issue sixty three

• Published 28 August 2009

   

   

  A BRIEF OVERVIEW
  
  Editor's Brief Notes:

A NEW C FOR MI6

Just a few short years ago - 1993 - to be exact, the words 'Secret Intelligence Service' were used openly for the first time in Parliament. It was official and public recognition that MI6 really did exist. Before that, quiet 'coughs' and long ' winks'  combined with incoherent mumblings of 'six'  and the odd shuffling of feet were used to draw reference to MI6, or the 'funny buggers'. Anyone who dared to utter the immortal words 'SIS', even in a private club or a bar full of Parliamentary toffs, could find themselves whisked off to 'The Tower'. Its Latin motto 'Semper Occultus'  'Always Secret'  - was strictly adhered to, even by those who objected to such a shadowy organisation. How things have changed...

Mark Birdsall - Editor



NEW MAN AT VAUXHALL CROSS
CAREER DIPLOMAT APPOINTED C AT MI6

Sir John Sawers is an experienced career diplomat with a security background, unlike the man he is replacing (Sir John Scarlett was an MI6 Station Chief in Russia), and was the Foreign Office's former political director. He is, however, experienced in intelligence matters, and worked as an envoy in Baghdad and interestingly was foreign affairs adviser to Tony Blair. He was also a major background (liaison) player in the ending of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and played a central intelligence role in the Bosnian conflict arena. Prior to this, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Sir John was based in South Africa. He has held positions at a number of diplomatic missions, including the British Embassy in Washington DC, and was appointed Ambassador to Egypt in 2001. In recent times he has been focused on Iranian affairs, especially Tehran's nuclear ambitions ...

Full background on Sir John's appointment, his service record and some fantastic photographs


CUBAN SPIES
MOSCOW SECURES US SECRETS
Real fears as US intelligence community admits significant secrets have been secured by Moscow

A former worker at the State Department and his wife have been charged with espionage. FBI officials said Washington DC residents Walter Myers, 72, and Gwendolyn Myers, 71, passed on intelligence to handlers in Cuba for a period spanning over three decades.



AIR FRANCE 447
DGSE AGENTS INVESTIGATE

French intelligence officers examining possible terrorist threads to the loss of Air France 447 over the Atlantic, were quickly despatched to Brazil after two names on the flight list corresponded with those of suspected al-Qaida terrorists. DGSE analysts had noticed the flagged names but after a number of checks, the officers contacted Paris and confirmed the dead men simply shared the same names... More information and background on this interesting development


INSIDE THE ROMAN CIA
ITALIAN INTEL MAN IS ALLEGED DOUBLE AGENT

Rarely do intelligence operations play out in the media as much as that involving the CIA snatch operation that saw over two dozen operatives surveil, then abduct Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr - a suspected al-Qaida link man in the city of Milan in 2002.

In October of that year, CIA Milan Station Chief - Robert Seldon Lady and local SISMi (Italian military intelligence) commander, Colonel Stefano D'Ambrosio, met to discuss an operation that neither he, nor his Italian counterpart wanted much to do with. Lady advised D'Ambrosio, that despite his reservations, the CIA Rome Station Chief had ordered that the operation go ahead. And just in case Lady had last minute objections, a senior deputy was despatched to Milan to oversee things.

Eye Spy reveals a case on CIA infighting and a unlikely double agent...


NEW YORK ATTACK FOILED
SUSPECTS TRAPPED IN FBI-NYPD STING OPERATION

US counter-terrorist officers have thwarted the fourth major threat to the country in as many years, with the arrest of four men in the New York area. However, far from hailing the clever work of the FBI and New York counter-terrorist police, a large part of the US media (and some civilian security outfits) have decided to accuse the authorities of running a low-level informant and ensnaring a band of felons who had 'little chance of success'. With so much editorial copy focused on the pre-emptive nature of the FBI sting operation, and the central characters involved in the plot, the US public could be forgiven in thinking the arrested men were little more than 'bad clowns' from a sideshow in Billy Smart's Circus.

The truth is, these men were keen to cause havoc and carnage on the streets and death in the air... Eye Spy investigates...


GCHQ AND BLACK BOX
THE PLAN TO MONITOR ALL INTERNET TRAFFIC

Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the electronic intelligence gathering arm of British Intelligence, issued a rare statement over its alleged involvement with a controversial programme to monitor all electronic traffic. The spy agency, which partners America's NSA, was touted as the prime mover behind Black Box...


THE SECRET SERVICE 1909-2009
WAR YEARS AND SOE/OSS IRREGULARS

Operations such as Double Cross and Ultra form an integral part of the history of British Intelligence. Most persons familiar with these WWII endeavours recognise that both MI5 and MI6 gained immeasurable experience in communications, propaganda, distraction, disinformation, disruption and the art of 'turning'
 adversaries. Eye Spy examines the key [development] moments of British Intelligence during the war years. In our continuing series commemorating 100 years of MI5 and MI6, Eye Spy looks how the Services' functioned during the war

EXTRACT ONE: SOE's propaganda wing, earlier known by the designation SO1, was boosted by Department EH staffers and eventually turned over to a new and emerging powerful organisation known as the Political Warfare Executive (PWE). This left SOE focused on active operations.

MI6 still had operations running in Europe, such as Claude Dansey's Z-Organisation (see Eye Spy 61) and often found itself competing for resources with SOE. The relationship between MI6 and the SOE was fraught and bitterness often ensued. MI6 were increasingly nervous about the high-grade intelligence often being acquired and returned to London from SOE officers and its operatives....

EXTRACT TWO: Another MI6 front organisation was trying to influence the American Establishment, its people and media that it should join with Britain in the fight against the Nazis. The British Security Coordination (BSC) - based in New York and headed by Canadian businessman William Stephenson - codename INTREPID, had at one time 10,000 personnel and contacts throughout the USA. The BCS's main task was 'get the Americans into the war'..

FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover was furious that British Intelligence was infiltrating all aspects of the US media...


9 LIVES
MI5 LIMITATIONS EXPOSED IN PRE 7/7
SURVEILLANCE OPERATIONS
MI5 had capacity to track just one in 20 terror suspects before London bombings

The second report prepared by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) into the London terrorist attacks of 2005, has revealed no misgivings about the performance of the Security Service and police. However, the report contains information that reveals inadequate resources, especially in the area of surveillance, which dramatically reduced MI5's overall capacity to surveil properly more than one in 20 terrorist suspects in Britain.

MI5 admits that terror cell leader, Mohammad Sidique Khan, was flagged nine times...


THE REAL GOLDFINGER
GERMAN SPY WHO INSPIRED FLEMING

Acclaimed intelligence writer and historian Andrew Cook, provides Eye Spy readers with an exclusive insight into a new British television series, and reveals evidence of the real 'Goldfinger' - a senior German spy who inspired the character in the movie of the same name

In 1964 cinema audiences around the world were transfixed as James Bond foiled the evil plans of a villain called Goldfinger. Little did they know that Goldfinger's plot to blow up Fort Knox and treble the value of his own gold was not just a work of fiction, but a version of a true story that happened in London in 1914...


UNIVERSITIES OF TERROR
THE NEW JACKALS

A senior UK government security advisor said that since the London bombings in July 2005, Britain has experienced a '
golden age of counter-terrorist successes', but warned that MI5 and Counter Terrorist Command though successful, have also '
been lucky'
. As Director of the powerful and respected Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Professor Michael Clarke, said that home-grown al-Qaida operatives will undoubtedly have learned from past mistakes, and that British prisons will make for a 'hotbed of radicalisation'
.
Eye Spy looks at how al-Qaida is recruiting and radicalising people in some truly unexpected places... in the United Kingdom itself.


CIA'S PROJECT JENNIFER
SECRET SUBMARINE OPERATION

This is the story of Project Jennifer a secret CIA operation that sought to acquire Soviet submarine secrets, coined two important words in the language of spies; and a phrase that is still frequently used in today's spy industry...

Thirty five years ago exactly, in June 1974, a CIA-contracted vessel built and operated by the business and design maverick Howard Hughes, embarked upon a top secret journey which was to give the US Navy an edge in the on-going Cold War submarine games with the Soviets....


RAINING POISON
UK SECRET PROJECT

An extraordinary UK military intelligence project involving inserting 30,000 darts laced with mustard gas....

TRADECRAFT
THE RULES OF HOSTAGE SURVIVAL PART 4
GUIDANCE TO THE INITIAL RESPONDER

In previous issues, SIMON ATKINSON has looked at avoiding captivity and hostage survival as well as the mindset of Hostage Taker and their motivations. He's also discussed the aims of a captive. This article focuses upon guidance to the initial responder to a call in the middle of the night informing them that their principal, employee, employer, colleague or loved one has been taken hostage. The actions taken by this person - the Untrained Negotiator - often prove key to the successful outcome of the situation.

EXTRACT ONE: As a hostage, you must understand that there are many people working constantly in order to secure your release. This is certain, irrespective of the reasons for your captivity or the initial motivations of your captors - negotiations will take place, otherwise what is the point of taking a hostage in the first place? You may or may not see evidence of this during your captivity - but you should certainly gain strength in the knowledge that YOU ARE NOT ALONE and that you will get home.

It is important to convince hostages that they are not alone and everything is being done to secure their release

You should NOT:-
• Put anyone else at risk: You have enough to deal with, without giving them extra hostages!
• Ignore any communication: You must ensure that all communication is answered - 24/7.
• Challenge a HT to carry out a threat: They will see this as a challenge to their credibility and likely harm the hostage.
• Represent yourself as a 'final decision maker'
• You are a conduit or link man NOT the highest authority.
• Make promises: Never make a promise you cannot deliver. Always say 'I'll see what I can do...'


Set deadlines: Do not set yourself or the HT any deadlines. Do not ask for a deadline. This will place more pressure on yourself or the HT to conduct a stated action. Ensure that a deadline is not set by the HT without passing comment, '...It may take longer to achieve that...'

Editor's note: An absolute must for military, security and professionals working overseas, especially in conflict arenas. Similarly, the series is essential for those conducting the negotiation...

• Simon Atkinson is a former UK military Special Intelligence officer. His security company - ASIC Ltd provide a global Intelligence/Hostile Environment training and operational service and, as a key author of UK Hostage Survival policy, Simon is an often used consultant on Hostage matters to the National media.


M.A.D.
CIA AND NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR BOMBS
CIA issues top secret memo warning North Korea could really launch a nuclear warhead

The theory or doctrine of M.A.D. (Mutual assured destruction) is one that does not apply in the chilling game being played out by North Korea against much of the free world. In the Cold War, both East and West used M.A.D. as a bargaining chip in a global effort to save face, protect borders and maintain a status quo. No-one could win a nuclear war - and in the event one side tried - it too would be annihilated. Those officials currently running North Korea don't seem too concerned...


TRADECRAFT
A-Z - THE LANGUAGE OF SPIES
Eye Spy another 'dip' into the secret world of intelligence words, meanings, sayings and acronyms

EXAMPLES: [O] Order Book - Word used by senior MI6 personnel from 'SIS Charter' to phrase a request (use) of its special operations capability. In most cases the 'Increment' - a force drawn from 22 SAS (Special Air Service) CRW (Counter Revolutionary Wing) and M (CT) Troop of the SBS (Special Boat Service).

[P] Pudding Club - Detrimental term used by CIA and MI6 intelligence officers to describe the United Nations in New York.

Look out in late 2010 for Eye Spy's comprehensive book on the 'Language of Spies'... not to be missed!


CYBER ESPIONAGE: COUNTERMEASURES
CATCHING INTERNET SPIES

KEVIN Coleman argues we live in an age of information... and Cyber Warfare has become our type of war. For this reason the US Intelligence Community and its defence associates, like many other services, including those in the UK, has placed great emphasis and priority on cyber security. With agencies and defence arms actively recruiting personnel for newly established counter-cyber attack departments, and millions of pounds being invested in high-end counter-measures, Coleman asks is it too little too late?



STASI AND THE OHNESORG INCIDENT
RELEASED SPY FILES CONTINUE TO SURPRISE...

Researchers uncover evidence that a pivotal point in history - the creation of radical left-wing student-borne terror organisations - may have been caused not by capitalism and the West - but by the poor 'down-trodden communists' of the East and a suspected Stasi agent whose action spawned groups like the Red Army Faction.... a fascinating feature which addresses many myths


SECRET BRITAIN: KELVEDON HATCH
THE COLD WAR BUNKER

Eye Spy takes a look at one of the UK's least-known Cold War bases - Kelvedon Hatch on the outskirts of London. Additional reporting Peter Thomson

Unlike many Cold War facilities that have fallen victim to the developers bulldozer or left to fend off the elements, Kelvedon Hatch has survived and is thriving as a tourist location. Situated just 25 miles from London in the county of Essex, the building that sits atop of a gently slopping secluded hill, does not reflect what lies beneath, nor its prior importance to the nation....


SPY SITES IN LONDON
A GUIDE TO THE BEST AND LEAST KNOWN SPY LOCATIONS IN THE CAPITAL


TRADECRAFT - PRODUCT REVIEW
3G TECHNOLOGY
NEW GENERATION OF SPY CAMERAS

Following the introduction of 3G cameras in to the covert surveillance arena, this new mobile technology is proving to be a worthwhile tool for more than just a covert monitoring solution. This is because the 3G cameras can be linked wirelessly to any type of sensor to trigger a video call to a predefined mobile number. And as the 3G camera also allows live video to be transmitted over standard wireless mobile networks worldwide, they make a perfect panic room monitoring solution.


EYE SPY 63 BEST OF THE REST

HAVING A SECRET SERVICE BALL
Eye Spy discover MI6 plans to celebrate its 100th birthday in style

COUNTING DOWN
Senior intelligence officials admit nothing can stop Iran's quest for a nuclear bomb

MI6 TRACK RUSSIAN HITMAN
Britain's Secret Intelligence Service discover plot to kill former Chechen warlord in London

CIA UNDER ATTACK
US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's claim that the CIA misled her in 2002 over interrogation techniques have been rubbished by senior Langley officials

MARINE ONE AND TEHRAN
Plans for Marine One - the US presidential helicopter have been discovered in Iran

CIA FIELD STATIONS
CIA launch attack on ODNI over its attempt to select Langley's field station chiefs

MI5 BUILDING PLAN BLUNDER
Details of the whereabouts and structure of MI5's secret north of England centre have been published by a council planning department!

NEW INTEL UNIT AT GCHQ
Cyber warrior countermeasures element created to thwart future attacks against UK

OXFORD'S KGB FIXER
A deep-planted Russian spy revealed after 670 years

MILLION DOLLAR AGENTS
CIA recruitment office opens in New York to attract Wall Street banking wizards

SPY ARREST OF AGENT 'FANG'
FBI agents arrest a retired USAF Lt. Colonel James Fonren Jr on espionage charges

CODE BREAKERS HONOURED
Silent heroes of Bletchley Park to receive 'recognition' medals

BOOK REVIEWS, EQUIPMENT AND CLASSIFIED ADVERT SECTION

Issue 63