SpyTalk: May 23, 2010 - May 29, 2010

Bill Clinton to the rescue, again

It’s not the first time the Democrats turned to Bill Clinton to solve a thorny party political issue. The last time turned out better than Clinton's mission this time: to talk Rep. Joe Sestak out of challenging incumbent Sen. Arlen...

By Jeff Stein  | May 28, 2010; 6:24 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (6)
Categories:  Intelligence, Politics  | Tags:  House Intelligence Committee, Nancy Pelosi, Sylvestre Reyes  
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Analysts question Korea torpedo incident

How is it that a submarine of a fifth-rate power was able to penetrate a U.S.-South Korean naval exercise and sink a ship that was designed for anti-submarine warfare? Such questions are being fueled by suggestions in the South Korean...

By Jeff Stein  | May 27, 2010; 4:19 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (33)
Categories:  Foreign policy, Intelligence, Military  
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North Korea analysts predict more ‘provocations’

Leading U.S. experts on northeast Asia say they expect North Korea to ratchet tensions even higher in the coming days and weeks, but stop short of rocket attacks on Seoul or an outright invasion of the south. “I think more...

By Jeff Stein  | May 26, 2010; 7:50 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (3)
Categories:  Intelligence, Military  | Tags:  Asia Foundation, Bruce Cumings, Bruce E. Bechtol, Bruce Klingner, Heritage Foundation, Jr., Marine Corps University, Naval War College, Scott Snyder, Terence J. Roehrig, University of Chicago History Department  
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Secrets are weapons in turf battles over DoD spies

There's something awfully familiar about this week's tizzy over the Pentagon's ideas for covert operations. “U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Actions in Mideast,” the New York Times reported on its front page Tuesday. The headline almost says it all,...

By Jeff Stein  | May 26, 2010; 4:54 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (4)
Categories:  Intelligence, Military  | Tags:  CIA, DIA, Defense Humint, Donald Rumsfeld, State Department  
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Backchannel chatter: U.S.-French spy wars

Did the CIA bug the Paris apartment of the chief of French intelligence? A forthcoming book says that French security agents discovered hidden microphones in the Paris apartment of Pierre Brochand, head of the DGSE, France’s version of the CIA,...

By Jeff Stein  | May 26, 2010; 1:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  Intelligence  | Tags:  Dennis Blair, Pierre Brochand  
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Setting the record straight on 'contractor' spies

Robert Young Pelton spent years investigating counterterrorism mercenaries, so the last thing he expected was to be branded one himself. Yet there he was on the front page of the New York Times on March 14, his color picture flanked...

By Jeff Stein  | May 25, 2010; 6:25 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Tags:  CNN, Eason Jordan, Michael D. Furlong, Robert Young Pelton  
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CIA unit's wacky idea: Depict Saddam as gay

During planning for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the CIA's Iraq Operations Group kicked around a number of ideas for discrediting Saddam Hussein in the eyes of his people. One was to create a video purporting to show the Iraqi...

By Jeff Stein  | May 25, 2010; 6:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (44)
Categories:  Intelligence, Military  | Tags:  Hugh Turner, James Pavitt, Robert Gates, Saddam Hussein, The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan, William Casey  
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Backchannel chatter: Change the DNI's job

A former key intelligence officer and Hill staffer is offering an interesting idea about the next director of national intelligence. There shouldn't be a director of national intelligence, for starters. “The men who tried to govern as directors [of national...

By Jeff Stein  | May 24, 2010; 3:05 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (8)
Categories:  Backchannel chatter, Intelligence  
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