FORCES IN THE PERSIAN GULF REGION HAVE BEEN PUT ON AN UNUSUALLY HIGH STATE OF ALERT FOLLOWING THREATS OF TERRORIST ATTACK.
• LOCKERBIE / LIBYA CONGRESS Voice of America 15 December 1998 -- LIBYA'S NATIONAL PARLIAMENT HAS VOICED SUPPORT FOR THE PLAN TO BRING TO TRIAL TWO LIBYANS SUSPECTED OF MASTERMINDING THE LOCKERBIE AIRPLANE BOMBING 10 YEARS AGO. BUT THERE ARE ISSUES YET TO BE RESOLVED.
• FUNDRAISER SENTENCED Voice of America 15 December 1998 -- A DEMOCRATIC PARTY FUND-RAISER, JOHNNY CHUNG, HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS OF PROBATION FOR MAKING ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.
• AF, NASA add National Reconnaissance Office to partnership agreement 15 December 1998 (AFPN) -- Air Force Space Command and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration recently included the National Reconnaissance Office as a full partner on the partnership council they established in February 1997.
• CSIS STUDY URGES INCREASED FOCUS ON INFORMATION WARFARE THREAT By Ralph Dannheisser USIA 15 December 1998 -- The advent of cyberterrorism and information warfare threaten to revolutionize the nature of conflict as much as anything in history, including the development of gunpowder and nuclear weapons, says the project director of a new study on the subject.
• DoD News Briefing December 15, 1998 -- The threat of an electronic Pearl Harbor or the threat of cyber-terrorism -- which could be much less hyperbolic than an electronic Pearl Harbor -- is clearly one that's getting increasing attention in this building and throughout the government.
• DoD News Briefing December 15, 1998 -- Q: Can you tell us anything about the nature of the terrorist threat facing U.S. military facilities in the Persian Gulf that has led you to raise security alert conditions there, and just how serious and credible you think these threats are?
• ARREST OF PINOCHET: MR. STRAW'S 'TIMELY DECISION' USIS Foreign Media Reaction Report -- December 14, 1998 -- British Home Secretary Jack Straw's ruling last Wednesday that extradition proceedings can start against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet--who was arrested October 16 in London pursuant to a Spanish extradition warrant alleging murder and torture during his 1973-1990 rule--prompted a flurry of editorial comment overseas. The home secretary's decision was welcomed by a majority of observers in Europe, Asia and Africa.
• TEXT: FOLEY STATEMENT ON DEATHS OF WRITERS IN IRAN USIA 14 December 1998 -- The United States has condemned the killings of three dissident writers and an opposition leader and his wife in Iran, Deputy State Department Spokesman James Foley said December 14.
• Second Global Hawk No. 2 flight test successful Aeronautical Systems Center Public Affairs 14 December 1998 -- An unmanned aerial vehicle being developed by the Aeronautical Systems Center here soared to 50,000 feet and checked wideband communication links during the program's eighth successful test flight. Global Hawk No. 2 met all test objectives during its second flight.
• U-S / TERROR THREAT Voice of America 14 December 1998 -- U-S CITIZENS IN SEVEN COUNTRIES AROUND THE PERSIAN GULF ARE BEING WARNED OF POSSIBLE TERRORIST ATTACKS DURING THE NEXT 30DAYS.
• ISRAEL / POLLARD Voice of America 13 December 1998 -- ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU PUBLICLY APPEALED TO PRESIDENT CLINTON SUNDAY FOR THE RELEASE OF JONATHAN POLLARD.
• IRAN / HUMAN RIGHTS Voice of America 10 December 1998 -- A LEADING HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP IS URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN TO INVESTIGATE A SERIES OF SUSPICIOUS DEATHS OF POLITICAL DISSIDENTS.
• NEGOTIATIONS WILL BEGIN ON CONVENTION TO SUPPRESS FINANCING OF TERRORISM, GENERAL ASSEMBLY DECIDES, AS IT ACTS ON REPORTS OF SIXTH COMMITTEE Press Release GA/9530 -- 8 December 1998
• DOD CONDUCTS AERIAL IMAGERY TO AID HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORT December 8, 1998 -- Starting on Dec. 9 and continuing for a period of about two weeks, the Department of Defense will conduct an aerial imagery survey over hurricane-affected parts of Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize to collect data for assessing the effects of environmental damage. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), which has been tasked to support ongoing relief efforts with aerial imagery, will coordinate employment of U.S. Air Force OC-135B observation aircraft from MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Fla.
• AMBASSADOR SODERBERG'S UN SECURITY COUNCIL REMARKS USIA 08 December 1998 -- Saying that Afghanistan-based terrorism has become a plague, US Ambassador Nancy Soderberg December 8 called on all Afghan factions to ensure that all indicted terrorists on their soil are brought to justice.
• WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT ON CORRUPTION CONFERENCE USIA 08 December 1998 -- Vice President Albert Gore will host the first international conference targeting corruption specifically among police, prosecutors, judges, and military personnel, according to a statement released by the White House.
• EXCERPTS: DEFENSE SECRETARY VOWS TO STRIKE BACK AT TERRORISTS USIA 08 December 1998 -- Defense Secretary Cohen says U.S. justice will strike back at terrorists -- cowards who "rejoice in the agony of their victims."
• TEXT: CIA OFFICIAL ASSESSES INFORMATION WARFARE THREAT USIA 07 December 1998 -- Information warfare, the technique of attacking critical infrastructures by electronically interfering with industry and government computers, has the potential "to deal a crippling blow" to U.S. national security if strong measures are not taken to counter the threat, says Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official John Serabian.
• "Defending National Critical Infrastructure" Under Secretary William A. Reinsch -- Bureau of Export Administration U.S. Department of Commerce December 7, 1998 -- Encryption is only one piece of the larger critical infrastructure pie. Clearly, strong encryption helps protect electronic infrastructures. However, as important as encryption is for this purpose, we would not be wise to allow the debate over encryption policy to hinder our efforts in the larger critical infrastructure area. For this reason, we are developing policies in these two areas along separate tracks.
• RICHARD CLARKE ON INFORMATION WARFARE THREAT USIA 07 December 1998 -- "If an attack comes today with information warfare," it would be "much, much worse than Pearl Harbor," warns Richard Clarke, national coordinator for security, infrastructure protection, and counter-terrorism.
• REINSCH SAYS ENCRYPTION IMPACTS COMMERCE, SECURITY USIA 07 December 1998 -- Under Secretary of Commerce William Reinsch says encryption -- which protects electronic information systems -- is a critical issue for the United States and is particularly challenging for policy makers because of the evolving nature of the fundamental technologies upon which it depends.
• CLINTON REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON DRUG- PRODUCING COUNTRIES USIA 07 December 1998 -- President Clinton has sent to Congress his annual report on major illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries. Iran and Malaysia were removed from the list of major drug producers.
• ARREST OF PINOCHET IN LONDON: FOCUS ON U.S. USIS Foreign Media Reaction Report -- December 4, 1998 -- The arrest in London of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet last month continued to elicit heavy reaction in the press overseas. Observers in increasingly focused on the U.S. and its erstwhile Cold War policies in Chile, Latin America and beyond, and the implications for the superpower if the former dictator is brought to trial for his alleged crimes. The general tone was critical of the U.S. for its past--and now its perceived present--stance regarding General Pinochet.
• DoD News Briefing December 3, 1998 -- Q: How does the SecDef feel about the release of Jonathan Pollard? A: The President has asked the Attorney General and the Director of Central Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense to give him recommendations by January 11th.
• DoD News Briefing December 3, 1998 -- Q: Negotiations with Panama to continue to use Howard Air Force Base for the drug interdiction died back in September. Was there any success this past trip of the SecDef to find other Latin American nations that would base the U.S. planes used in that drug interdiction?
• TEXT: FTC COMMISSIONER THOMPSON ON DATA PROTECTION USIA 03 December 1998 -- "Consumers have a right to expect that industry and government find new and better ways to make the Internet a safe and hospitable place, inspire consumer confidence, and preserve the innovative energy of this exciting medium," said Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
• MCCAFFREY CITES U.S.-MEXICO COOPERATION AGAINST ILLICIT DRUGS By Eric Green USIA 03 December 1998 -- The United States and Mexico are working together, "fairly effectively," against stopping illicit drug trafficking, but a "tremendous challenge" remains to put drug traffickers out of business, says Barry McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
• UN'S KOFI ANNAN IS TRAVELING TO LIBYAN TO DISCUSS LOCKERBIE TRIAL By Judy Aita USIA 03 December 1998 -- UN diplomats are hopeful that Secretary General Kofi Annan's trip to Libya December 5 will lead to the two suspects in the bombing of PanAm 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland 10 years ago going to the Netherlands to stand trial soon.
• NSGA Northwest is Keep Virginia Beautiful winner NAVY WIRE SERVICE (NWS) - 3 December 1998 - by JO2 Jim O'Donnell, NSGA Northwest Public Affairs -- Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) Northwest in Chesapeake, Va., is the Keep America Beautiful and the Keep Virginia Beautiful Award winner in the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Government Category.
• U.S. PRAISES ENCRYPTION CONTROLS DECISION Commerce Department 03 December 1998 -- The US government praised a decision reached December 3 by the members of the Wassenaar Arrangement to modernize and improve multilateral encryption export controls.
• RUBIN CITES COMPLEXITY OF CASE INVOLVING PINOCHET By Eric Green USIA 02 December 1998 -- The case involving former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is very complex because two important values are at stake -- one is accountability and justice, and the other is the value of promoting and respecting democracies, says State Department spokesman James Rubin.
• CLINTON NAMES DEITERING EXEC-DIR OF PRESIDENT'S FIAB USIA 02 December 1998 -- President Clinton announced his intent December 2 to appoint Randy W. Deitering as the Executive Director of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
• Defense Courier Service earns Joint Meritorious Unit Award (AFPN) 2 Dec 1998 -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has approved the Joint Meritorious Unit Award for members of Defense Courier Service in several areas for exceptional meritorious achievement.
• Secretary Cohen's Speech on Hemispheric Cooperation in Combating Terrorism 1 December 1998 -- Even though the reporting would indicate that acts of terrorism are actually decreasing, the level of lethality is on the rise. And that is especially true when it comes to dealing with chemical and biological weapons. That is the threat that all of us are likely to face in the future .... once these weapons start to be exploded people will say protect us. We're willing to give up some of our liberties and some of our freedoms, but you must protect us. And that is what will lead us into this 21st Century, this kind of Constitutional tension of how much protection can we provide and still preserve essential liberties.
• DoD News Briefing December 1, 1998 -- Q: If an increasingly strong rebel force threatens the Colombian military, do you envision the United States becoming more militarily involved? A: I've certainly been attempting to make it very clear that our focus down there is counter-drug. It is not counter-insurrectionist. We certainly do have a threat that comes to us in the form of drugs that we are very concerned about, and we're attempting to deal with that, but, at the same time, focus on what the issue is and not get involved in any kind of insurrection activities.
• Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and Colombian Defense Minister Rodrigo Lloreda December 1, 1998 -- My understanding is that as far as the intelligence process underway is (concerned), it is consistent with what we normally do. There has been no exceptional acceleration or intensification at this point of the intelligence gathering. It's something that we do in the normal course of events in our cooperation with the Colombian government.
• TRANSCRIPT: COHEN SEES MILITARY AS KEY TO FIGHTING TERRORISM USIA 01 December 1998 -- One major challenge facing democracies in the 21st century will be that of maintaining civil liberties -- even as governments make full use of the military resources that are "indispensable" to fighting terrorism and natural disasters, says US Defense Secretary William Cohen.
• TRANSCRIPT: COHEN AND LLOREDA ON U.S.-COLOMBIA AGREEMENT USIA 01 December 1998 -- The defense ministers of the United States and Colombia signed an agreement December 1 that formalizes and strengthens military cooperation between the two countries in the fight against illegal drug trafficking.
• U.S. OFFICIALS SAY COLOMBIAN AID GOES FOR COUNTER-DRUG FIGHT By Eric Green USIA 01 December 1998 -- U.S. officials say that an increase in aid to Colombia will be used for the counter-narcotics fight in that country, not for assistance to counter-guerrilla operations.
• U.S. AND EU OFFICIALS PRESS AHEAD WITH TALKS ON DATA PRIVACY By Merle D. Kellerhals USIA 01 December 1998 -- United States and European Union (EU) officials met December 1 to continue discussions on complex data privacy laws with the United States pressing for a closer resolution of the issue by late January, a senior Commerce Department official says.