Free Republic

A new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) states that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) can finally announce that it has a "high confidence" that Japan actually did attack US fleet at Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 "or thereabouts." "Good intelligence work takes time," said Moe Elman, CIA Public Relations director. "It is important to check every source and confirm its accuracy before jumping to hasty conclusions. The cost of a hasty and possibly erroneous conclusion could be significant. By taking the time to get it right we can be assured that we have effectively eliminated an excessively negative outcome." The...

The $2.5 million book deal that Valerie Plame Wilson, the former Central Intelligence Agency officer whose identity was publicly disclosed three years ago, negotiated with Crown Publishing Group last month has fallen through. Ms. Wilson, who could not agree on terms with Crown, is now in exclusive negotiations with Simon & Schuster, which originally had lost an auction for the book to Crown. Although no contract has yet been signed with Simon & Schuster, David Rosenthal, the publisher, said, "We are optimistic about these talks." When Crown announced the deal last month, Steve Ross, senior vice president and publisher, said...

EXCLUSIVE BBC Spooked by al-Qaeda MI5 drama ... Shaun Dingwall     By THOMAS WHITAKER and SARA NATHAN BBC bosses are ready to AXE a £1million episode of hit drama Spooks in which an al-Qaeda terrorist is shot dead — in case it upsets Muslims. Filming the assassination plot for the MI5 drama took four weeks. But actor Shaun Dingwall who plays a renegade Christian gunman, fears he could become a target for fundamentalists if the scene is aired. In the episode, due to be shown later this year, a religious nut played by Shaun, 35, guns down the fanatic...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As CIA Director Porter Goss tries to rebuild the agency's global operations, he faces a shortage of experienced spies created by a post-September 11 stampede to the private sector, current and former intelligence officials say. Goss, who a year ago inherited a CIA wracked by criticism of intelligence failures over Iraq and the September 11, 2001, attacks, has come under fire from critics about the publicized departures of several high-level clandestine officers. Reform advocates see the loss of senior officials as a natural consequence of changes intended to root out an old guard blamed for lapses that...

Nobody was surprised that state Sen. Carole Migden voted in favor of her own cosmetics bill. The problem was that she did it in the wrong legislative house. Toward the end of Wednesday's floor session, Migden, a San Francisco Democrat, pushed the voting button of a GOP assemblyman who was temporarily away from his desk. Her action violated Assembly rules and drew an angry response from Republicans. "That behavior cannot be tolerated," said Assembly Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield. "It's unheard of on this floor, it's against the rules, and it cannot be tolerated." Migden, chairwoman of the powerful...

The Declining Terrorist Threat By Larry C. Johnson July 10, 2001 WASHINGTON - Judging from news reports and the portrayal of villains in our popular entertainment, Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism. They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely to think that the United States is the most popular target of terrorists. And they almost certainly have the impression that extremist Islamic groups cause most terrorism. None of these beliefs are based in fact. While many crimes are committed ...

So now we know a lot of the facts. In the midst of a war, a rogue CIA employee named Valerie Plame set out to sabotage the President's war policy -- a policy ratified by both political parties and both houses of Congress. To do this she sent her husband on a mission to Niger to discredit the President's statement that Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium there -- in other words to discredit a justification for the war in which Americans were continuing to die. Forget for a moment the treasonous nature of an action designed to undermine a duly...

I revealed in yesterday's taping of the McLaughlin Group that Time magazine's emails will reveal that Karl Rove was Matt Cooper's source. I have known this for months but didn't want to say it at a time that would risk me getting dragged into the grand jury. McLaughlin is seen in some markets on Friday night, so some websites have picked it up, including Drudge, but I don't expect it to have much impact because McLaughlin is not considered a news show and it will be pre-empted in the big markets on Sunday because of tennis. Since I revealed the...

ROME - An Italian judge has ordered the arrest of 13 CIA agents for allegedly helping deport an imam to Egypt as part of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts, an Italian official familiar with the investigation said Friday. The agents are suspected in the seizure of an Egyptian-born imam identified as Abu Omar on the streets of Milan in February 2003, according to the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. The U.S. Embassy in Rome declined to comment. Prosecutors believe the agents seized Omar as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program, in which terror...

CHINO, Calif. (AP) - An unidentified object fell from the sky and spooked Roswell residents. Roswell Avenue residents aren't sure what the unidentified falling object was, but it streaked across the sky about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday and apparently hit the ground, touching off a fire that destroyed a neighbor's shed. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said they got calls from Chino residents and motorists on the 210 and 71 freeways reporting that an unidentified object was landing or crashing in town. "Somebody told one of the fire officials that they saw a plane crash," said fire Capt. Kim Johnson,...

US President George W Bush has ordered the CIA to get more spies on the ground to step up the war on terror - while resignations of key staff have increased a sense of turmoil at the world's biggest intelligence agency. The president last week gave Central Intelligence Agency director Porter Goss 90 days to draw up a timetable and budget to increase by 50 per cent the number of spies on the ground, and take on extra analysts and language specialists. Bush, according to his memorandum made public this week, also wants to double the number of agents in...

The ongoing shake-up at the CIA is a welcome development for senior Pentagon officials that promises to end the agency's below-the-radar opposition to some aspects of President Bush's war on terrorism. Defense Department sources privately complained that parts of the CIA's entrenched bureaucracy of analysts opposed the military's large role in a war against al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Before the September 11 attacks, the CIA had the lead in hunting al Qaeda. Afterward, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld took over that role and put the military on a terrorist-hunting mission that trespassed on some CIA roles. "Let's just...

THE SCROLL BAR ON THE BOTTOM OF CNN'S AARON BROWN SHOW SHOWS "SWAPPING SPOOKS" !!!!

<p>Our rainy summer was still in full swing when, as seems to be retail practice these days, stores started displaying their Halloween merchandise -- much to the delight of children, who are drawn to colorful decorations that make howling sounds, and much to the irritation of moms, who have to explain why August is too early to start buying Halloween candy.</p>

The United States which used Islamic Fundamenalists against Communism in Afghanistan in the 1980's has embarked on an operaton to use Communists to bring about the end of the Islamic regieme in Iran.There is no evidence as of yet to corroborate the allegiations of the Iranian authorities that US Intelligence has been behind the current wave of student unrest.However, it appears to be true that after repeatedly seeing the potential and clandestine operational capabilities of the pro communist students of the unviersities, the Central Intelligence Agency has started shifting its bets to them rather than placing them on the monarchists...

Spooks dig for secrets of Saddam As Blair prepares to issue his dossier on Iraq's weapons, Peter Beaumont and Ed Vulliamy assess the quality of intelligence - and the difficulty of obtaining it Peter Beaumont in London and Ed Vulliamy in New York Sunday September 15, 2002 The Observer He is there at almost every official photo-opportunity with Saddam Hussein, a compact and wiry military officer, his khaki shirt rolled up to his elbows, a beret pulled across his brow. A heavy handlebar moustache hangs over a solid jaw, grey with a permanent five o'clock shadow. The recent prominence of...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. BUCHAREST, Romania -- Tourism officials rejected criticism Friday that construction of a Dracula theme park in Transylvania threatens a nearby medieval citadel. Dracula Park is to be built in Sighisoara, hometown of the 15th century prince Vlad the Impaler, who inspired novelist Bram Stoker for his practice of impaling captured Turks and other enemies on stakes. The Tourism Ministry said UNESCO expressed concern that large numbers of tourists and cars expected at the amusement park would threaten the preservation of the nearby Sighisoara citadel, a UNESCO heritage site. Deputy Tourism Minister...