FAS | Intelligence | News | 1999 ||||

August 1999 Intelligence News

• Text: Justice Dept. Initiates Deportation Action Against Former Nazi USIA 31 August 1999 -- The U.S. Department of Justice has taken the first step towards the deportation of Michael Gruber of New York City, who is accused of having served as a Nazi guard at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany during World War II.
• Critics seek closure of Army school by Gerry J. Gilmore (Army News Service, Aug. 27, 1999) - Critics of an Army school at Fort Benning, Ga., are campaigning to persuade members of Congress to eliminate funding the facility needs to operate.
• Cyberterror: Thing That Goes Bump in the Net? By James Gordon Meek (APBNews.com) Aug. 27, 1999 -- Federation of American Scientists security analyst John Pike told APBNews.com that part of the problem is that it's very difficult to track hackers. "Unlike hydrogen bombs, which are hard to hide, information-attack ability is not readily detectable," he said. "We're usually talking about some people in a room with a few terminals and a [high-speed Internet] connection."
• U-S-LATAM-COLOMBIA Voice of America 25 August 1999 -- U-S drug czar Barry McCaffrey is visiting several South American nations this week to discuss increased cooperation in the fight against drugs, but also to outline U-S concerns over the situation in Colombia.
• Hamre "Cuts" Op Center Ribbon, Thanks Cyberwarriors American Forces Press Service 24 August 1999 -- "Several times I've testified and talked on Capitol Hill about the future electronic Pearl Harbor that might happen to the United States," Hamre told the standing room only crowd.
• Lawmakers fear nuclear secrets remain in declassified papers By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press August 24, 1999 -- "This is all part of the frenzy about Chinese espionage that is driving Washington crazy," said Steven Aftergood, who directs The Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. "The idea that they're going to reread material that's already been declassified is preposterous. It will basically cripple the declassification program by driving it in circles."
• DRUG WAR IN COLOMBIA Voice of America 24 August 1999 -- The United States is stepping up its aid to Colombia to combat the combined forces of Marxist guerillas and narcotic traffickers, whose growing power threatens the state.
• SWISS SCANDAL Voice of America 23 August 1999 -- Switzerland's main political parties are urging a government investigation into a widening scandal involving the army's secret service. The affair involves alleged fraud of millions of dollars, the illegal sale of arms and links to organized crime.
• U.S. TO HELP COLOMBIA "IN ANY WAY WE CAN" TO COMBAT DRUG-FINANCED REBELS USIA 23 August 1999 -- The United States will help "in any way that we can and in any way that we're asked to help" in Colombia's fight against a rebellion financed in large part funds from narcotics traffickers, Foley said, but help will depend on the Colombian government coming up with a comprehensive strategy.
• Easy access to nuclear secrets BY DAN STOBER in the San Jose Mercury News August 22, 1999 -- According to Steven Aftergood, who writes a newsletter called Secrecy and Government for the Federation of American Scientists ``Department of Defense documents are held in over a thousand locations, worldwide, and there is not a universal index to them. ``The government has a huge records management problem,'' he said. ``Documents get lost, they get misplaced, on a huge basis.''
• U-S-BRAZIL DRUGS Voice of America 23 August 1999 -- U-S drug policy director Barry McCaffrey meets with top Brazilian officials Monday for talks aimed at expanding joint cooperation in the fight against drugs - especially narcotics trafficking from Colombia.
• BAY OF PIGS MONUMENT Voice of America 20 August 1999 -- In Miami, Cuban exiles have announced plans to construct a monument to honor pilots who were killed while taking part in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.
• Former CIA director's security clearance pulled By ROBERT BURNS Associated Press August 20, 1999 -- John Pike, an intelligence expert at the Federation of American Scientists, said he believes Tenet acted because of the public uproar over allegations that Wen Ho Lee. "There was no way they could conceivably explain letting Deutch off the hook" in light of the Lee case, Pike said, even though the Deutch mistakes at the time were regarded by most people as "the sort of normal violation that is against the rules but is frequently practiced" and not punished.
• State Department issues worldwide caution for key dates (AFPN) 19 Aug 1999 -- One significant date is Aug. 20, which marks the one-year anniversary of U.S. strikes against terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan.
• U-S - AFGHAN ATTACK ANNIVERSARY Voice of America 19 August 1999 -- One year ago, the United States launched a missile attack on suspected training camps run by the Saudi militant Osama bin Laden in southeastern Afghanistan. The attack came in response to the bombings of two U-S embassies in Africa, which U-S authorities said had been planned by Mr. bin Laden, who has denied any involvement.
• U.S. Stands Ready To Support Colombian Counternarcotics Efforts USIA 16 August 1999 -- The United States is willing to support Colombia in its fight against illegal narcotics, if Colombian President Andres Pastrana can come up with a comprehensive strategy to do so, says Under Secretary for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering.
• CHASING BIN LADEN Voice of America 13 August 1999 -- A year ago, a barrage of cruise missiles hit targets in Afghanistan and Sudan in response to the deadly bombing of two U-S embassies in Africa. The United States has since been trying to finish the job and bring to justice the alleged terrorist mastermind, Osama bin Laden.
• CHINA / SPYING / DISCIPLINE Voice of America 13 August 1999 -- The U-S Energy Secretary is urging punishment for three officials who allowed a suspected Chinese spy to remain in place at a nuclear weapons lab. The latest developments in the case.
• Text: Results of Los Alamos Espionage Investigation Review USIA 13 August 1999 -- "This report makes it clear that Department of Energy political and career management failed to give necessary attention to counterintelligence and security," Richardson said. "That combined with the lack of accountability, unclear communication with other agencies and dysfunctional reporting relationships was fertile ground for the problems."
• Byliner: Colombia's Struggles, And How We Can Help USIA 12 August 1999 -- The death of five American and two Colombian soldiers in a plane crash during a counter-narcotics mission in Colombia last month put the spotlight on our stake in South America's most troubled country.
• U-S OPINION ROUNDUP Voice of America 12 August 1999 -- While a good deal of U-S press and foreign- policy staff attention has been focused on the Kosovo situation, or the North Korean missile threat, or relations with China, serious problems have been expanding in Latin America.
• COLOMBIA - U-S Voice of America 11 August 1999 -- In Colombia, the visit by a high ranking U-S State Dept. official has added to growing speculation that Washington plans to increase its military support to Colombia and may become more directly involved in the country's guerrilla war.
• AFGHAN SANCTIONS Voice of America 11 August 1999 -- The United States has frozen the assets of Afghanistan's national airline in an attempt to bring pressure on the Taleban to hand over suspected terrorist Osama Bin Laden. The leader of the Taleban movement says it will not bow to increasing American pressure.
• U-S/AFGHAN SANCTIONS Voice of America 10 August 1999 -- The Clinton Administration has frozen U-S assets belonging to the Afghan national airline "Ariana" -- under sanctions aimed at punishing Afghanistan's dominant Taleban movement for harboring alleged international terrorist Osama Bin Laden.
• PRESS BRIEFING BY BARRY TOIV AND DAVID LEAVY August 10, 1999 -- The United States has designated Ariana Afghan Airlines under the Taliban sanctions today, blocking all of Ariana's assets within U.S. jurisdiction and making clear that no U.S. entity or individual can engage in business transactions with Ariana Afghan Airlines. These sanctions are in response to the Taliban's continued provision of safe haven to Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network.
• Designation of Ariana Afghan Airlines Under the Taliban Sanctions STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY - August 10, 1999 -- Today the United States designated Ariana Afghan Airlines under the Taliban sanctions. This means that all of Ariana?s assets within U.S. jurisdiction are now blocked and that no U.S. entity or individual can now engage in business transactions with that airline anywhere in the world.
• Text: State Department Travel Warning on Pakistan August 10, 1999 USIA 10 August 1999 -- The August 10 travel warning says the U.S. government "continues to receive a growing body of information that suggests strongly that extremists based in Afghanistan are preparing to attack U.S. interests in Pakistan in the near future," and notes the "public sympathy and support" for international terrorist Osama bin Laden in that country.
• Spy Satellites By Walter Pincus and Vernon Loeb Washington Post August 9, 1999 -- "If you're going to spend $6 billion a year on the National Reconnaissance Office, you'd be stupid not to do this, given . . . how effective this imagery is," John Pike, an intelligence expert at the Federation of American Scientists, said in an interview. "The public's understanding of the Kosovo air war would have been vastly diminished without the release of this imagery."
• COLOMBIA-U-S TRAINING Voice of America 09 August 1999 -- The United States is helping the Colombian army train an anti-narcotics battalion -- the first of its kind to be formed as part of Colombia's increasingly violent war on drugs. Part of the intensive training includes safeguarding human rights -- a problem area for the Colombian army, according to human rights groups.
• BIN LADEN BOMBING ANNIVERSARY Voice of America 06 August 1999 -- A year after the terrorist bombings of two U-S embassies in Africa, suspect Osama Bin Laden remains at large, and one terrorism expert predicts he is ready to strike again.
• CONGRESS - COLOMBIA Voice of America 06 August 1999 -- The U-S Congress and the White House are at odds over the Administration's policy on combating the flow of drugs from Colombia. Republican lawmakers say the policy is a complete failure. But a top adviser to President Clinton says the situation in the region is evolving, and the White House is adapting.
• Documents about Kennedy Assassination Add Insight into Soviet Reaction USIA 06 August 1999 -- On August 5, the National Archives in Washington, DC distributed copies of documents relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy which Russian President Boris Yeltsin had given to President Clinton at their summit Cologne in June.
• Administration, Lawmakers Agree Anti-Drug Efforts in Colombia Need Resources USIA 06 August 1999 -- White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey, Assistant Secretary of State Rand Beers, and other officials told a panel of the House of Representative Government Reform and Oversight Committee that demand-reduction through education, treatment, and law enforcement must be accompanied by allocating significant resources to eradicate crops and interdict trafficking to end the drug scourge in the Western Hemisphere and the whole world.
• COLOMBIAN QUAGMIRE PRESENTS ANOTHER CASE FOR THE U.S. USIA Foreign Media Reaction Daily Digest 06 August 1999 -- Colombia's latest crisis--mired in the breakdown of peace talks between the Pastrana government, unable to control the drug mafia, and Colombia's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), the country's principal guerrilla movement with suspected drug ties--captured the attention of media in the region. Commentators in Latin America analyzed a possible U.S. intervention in the wake of the recent visit of U.S. "anti-drug czar" Gen. Barry McCaffrey. Across the board, there was editorial consensus that President Pastrana had virtually "no control," that Colombia was an "unlivable country" on the edge of a "virtual collapse," and that the alliance between the narcotraffickers and FARC "was an inescapable reality" which not even the Brazilian press questioned. A Mexican paper, however, saw the narco-guerrilla angle being used as a "pretext" for U.S. assistance.
• BURMA / DRUGS Voice of America 05 August 1999 -- The southeast Asian nation, Burma, is one of the world's largest producers of illegal narcotics. Burma's rulers say they are trying to suppress the trade of illicit drugs, but complain their efforts are suffering from a lack of resources.
• EMBASSY BOMBINGS - LEGAL CASE Voice of America 05 August 1999 -- Five men are in custody in New York on murder charges related to last year's bombings of the U-S embassies in Kenya and Tanzania - which claimed over 200 lives. But, so far, no date has been set for a trial.
• Transcript: U.S. Officials Describe Embassy Security Improvements USIA 04 August 1999 -- State Department officials at a special briefing August 4 described U.S. efforts to improve security at U.S. Embassies around the world since the August 1998 bombings in East Africa.
• U.S. Efforts to Improve Embassy Security Continue USIA 04 August 1999 -- The shock waves of the August 7, 1998 terrorist bombings of two U.S. Embassies in East Africa are still being felt, but the lessons learned are resulting in improvements in security at U.S. facilities worldwide, say American officials.
• Fact Sheet: Funding for Embassy Security August 4, 1999 USIA 04 August 1999 -- The Department received an FY 1999 security supplemental appropriation of $1.489 billion for security following the bombings of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The supplemental provided funding for thefollowing:
• Fact Sheet: Security Improvements Since the East Africa Bombings 04 August 1999 -- The current terrorist threat to U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel overseas, as described in recent Congressional testimony, is global, lethal, multi-dimensional, and growing.
• Fact Sheet: United States Efforts in Counterterrorism 04 August 1999 -- The United States Government is engaged in a long-term struggle against international terrorism. We use a wide variety of foreign policy tools, from military force when necessary, to vigorous diplomacy, law enforcement, improvements in U.S. security, and the development of new technology.
• Fact Sheet: Steps Taken to Serve Justice in Embassy Bombings 04 August 1999 -- Usama bin Laden was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The Department of State has announced a reward of up to five million dollars for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any of the suspects anywhere in the world.
• PAKISTAN - BIN LADEN Voice of America 03 August 1999 -- The United States has lodged a protest (Tuesday) in Pakistan with an Islamic leader who threatened to declare war on American nationals in the event of another U-S attack on hideouts of alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden.
• Text: Energy Department "Security Stand-Down" 02 August 1999 -- U.S. Department of Energy sites with a national security mission will carry out a "security stand-down" ordered by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson August 3, ceasing routine work activities to participate in a day-long program of security training and education.
• Monitoring plane arrives at Misawa By Wayne Specht Pacific Stars & Stripes August 2, 1999 -- An RC-135S, with unit tail letters of "OF'' on the vertical tail fin, has been parked on the Misawa flight line since last week. The Invincible, which has been operating from Sasebo Naval Base in southwestern Japan, is equipped with the Cobra Gemini defense system. Cobra Judy is aboard the Observation Island, which has been operating from Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo.
• VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF DECLASSIFIED ARCTIC IMAGES TO HELP RESEARCH GLOBAL WARMING August 2, 1999 -- Vice President Gore today announced the declassification and release of 59 satellite images of the Arctic Ocean that will be used by scientists to better understand the interaction between polar ice caps and global warming. Release of the high-resolution images was approved by the National Imagery Mapping Agency at the request of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
• SPY SUSPECT INTERVIEW Voice of America 02 August 1999 -- The Taiwanese-American scientist accused of spying for China has broken his silence about the case, denying he gave Beijing a wealth of secrets about nuclear weapons.
• COLOMBIA UNDER THREAT Voice of America 02 August 1999 -- The plane crash took the lives of the first U-S troops to die in Colombia in about 35-years, and focused attention on the small, but growing U-S military presence in that Latin American nation.