http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/intelligence/ en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:14:42 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418534/posts WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama was Thursday due to receive initial findings into the botched bombing of a US plane, amid reports that US agencies failed to share key information about the would-be bomber. According to The Washington Post, the report details how agencies failed to divulge or highlight intelligence gathered about the young Nigerian who allegedly tried to blow up the Northwest plane in mid-air on Christmas Day. "The right information did not get to the right people -- there's no question about that," a senior intelligence official told the US daily. "If all known information had been... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418534/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:14:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418485/posts U.S. intelligence chief Dennis C. Blair faced tough questions about his future Wednesday as the Obama administration fended off criticism over the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. Publicly, the White House was standing by Mr. Blair, the United States' top spymaster, who is responsible for coordinating intelligence gathering among 16 agencies, saying the four-star admiral had the full confidence of the president. "This is not about one person or one agency," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. Also Wednesday, it was revealed that a similar effort, starting in Somalia, to down a jetliner was thwarted... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418485/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:07:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418238/posts That was quite a revealing -- and understandable -- public tantrum President Obama threw Tuesday. Understandable, because the president has every right to be livid over the "potentially catastrophic breach of security" that nearly saw a terrorist bring down an airliner with 289 people aboard. And revealing, because perhaps Obama has come to understand that he does not enjoy as much control over intelligence matters as he might have imagined. Also, that the Islamist threat to America won't be countered with mere words. NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418238/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:11:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418085/posts Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A senior U.S. official tells CNN that the attack at a military base in eastern Afghanistan by a suicide bomber Wednesday killed eight Americans believed to be CIA employees. CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418085/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:21:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418074/posts Sources tell CBS News that it appears the CIA information on "the Nigerian" was limited including his actual identity because it was coming from sub-sourcing. That means the information was one or two steps removed from the origin source who had contact with Abdulmutallab or who eyeballed him associating with individuals with suspected or known links to al Qaeda. The sub-source apparently told the CIA that the person of interest dubbed "the Nigerian" held extremist views, had the ability to travel outside the region, and was being embraced and groomed by those who ascribe to al Qaeda. Information provided by... CBS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418074/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:57:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417575/posts The U.S. government had intelligence from Yemen before Christmas that leaders of a branch of Al Qaeda there were talking about "a Nigerian" being prepared for a terrorist attack. Associated Press / FOX http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417575/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:43:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417495/posts The radical Yemeni-based cleric connected to two violent plots in the U.S. has "gone operational," a senior U.S. official told Fox News, suggesting Anwar al-Awlaki is becoming an increasingly significant figure in Arabian Peninsula terror networks. Al-Awlaki was thought to have been killed in an air strike by Yemeni forces last week, but that is now unconfirmed. The senior U.S. official told Fox News that the cleric, an American citizen now living in Yemen, had previously been devoted to "propaganda and spiritual guidance," but went operational in the past year. This comes as a U.S. intelligence official told The Washington... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417495/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:26:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413228/posts Polish cipher officer worked for Chinese intelligence? 22.12.2009 12:39 Stefan Zielonka, a cipher officer who mysteriously disappeared in April 2009, might have betrayed Poland and worked for the Chinese secret service. For many years Zielonka coded messages of Polish military intelligence. He had a unique knowledge of code names of Polish officers working abroad and access to secret sources of information. Zielonka also knew NATO’s codes. So far military intelligence linked his disappearance to suicide or accidental death, but the most probable scenario seems to be high treason. Zielonka is suspected of a long-term cooperation with the Chinese secret service.... thenews.pl http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413228/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:00:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407771/posts In Afghanistan, the Taliban are finding that their Medieval warrior mentality and physical hardiness are no match for smart bombs and even smarter intelligence work. The Taliban fighters are often described as clever and adaptive. They are. But the Taliban fighters, including many of the leaders, are illiterate and uncomfortable with new technology. They constantly get nailed using cell phones and walkie talkies (like the Motorola models available worldwide), even though it's common knowledge that the U.S. frequently eavesdrops. The Afghans believe the Americans are using some kind of pagan "magic", and if an Islamic warrior is pure-of-heart, the magic... The Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407771/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:54:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406490/posts The giant gold and silver satellite glittered against the black sky as space shuttle Atlantis closed in on it from below. Commander Hoot Gibson and pilot Guy Gardner flew the approach, while mission specialist Mike Mullane, at the other end of the flight deck, readied the shuttle’s robot arm for a capture. Downstairs in the airlock, mission specialists Jerry Ross and Bill Shepherd waited in their spacesuits for Gibson’s order to go outside and attempt a rescue. The mission of STS-27 had been to deploy the first in a series of new spy satellites that used radar to observe ground... Air & Space Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406490/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 07:28:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401823/posts "So, if the mohajroon.com forum was shut down..." SNIPPET: "...back in 2007, when the UAE told the forum administrator it was either that or he was going to jail... ...how is it that the same forum administrator was able to turn right around and start the al-Shmokh forum? A forum which - ironically, or not so ironically - has recently become involved in accusing other forums of being fronts for intelligence agencies." INTERNET HAGANAH.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2401823/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 03:33:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401425/posts Last week, President Obama laid out his plan for prosecuting the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan. Thirty-thousand additional US troops will be headed to Afghanistan over the next several months, part of an intensified effort to regain territory from the Taliban and give the fledgling Afghan security forces a chance to take control of that nation. Regardless of what you think of the decision and the President’s announcement of it, here are some indisputable facts: Al Qaeda, the organization that actually attacked us on 9/11, retains almost no presence in Afghanistan. Its central leadership now operates primarily from an area across... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401425/posts#comment Sun, 6 Dec 2009 11:15:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398657/posts Klaus von Clausewitz, the famed Prussian military historian and theorist, defined war as being “an extension of politics, using violence to constrain the enemy to accomplish our will.” While that may have been a perfectly sound concept in Clausewitz’s time, the early 19th century, the destructive power of modern weaponry tells us that things are no longer that simple or clear cut. Something new has been added. Never in his wildest dreams could Clausewitz ever have imagined global real-time television and the influence that it has in world affairs. In an era when our most deadly enemies are no longer... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398657/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 19:22:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397471/posts A number of Arabic and Pashtu interpreters at the terror-war detention center at Guantanamo Bay are under active investigation for omitting valuable intelligence from their translations of detainee interrogations, among other security breaches. This could taint some of the evidence at the "9/11 trial" in New York and proceedings against other detainees. Remarkably, the Pentagon never cleaned up the "mole infestation" at its highest-security facility after the FBI busted a Muslim spy ring at Gitmo in 2003. The 2003 probe involved at least two Arabic interpreters with high-level security clearance. Senior Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, a Syrian native, and former Army... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397471/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 10:59:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396279/posts The peaks of the Hindu Kush mountains create a stunning backdrop for the U.S. military's Kabul headquarters, but Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn rarely notices. Sheltering Taliban fighters and American combat outposts, the mountains symbolize the old way of fighting. Flynn was sent here to help define a new strategy for the war. In a heavily fortified teleconference center at the military complex, Flynn sat before a microphone pressing his case for more Predator drones, intelligence analysts and satellites to peer beyond those craggy peaks. An ocean away in the United States, a senior officer seemed to be dragging his heels,... Chicago Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396279/posts#comment Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:10:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396206/posts Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair should sign by Dec. 1 a document laying out new responsibilities for the National Reconnaissance Office, builder and operator of America’s spy satellites. This will set in motion the first substantial changes to the NRO charter since 1965, four years after then-Defense Secretary Robert McNamara created the NRO and drafted its charter. The NRO is led by former Air Force Gen. Bruce Carlson, The new document, called a statement of principles, lays out eight core ideas meant to guide the NRO, according to a source familiar with the document.... Dod Buzz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396206/posts#comment Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:01:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2390261/posts Dsvid Littman, 75, was awarded the Order of "Hero of Silence" last Summer 2009 by the Israeli Mossad for having been an undercover volunteer helping 500 children leave Morocco clandestinely in 1963. The Order of "Hero of Silence" is a very rare award. Only nine people have received it, seven whose identities remain classified. "drzz.info" obtained exclusive photographs of this private event taking place at the heart of Israel's intelligence community and featuring Ephraim Halevy, the Mossad's former director general, and the current Mossad's deputy director whose face has been "blacked" for confidentiality restrictions. See the pictures http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2390261/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:12:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380089/posts Fort Hood Texas Shootings Free Republic Archives This thread is for everyone, be sure to bookmark it. If you create a new thread, feel free to post a link to it here as well. Our prayers Continue...... *Update:13 Soldiers Killed 31 Wounded Fort Hood Shooting [Muslim terrorist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan] *MAJ. GEN. ROBERT SCALES (RET.) "This was a deliberate act of execution." (FOX NEWS) *Barack Obama Gives "Shout-Out" Before He Comments on Shooting -- FOX News (here's the video) *Transcript: President Obama delivers remarks on Ft. Hood shooting (after shoutout) *NBC CHICAGO: Obama's Frightening Insensitivity Following Shooting *Obama... Multiple http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380089/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 17:16:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2381875/posts Looking for some advice and perhaps assistance from Texas FReepers who work in the Industrial Security and/or Intelligence fields. Recently I was let go from my job as a Quality Manager for a building wire and cable manufacturing company after 8-1/2 years of service. Although it was an unexpected shock, I soon afterwards realized it was time for a career change. I have been in the field of Quality Assurance for almost 12 years yet have never felt any fulfillment in that work. Since I have some experience in the field of intelligence, have held Top Secret/SCI security clearances during... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2381875/posts#comment Mon, 9 Nov 2009 03:02:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381396/posts Several high-priority and high-priced satellites crucial to U.S. national security are slated to launch over the next 15 to 18 months, according to Bruce Carlson, director of the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). During a keynote address here at the Strategic Space Symposium, Carlson did not provide details of the upcoming missions. Most of the NRO’s satellite programs are classified. Carlson noted the launches to make the point that the NRO continues to perform its mission despite having had its struggles in recent years. But Carlson also said the NRO has suffered a steep decline in its research and development... Space News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381396/posts#comment Sun, 8 Nov 2009 09:49:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373707/posts A forthcoming study on Hispanic children’s cognitive skills underlines the challenges the country faces in aspiring to close the achievement gap between these children and their white and Asian counterparts. Hispanic “children fall behind their peers in mental development by the time they reach grade school, and the gap tends to widen as they get older,” reports the New York Times. “The drop-off in the cognitive scores of Hispanic toddlers, especially those from Mexican backgrounds, was steeper than for other [low-income] groups and could not be explained by economic status alone. . . . From 24 to 36 months, the... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373707/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:51:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2375189/posts Note: The following text is a quote: Home • Briefing Room • Presidential Actions • Executive Orders The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release October 29, 2009 President Obama Signs Executive Order to Amend Executive Order 13462 THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary __________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release October 28, 2009 EXECUTIVE ORDER ---------------- AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER 13462 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Executive Order 13462 of February 29, 2008, is amended... WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2375189/posts#comment Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:49:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373187/posts President Barack Obama named University of Oklahoma president David Boren co-chairman of his Intelligence Advisory Board today. But at the tail end of his speech announcing the decision, Obama had this to say: “I thank David for agreeing to serve in this capacity, even as he continues to lead the University of Oklahoma.” Obama added: “And we are sorry about (Sam) Bradford’s shoulder.” The Oklahoman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373187/posts#comment Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:46:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372662/posts The CIA may have misled Congress at least five times since 2001, two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee said Tuesday. Intelligence subcommittee Chairwomen Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) are leading an investigation into what they described as a practice of incomplete and often misleading intelligence briefings, which arose in the wake of CIA Director Leon Panetta’s June 24 admission that intelligence officials failed to notify Congress about a top-secret program to assassinate al Qaeda leaders. The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2372662/posts#comment Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:20:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353633/posts Why do Democrats in Congress want to change key laws that have helped to discover terrorist plots? One would think that the arrests of Najibullah Zazi...and of two others charged with planning to blow up buildings in Dallas, Texas, and Springfield, Ill.—would generate support for the intelligence-gathering tools that protect this country from Muslim fanatics. In Mr. Zazi's case, the government has already confirmed the value of these tools: It has filed a notice of its intent to use information gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was specifically written to help combat terrorists and spies. Nevertheless, there is... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353633/posts#comment Fri, 2 Oct 2009 18:58:48 GMT