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Counterintelligence News for the week of:

November 26-December 2, 2006

Joan E. Dickson NSA Computer Scientist

Joan Elizabeth Dickson, 66, who spent 34 years at the National Security Agency and retired in 1995 as a computer scientist and a member of the Senior Executive Service, died Nov. 25…(Washington Post, 2 Dec 06)

Perry Hager Culley Journalist, Diplomat

Perry Hager Culley, 87, a journalist, diplomat and foreign medical aid executive, died of complications from heart disease Nov. 1…(Washington Post, 2 Dec 06)

China to Allow More Freedom For Journalists From Abroad

… A decree from Premier Wen Jiabao's government said foreign reporters, whether assigned here permanently or visiting for the Olympics, will be allowed to roam most of the country freely and report without interference by local police or propaganda officials from Jan. 1, 2007, until Oct. 17, 2008. The Games are in August 2008…..(Washington Post, 2 Dec 06)

Two Others Test Positive for Radiation, British Officials Say

The radioactive substance that killed former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has contaminated his wife and an Italian security consultant he met the day he fell ill, British officials and a Litvinenko family friend said Friday….(Washington Post, 2 Dec 06)

Russian spy contact says poisoned over shared secrets

An Italian contact of poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko said he believed both were targeted with a radioactive substance because of secrets they shared….(Reuters, 2 Dec 06)

Romania Mulls Fate of Espionage-Charged Bulgarian

…Stamen Stanchev was found to have created an organized crime ring leaking classified information to certain sides interested in the privatisation of energy companies in Romania, and the Court of appeals decided to leave him behind bars together with three more accused….(Sofia News, 2 Dec 06)

Delay lifted in trial of alleged Russian spy

…The Federal Court of Canada announced yesterday that the matter will now proceed Monday. Earlier this week, defence lawyers for Paul William Hampel, as he is known, had asked for and obtained a delay until Dec. 12, saying they needed more time to prove the suspect was actually a Canadian citizen….(Globe and Mail, 1 Dec 06)

More Victims and Allegations in the Poisoning Probe
An Italian security expert and Litvinenko's wife have both tested positive for the same radiactive substance that killed the former Russian spy, while a letter from a jailed Russian spy claims that Moscow is behind the attacks…(Time Magazine, 1 Dec 06)

Litvinenko contact tests positive for radiation

An Italian terrorism expert who met the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko on the day he was allegedly poisoned has also tested positive for the radioactive isotope polonium 210, it emerged today.......(Guardian, 1 Dec 06)

Trail Narrows to "Rogue Elements" in Moscow

Although involvement by the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been ruled out, officials believe the perpetrators would have needed access to government nuclear facilities to obtain samples of polonium 210, the radioactive substance that was used to poison the former spy. "Only the state would have access to that material," one official told the Guardian…A Thursday report mentioned a licensed US vendor who sells trace amounts of the dangerous radioactive element on the Internet for $69 per sample and mails it through the US Postal Service or UPS….(Spiegel, 1 Dec 06)

Ex - Spy Claims Litvinenko Was Targeted

A former Russian security service officer said he warned a former KGB agent who was fatally poisoned in London about a government-sponsored death squad that intended to kill him and other Kremlin opponents….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

Litvinenko case 'frightening glimpse' of nuclear risk

…British atomic scientists believe they have identified the nuclear plant which made the polonium, the isotope that killed Litvinenko, and specified the British Airways flight on which it was carried from Moscow to London on October 25. Clear traces of the radiation had been found on the floor and the light switch of a room in London's Millenium Hotel where Litvinenko met two Russian contacts on November 1, the day he fell ill….(DPA, 1 Dec 06)

British Find Radiation at 12 Locations

…The four newly disclosed sites include two hospitals where former spy Alexander Litvinenko was treated, the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in central London and a car found in north London, according to Scotland Yard. Police released no further details about the car; Litvinenko lived in north London, and radiation was also discovered in his home….(Washington Post, 1 Dec 06

Sailor to plead on secrets to Russia

…U.S. defense officials familiar with the case said Petty Officer Weinmann supplied Russian intelligence with a manual labeled "secret" that contained information about the nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Albuquerque. He had worked as a fire control technician on the submarine before deserting in July 2005…(Washington Times, 1 Dec 06)

Prodi to sue over allegations of KGB links

The suspicious death of a former Russian agent in London was enmeshed in alleged dirty tricks in Italian politics on Friday after Romano Prodi, Italy’s prime minister, announced legal action against people linking him to the KGB, the former Soviet intelligence service. The main person who has made this accusation, which Mr Prodi rejects as utterly unfounded, is Mario Scaramella, a self-styled expert on Soviet espionage in Italy….(Financial Times, 1 Dec 06)

Academic's radiation test positive

… As the post mortem examination started on the body of Mr Litvinenko, it was revealed Mario Scaramella had tested positive for a significant quantity of the deadly radioactive toxin polonium 210, sources said. He is the first person to test positive since Mr Litvinenko's death sparked a radiation alert….(Guardian, 1 Dec 06)

Ex-spy poisoning highlights helicopter mystery

The spy thriller-type poisoning death of Russian intelligence defector Alexander Litvinenko has renewed speculation an Aberystwyth-educated lawyer who died last year may have been targeted by Russian agents. Stephen Curtis, 45, who controlled Russian oil giant Yukos, was killed when his Agusta 109 helicopter exploded into a fireball near Bournemouth International Airport in March of last year….(IC Wales, 1 Dec 06)

Romania arrests Credit Suisse banker and cancels privatisation partnership

Credit Suisse’s lucrative relationship with the Romanian Government was in tatters last night after the bank was dropped from a €1 billion (£675 million) privatization after the arrest of its most senior banker in the region…..(Times Online, 1 Dec 06)

Pentagon Intelligence Chief to Step Down

Stephen A. Cambone, the Pentagon's top intelligence official and a close ally of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, will step down at the end of the year, becoming the first key department member to leave in the wake of Rumsfeld's resignation….(Washington Post, 1 Dec 06)

FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool

…The surveillance technique came to light in an opinion published this week by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. He ruled that the "roving bug" was legal because federal wiretapping law is broad enough to permit eavesdropping even of conversations that take place near a suspect's cell phone….(CNet, 1 Dec 06)

Libby Trial May Discuss Terror, Nukes

Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby says that during the investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's identity he was preoccupied with terrorist threats, Iraq's new government and emerging nuclear programs in Iran, Pakistan and North Korea….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

U.S. Overstates China Nuclear Clout, Report Says

… The Defense Department and U.S. intelligence agencies have portrayed Chinese weapons developments as more threatening than warranted, to justify building a new generation of weapons, according to the study by the Federation of American Scientists and the Natural Resources Defense Council….(Reuters, 1 Dec 06)

No domestic spying in Ohio terror case

A federal judge who dismissed a challenge of the Bush administration's domestic spying program said the case against a convicted al-Qaida supporter was built on statements he made to investigators, not evidence from warrantless eavesdropping….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

Pat Roberts may be leaving Senate Intelligence Committee

Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas is preparing to leave the Senate Intelligence Committee after an intense four years as chairman, according to Senate officials….(McClatchy Newspapers, 1 Dec 06)

Reyes Tapped to Chair Intelligence Panel

...The two aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they considered it an internal party issue, confirmed that Democratic leaders are contacting congressional and other political officials to tell them Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, will be the new chairman of the committee when Democrats take control in January…(AP, 1 Dec 06)

Sailor to plead on secrets to Russia

…The case is the second major compromise of submarine secrets for the Navy. Officials said a second damaging submarine spying case involves Los Angeles defense contractor Chi Mak, who was charged in a federal indictment with being part of a spy ring that passed sensitive weapons technology to China, including data on the Navy's new Virginia-class attack submarine…(Washington Times, 1 Dec 06)

FBI chief: Hampton Roads unit vital to agency work

Cyber crime, terrorism, public corruption and violent crime are among the chief concerns for FBI agents working in the Hampton Roads area, the agency's director said Thursday during a stop at the Norfolk office….(Daily Press, 1 Dec 06)

City Leaders Rebuff Judge's Call to Expand Jail

Under a contract with the federal government, the Alexandria jail reserves at least 140 beds for federal inmates. They have included high-profile inmates, such as Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and convicted spies Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames. But the number of federal inmates has grown to nearly 200 at times….(Washington Post, 1 Dec 06)

Pakistan says 10 of 41 missing men are free amid complaints of disappearances

The Pakistani government said Friday that 10 of 41 men on a list of people suspected of being secretly detained for years by domestic intelligence agencies for alleged links with extremist or terrorist groups have returned home….(AP, 1 Dec 06)

Canada raises security amid Iran spy charges

The federal government has taken steps to ensure the safety of the Canadian embassy in Tehran after Iranian legislators called it a den of spies and demanded it be shutdown….(Canadian Press, 1 Dec 06)

Conviction of Researcher for New York Times in China Is Upheld

… Zhao was detained in September 2004, 10 days after a Times article accurately predicted that former president Jiang Zemin would resign his last official position as head of China's Central Military Commission. Zhao and the Times have consistently denied that he was the source for news about Jiang's retirement, which was not unexpected but viewed as a state secret….(Washington Post, 1 Dec 06)

Russian Gas Giant Battles Negative Energy

…The Russian state-controlled natural gas monopoly has openly proclaimed its goal of becoming the world's dominant oil and gas company, and in the process it has raised hackles everywhere, from neighboring Ukraine to the boardrooms of major international oil companies and the capitals of Europe and the United States….(Washington Post, 1 Dec 06)

Georgia detains alleged S. Ossetian spy

Georgia's Interior Ministry said Friday its counter-intelligence service has detained a Georgian national who was allegedly spying for the breakaway republic of South Ossetia and Russia. According to Georgia, Kaha Bagauri, also known as Bagayev, 28, was recruited by Russian intelligence operatives in Tskhinvali, in 2005, and passed on sensitive information concerning Georgia's defense capabilities and vital infrastructure to prepare and conduct terrorist acts in the future….(RIA Novosti, 1 Dec 06)

Court upholds guilty verdict vs. Russian colonel spying for UK

The Russian Supreme Court's military board upheld Thursday a guilty verdict against a Russian security officer convicted for spying for the UK, rejecting an appeal filed by his defense. A Moscow military court had sentenced retired military intelligence Colonel Sergei Skripal, 55, to 13 years in prison for espionage on August 9….(RIA Novosti, 30 Nov 06)

Tehran targets Canadian 'spies'

…"The Canadian embassy represents the `den of spies' and this is unacceptable for Iranians," said hard-liner Hamidreza Hajbabai, one of a group of parliamentarians accusing Ottawa of plotting with the United States, a long-term enemy of Iran. Another lawmaker, Javad Arian-Manesh, said the Majiles (parliament) would investigate the Canadian embassy for espionage, "and if it is proven, (we are) determined to shut down the mission."…(Star, 30 Nov 06)

Analysis: High bar set in AIPAC case

The government has been set a high bar for conviction in the AIPAC secrets case -- prosecutors must show the two lobbyists charged under espionage laws knew that the disclosure of the material they allegedly passed to reporters and Israeli officials would hurt the United States. The defendants, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, lobbyists for the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, are charged with conspiring with Department of Defense intelligence analyst Larry Franklin to leak U.S. secrets in an apparent effort to influence U.S. policy towards Iran….(UPI, 30 Nov 06)

Burden of Proof in AIPAC Case is "Not Insubstantial," Court Says

A federal court this month denied a motion that would have eased the government's prosecution of two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who are charged with mishandling classified information. Prosecutors had argued that they should not be obliged to prove that the defendants "actually knew the disclosure of the information was potentially harmful to the United States."…(FAS. 30 Nov 06)

Canadian embassy houses spies

Iranian politicians threatened to close the Canadian embassy in Tehran yesterday over what they called its involvement in espionage. A group of lawmakers was to meet with Iran's Intelligence Minister over the matter…(National Post/Agence France-Presse, 30 Nov 06)

60 Russian Spies Operate in Britain — Lawmaker

As many as 60 Russian spies are operating in Britain, virtually unchallenged by a domestic intelligence service preoccupied by the threat from Islamic extremism, a lawmaker told a debate on relations between Moscow and London…(MosNews, 30 Nov 06)

In Rare Assembly, Judge Lobbies for Jail Space

…The issue that aroused Ellis's concern stems from the rapid increase in federal prisoners in Alexandria over the past decade. Under a contract with the federal government, the Alexandria Detention Center accepts federal inmates, who have included Lindh; Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui; convicted spies Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames; and former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who was being held for refusing to reveal sources for a news story….(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Ex-CIA Worker Admits Theft Of Items Pricey and Peculiar

George C. Dalmas III, a CIA employee for almost 20 years, yesterday admitted to breaking into 10 homes in the McLean area about a year ago and taking valuables and curiosities….(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Credit Suisse banker held in Romania on criminal charges

A senior investment banker at Credit Suisse who advised the Romanian government on some of the country’s largest privatizations has been arrested on charges of commercial espionage. Vadim Benyatov, a managing director and head of Credit Suisse’s central and eastern European business, was detained last night in Bucharest…(Times Online, 30 Nov 06)

Credit Suisse Manager, Officials Face Romanian Probe

…Prosecutors said in a statement last week they were investigating Benyatov and seven other men for economic espionage related to the sale of government assets. Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, advised on the sale of Romanian oil and gas companies in 2004….(Bloomberg, 30 Nov 06)

What Lies Behind the Rash of Russian Poisonings?

…Coming in the wake of the recent killings of former KGB man Alexander Litvinenko in London and of journalist Ana Politkovskaya in Moscow, Gaidar's episode suggests that Russian political life may be reacquiring some traditional dark patterns….(Time Magazine, 30 Nov 06)

Russian jet held at Heathrow as spy death case unfolds

…John Reid, the Home Secretary, said that the Boeing 737-400, leased by the private Russian airline Transaero, was one of at least five planes that Scotland Yard detectives investigating the death of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko fear may have been contaminated….(Times Online, 30 Nov 06)

Italian contact says didn't poison Russian spy

An Italian contact of Alexander Litvinenko denied on Thursday he had poisoned the former Russian spy and said British police were looking elsewhere in the murder investigation. Mario Scaramella, who is under British police protection, met Litvinenko on November 1 at a London sushi restaurant where traces of the deadly poison Polonium 210 were also found….(Reuters, 30 Nov 06)

Doctors suspect Ex-Russian PM was poisoned
Doctors treating former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar in a Moscow hospital believe he was probably poisoned, a Russian newspaper reported Thursday, amid fears the case might be linked to the unsolved deaths of a Russian ex-spy and a top journalist…(Agence France-Presse, 30 Nov 06)

The War Last Time

The chaotic war in Iraq is the great piece of unfinished business that will soon face Robert M. Gates, President Bush’s choice to replace Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense…(New York Times, 30 Nov 06)

Russian ex-PM has mystery illness

Former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is being treated in a Moscow hospital after falling violently ill on a trip to Ireland on 24 November….(BBC, 30 Nov 06)

Probe of Spy's Death Finds Radiation on 2 British Jets

…All three affected planes flew on the London-Moscow route, but they also made a total of more than 220 flights that landed in Barcelona; Athens; Stockholm; Vienna; Istanbul; Madrid; Larnaca, Cyprus; and the German cities of Dusseldorf and Frankfurt, airline officials said. The airline posted on its Web site, http://www.britishairways.com, a full list of flights made by the grounded aircraft dating back to Oct. 25…(Washington Post, 30 Nov 06)

Alleged Russian spy's case pushed up

The Federal Court of Canada announced this afternoon that the matter will now proceed Monday. Earlier this week, defence lawyers had asked for and obtained a delay until Dec. 12, saying they needed more time to prove the suspect was actually a Canadian citizen….(Globe and Mail, 30 Nov 06)

Judge scolds spying suspect's lawyers

One moment of levity that emerged from the hearing came when Judge Blais wondered aloud how someone could otherwise prove they had been born in Ontario. He suggested perhaps Mr. Hampel's parents could come and testify. The alleged spy laughed at the suggestion. His reaction did not go by the judge unnoticed….(National Post, 29 Nov 06)

Man suspected of espionage 'doesn't exist'

No record of birth can be found for a man who says he is a Toronto native but whom officials allege to be a Russian spy, a Federal Court hearing was told yesterday…And even though the man has been in custody for two weeks, he and his lawyers said yesterday they wanted to wait another two weeks before presenting witnesses on his behalf….(Globe and Mail, 29 Nov 06)

Hearing on alleged Russia spy delayed again

A hearing into Canadian government accusations that a man claiming to have been born in Canada is in fact an elite Russian spy was delayed on Tuesday until December 12….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Dominican intel chief confirms spy ring probe, arrests

The director of the National Investigations Department (DNI) confirmed that together with the FBI of the United States investigates a espionage network integrated by Dominicans, Colombians and Cubans….(Dominican Today, 29 Nov 06)

Poland to seek extradition of alleged spy from Lithuania

…Sergei M., a Belarussian citizen, was arrested Saturday and kept in a Vilnius prison. He is suspected of spying against Poland, the PAP news agency quoted Lithuanian official as saying….(Xinhua, 29 Nov 06)

Reprobate Activist Held for Espionage

An activist who is on parole after serving time for spying for North Korea has been arrested for espionage again. Kang Soon-jeong, the former vice chairman of the South Korean chapter of the Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification, an outlawed pro-Pyongyang group, was arrested on Tuesday for providing “national secrets” to Pyongyang…(Chosun, 29 Nov 06)

Salem sailor will plead guilty to spying

…"The charges are kind of interesting," said Weinmann's civilian defense lawyer, Phillip Stackhouse of Jacksonville, N.C., noting that his client's case is a national security matter. "But aside from that, it's a very routine plea agreement."…(Oregonian, 29 Nov 06)

Lawyer expects data-theft plea

A submarine crewman accused of stealing a Navy laptop and peddling its classified contents to an undisclosed foreign government plans to plead guilty next week to some of the six charges against him, his civilian lawyer said Tuesday…(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Crewman may plead guilty in espionage case

….(Statesman Journal, 29 Nov 06)

Submariner Will Plead Guilty In Laptop Theft

A Groton-based submarine crewman accused of stealing a Navy laptop computer and peddling its classified contents to an undisclosed foreign government plans to plead guilty next week to some of the six charges against him, his civilian lawyer said Tuesday. Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann, 22, of Salem, Ore., is scheduled for court-martial Monday…(The Day, 29 Nov 06)

Iranian Mps Call For Probe Into Canadian ''Spying''

A group of lawmakers in Iran’s conservative-dominated parliament have called for a probe into the activities of the Canadian embassy in Tehran, accusing it of spying…(Media Fax, 29 Nov 06)

Pakistan Under Fire Over Detentions

The three men had little in common -- until they all disappeared. The nuclear scientist, engineer and traveling businessman are now at the center of an unprecedented legal challenge by relatives who believe they -- and dozens of detainees like them -- are being held without charge by Pakistan's feared spy agencies….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Mexico Orders Trial of Ex - President for 1968 Massacre

…U.S. government documents published by the research group the National Security Archive in October show Echeverria was a CIA informer at the time of the massacre….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Alleged Torture Victim Speaks to Press

…El-Masri, a Kuwaiti-born German citizen, spoke to reporters at the National Press Club in Washington. A federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, heard arguments Tuesday by his attorneys that a lawsuit he filed against the former head of the CIA should be reinstated…(AP, 29 Nov 06)

European Report Details Flights By CIA Aircraft

…The committee said that it had found records of 1,245 CIA-operated flights landing at European airports or passing through European airspace, though it found evidence of only a handful of cases in which prisoners were transported…..(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Rome court adjourns U.S. soldier shooting case

A Rome judge has suspended until February a hearing on whether to try a U.S. soldier for shooting dead an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq last year while he was escorting a freed hostage to safety….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

KGB Spy Killed to Bury Chechnya Secrets

Anna Politkovskaya, a fierce critic of the war in Chechnya, was murdered — contract-style — in early October, the latest in a series of killings of journalists in Russia under President Vladimir Putin. Now, Robert R. Amsterdam, an international attorney, a lawyer for jailed Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and a Russian specialist, reveals to NewsMax that the murder by poison in Great Britain of Alexander Litvinenko, Russian ex-spy and journalist, is more of the same…Investigators of the Litvinenko murder reportedly said Litvinenko had uncovered "startling" new material about the Yukos affair….(News Max, 29 Nov 06)

Italian in Russian spy case not contaminated

… Mario Scaramella, who is under police protection in London, met Litvinenko on Nov. 1 at a London sushi restaurant where traces of the poison were also found….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Minister speaks out on spy death

A foreign office minister has given his reaction to the murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko….(BBC, 29 Nov 06)

Chubais links ex-PM mystery ailment to journalist, ex-spy death

Russia's electricity giant head and architect of the 1990s reforms said the mystery illness of his reformer colleague was linked to the recent killings of an investigative journalist and an ex-spy. Former acting Premier Yegor Gaidar's daughter said her 50-year-old father started vomiting and fainted at a conference in Dublin Friday and remained unconscious for three hours. Gaidar was in a grave condition, and doctors have not identified the reason yet…(RIA Novosti, 29 Nov 06)

Report Rejects European Denial of C.I.A. Activity

A new report by the European Parliament bluntly rejected the assertions by several European countries that they were unaware of a C.I.A. program to secretly abduct, transport and detain terrorist suspects….(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Man Mistakenly Abducted by C.I.A. Seeks Redress

A lawyer for a German man who was abducted while on vacation in Macedonia and said he was tortured while in C.I.A. custody in Afghanistan urged a federal appeals court on Tuesday to reinstate his lawsuit against the agency, which had been dismissed for national security reasons….New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

World spy chiefs gather in New Zealand for security service's 50th birthday bash

The CIA director was among the top world spy chiefs visiting New Zealand this week for secret celebrations of the 50th birthday of the South Pacific nation's Security Intelligence Service, local media reported Thursday…(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Lithuania exposes Belarusian spy

Just weeks after the government deported a Russian diplomat for “illegal intelligence activities,” the State Security Department announced it had detained a new spy, this time from neighboring Belarus. On Nov. 25, officials announced that they had detained a Belarusian spy, although refusing to reveal the person’s identity, age and profession….(Baltic Times, 29 Nov 06)

B-2 Stealth Bomber Compromised?

Classified B-2 Stealth bomber technology was leaked to China, say U.S. officials. A Hawaii-based spy allegedly obtained critical technology that will allow Beijing to copy and counter one of America’s most advanced weapons systems. Investigation reveals that U.S. Stealth technology may have been leaking since 1999….(Trumpet, 29 Nov 06)

Blair Pledges to Pursue Probe of Ex-Spy's Death

Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that "there is no diplomatic or political barrier in the way" of investigating the mysterious fatal poisoning of a former Russian spy in London and that he planned to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the matter "at any time that is appropriate."…(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Billionaire Ally of Dead Spy Issues Statement

Boris A. Berezovsky, an exiled Russian billionaire and fierce opponent of the Kremlin, confirmed Tuesday that the police found radioactive traces in his office after the death last week of his close associate, Alexander V. Litvinenko, who was poisoned by radiation….(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Second Russian in poison mystery

The intrigue surrounding the radiation poisoning of a former KGB agent in London last week has taken another twist, with the disclosure that former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar is in hospital with a mysterious illness that his friends say could be another poisoning…..(Australian, 29 Nov 06)

David Stevens Byerly FBI Agent

David Stevens Byerly, 74, a retired unit chief and special agent with the FBI, died Nov. 20…(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Russia's Gaidar Ill in Hospital with Mystery Ailment

Yegor Gaidar, architect of Russia's market reforms, was being treated in a Moscow hospital on Wednesday after coming close to death with a mystery ailment during a visit to Ireland, friends and family said….(Reuters, 29 Nov 06)

Top Russian Reformer Sees Plot Behind Ex-PM’s Illness

Anatoly Chubais, head of Russian power monopoly Unified Energy Systems of Russia doubts that the ailment affecting Russian economist and politician Yegor Gaidar was caused by natural factors…(MosNews, 29 Nov 06)

We Can't Let Our Guard Down

…"Intelligence-Led Policing" can best be described as a disciplined management approach in which targeted information is collected and shared among law enforcement agencies and fed into an analytical intelligence cycle so that priorities can be established and the most pressing threats can be dealt with in a focused manner….(Washington Post, 29 Nov 06)

Report rips lab security

…The government has already spent "tens of millions" to upgrade lab security and undertaken two major cyber-security initiatives, and the lab went into a 2004 shutdown in an effort to fix problems involving the handling of secret data, a report from the U.S. Department of Energy's Inspector General said. The FBI is investigating how what appears to be classified information left the lab and ended up on a computer flash drive in a Los Alamos mobile home last month…(New Mexican, 29 Nov 06)

Report: Los Alamos Security Flawed

…In a two-page memo, Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman said security at Los Alamos was "seriously flawed" when a worker removed classified documents later found in her home during a drug bust last month….(AP, 29 Nov 06)

Controls on Bank-Data Spying Impress Civil Liberties Board

…The program, which gives American intelligence officials access to large volumes of banking data through a Brussels consortium known as Swift, has been attacked by regulators in Europe, who view it as illegal and have threatened sanctions….(New York Times, 29 Nov 06)

Bail is denied to man accused in data case

A U.S. District judge Monday denied bail to a UCLA student accused of participating in a scheme to smuggle military information to the Chinese government. Yui "Billy" Mak, 26, was indicted in October on charges that he encrypted military data on disks that his parents, Tai Mak and Fuk Heung Li, allegedly tried to take to China….(LA Times, 28 Nov 06)

Alleged spy on the radar for awhile: Day

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day hinted yesterday that Canadian intelligence officers were watching a suspected Russian spy long before he was arrested in Montreal two weeks ago. In his first interview since the arrest, the Minister told the National Post that foreign espionage was a "growth industry" and that as an advanced, open democracy, Canada was "vulnerable."…(National Post, 28 Nov 06)

Spying suspect plans fight to stay in Canada

A man accused of being a Russian spy will not leave Canada without a fight, his defence lawyer told The Globe and Mail yesterday, amid continuing secrecy about the events that led to the 40-year-old's detention…(Globe and Mail, 28 Nov 06)

Investigator saw no record of alleged spy's name

The registration number on the birth certificate held by a suspected Russian spy is assigned to someone else who is alive, an Ontario government investigator testified Tuesday. Dale Hopkins of the Office of the Registrar General of Ontario told the Federal Court hearing in Montreal that he searched the database using the name of Paul William Hampel and the numbers on the certificate. He found no birth or death certificate matching the alleged alias…(CTV, 28 Nov 06)

Justice Dept. to Examine Its Use of NSA Wiretaps

…In a letter to House lawmakers, Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said his office decided to open the probe after conducting "initial inquiries" into the program. Under the initiative, the NSA monitors phone calls and e-mails between people in the United States and others overseas without court oversight if one of the targets is suspected of ties to terrorism….(Washington Post, 28 Nov 06)

Justice Official Opens Spying Inquiry

…Officials said the investigation could examine the legal authority given to the Justice Department under a secret executive order first signed by Mr. Bush in October 2001, as well as the laws and procedures governing intelligence wiretaps under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was approved by Congress in 1978 after the Watergate scandal and required a special court warrant for wiretaps on Americans…..(New York Times, 28 Nov 06)

Inside the CIA

Among the agencies of the federal government, three are legendary: the Marine Corps, the FBI and the CIA. One of the things that put them into that category is the unique culture of each….(Washington Times, 28 Nov 06)

Losing our secrets

With a host of promised congressional investigations on Iraq, intelligence and homeland security, it's worth noting the relative Democratic silence on espionage by Communist China. The latter's spying successes on the Bush administration's watch are indisputable…..(Washington Times, 28 Nov 06)

The Case of the Poisoned Spy

…every once in a while, an episode such as the death of Alexander Litvinenko comes along to boost the morale of conspiracy theorists -- and remind the rest of us that there does exist a secret world full of characters and plotlines so bizarre and implausible that the bard of betrayal, novelist John le Carre, would be embarrassed to write them….(Washington Post, 28 Nov 06)

Navy submariner will plead guilty in espionage case

A Navy submariner accused of espionage and desertion has agreed to plead guilty next Monday before a military judge, forgoing a trial. Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann was scheduled for a court-martial next week but will instead plead guilty in a Norfolk Naval Station court to some of the six charges against him, Weinmann's civilian attorney said Monday…Weinmann, 21, of Salem, Ore., has been in the Norfolk Naval Station brig since his arrest in Marchn…(Virginian-Pilot, 28 Nov 06)

Lawyer: Navy submariner to plead guilty in espionage case

A submariner accused of stealing a Navy laptop and peddling its classified contents to an undisclosed foreign government plans to plead guilty next week to some of the six charges against him, his civilian lawyer said Tuesday. Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann, 22, of Salem, Ore., is scheduled for court-martial Monday at Norfolk Naval Station, where he was being held in the brig. The fire control technician was stationed aboard the Connecticut-based submarine USS Albuquerque….(AP, 28 Nov 06)

Sailor to plead guilty in spy case

….(Navy Times, 28 Nov 06)

Taliban gunmen kill suspected US spy in Pakistan

…The bullet-riddled body of Gul Tahmim was found late Monday in a ravine near Makeen, a town in the North Waziristan tribal region where Pakistani forces have been posted to track remnants of al-Qaida, the Taliban militia and their local supporters…(AP/Jerusalem Post, 28 Nov 06)

Bulgarian charged with espionage in Romania
Romanian prosecutors charged a Bulgarian citizen with espionage officially on Tuesday after hearings at on the privatization of Romanian energy companies at the Supreme Court on Monday. Bulgarian consultant Stamen Stanchev is believed to have created an organized crime ring leaking classified information to preferential entities interested in the privatization of energy companies in Romania….(Hotnews, 28 Nov 06)

Mystery illness hits former Russian PM

Yegor Gaidar, Russia’s former prime minister and the architect of the country’s market reforms, last week suffered a sudden, unexplained and violent illness on a visit to Ireland, a day after Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB spy, died in London from an apparent radiation poisoning….(Financial Times, 28 Nov 06)

Traces of radioactive poison are found in Russian exile's office

…They are using his mobile telephone records and closed-circuit television cameras to plot his route as he met wealthy Russians, business partners and nuclear experts on the day that he fell ill. It appears that he left a trace of the radioactive isotope nearly everywhere he visited. It has been found at seven locations, including the two hospitals where he was treated….(Times Online, 28 Nov 06)

Graphic: polonium trail

Britain Tracing Poison That Killed Spy

The British government began tracking radioactive hotspots in London on Monday to trace the poison that killed a former KGB agent, and three people who reported possible symptoms of contamination underwent testing….(AP, 28 Nov 06)

Former KGB Spy's Italy Contact in UK Custody

An Italian academic who met former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko the day he became ill from radiation poisoning is under protective custody in London and undergoing medical tests, a legal source said on Tuesday….(Reuters, 28 Nov 06)

Little to prevent spies, other fraud artists from forging documents: Ontario

…Ontario has implemented 100 different security measures since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to shore up the security of its process for issuing new birth certificates, said Ciaran Ganley, a spokesman for the province's Government Services Ministry….(Canadian Press, 28 Nov 06)

EU nations 'knew about CIA jails'

Many EU member states were aware of secret CIA jails and transfers of terror suspects, a European Parliament draft report has said….(BBC, 28 Nov 06)

Get Smart
CLASS 11: Inside the CIA's First Post-9/11 Spy Class, by T.J. Waters

…T.J. Waters has given us a very readable account of the first wave of this rebuilding in Class 11. Waters, now an intelligence consultant, was a member of the first post-9/11 class of recruits for the CIA's spy wing, and his book describes how very different it was from those preceding it….(Washington Post, 27 Nov 06)

Domestic Spying Program to Get Internal Review

The Justice Department's inspector general has informed the Judiciary and Intelligence committees of both the House and Senate that he will begin a review of the controversial NSA Terrorist Surveillance Program….(ABC, 27 Nov 06)

Justices Rebuff New York Times on Leak Probe

The Supreme Court ruled against The New York Times on Monday, refusing to block the government from reviewing telephone records of two Times reporters in a leak investigation concerning a terrorism-funding probe….(AP, 27 Nov 06)

Robert Kupperman; Warned of Terrorism's Potential

Robert Harris Kupperman, 71, a well-known terrorism expert who for years warned that the United States was underprepared for attacks on its own soil, died of complications from Parkinson's disease Nov. 24…(Washington Post, 27 Nov 06)

THE NEXT ACT

…The Administration’s planning for a military attack on Iran was made far more complicated earlier this fall by a highly classified draft assessment by the C.I.A. challenging the White House’s assumptions about how close Iran might be to building a nuclear bomb. The C.I.A. found no conclusive evidence, as yet, of a secret Iranian nuclear-weapons program running parallel to the civilian operations that Iran has declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency…..(New Yorker, 27 Nov 06 Issue)

Murdered ex-spy brought secret document to Israel weeks before death

Debka reports last Saturday that Alexander Litvinenko, the murdered Russian ex-spy and journalist, had visited Israel in the weeks before his murder to pass a dossier to former Yukos Oil second-in-command Leonid Nevzlin. Nevzlin, a Jewish Russian billionaire who fled his native country when it became apparent that the government was targeting Yukos Oil owners and executives….(Israel Insider, 27 Nov 06)

Nuclear fallout: Alexander Litvinenko died in agony. Who killed him, and why?

The ex-KGB agent had many enemies, including his former spy colleagues and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.....(The Independent, 27 Nov 06)

Phillip Knightley: Ignore the conspiracies. Spies never forgive a traitor

...For my money, the circumstantial evidence points to the FSB, who took over the KGB's role and for whom Litvinenko once worked......(The Independent, 27 Nov 06)

3 SENT FOR TESTS AFTER EX-SPY DEATH - NEW TRACES OF POLONIUM 210 FOUND

THREE people are having radiological tests after showing sickness symptoms in the aftermath of the nuclear poisoning of Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko. And, this afternoon, Scotland Yard revealed they had found traces of polonium 210 - the poison which killed Litvinenko - at other locations around London......(Mirror, 27 Nov 06)

Obituary: Alexander Litvinenko

Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security officer who has died in a London hospital after apparently being poisoned, was a fierce critic of Russia's government.....(BBC, 27 Nov 06)

U.K. anti-terror list found in rental car

…Vehicle assessor Andy Erleback, 38, contacted The Sun newspaper in London when he found the document behind the seat of the Peugeot about to be auctioned off in Camberley. "Basically it was an A-Z of all the people that al-Qaida would love to see taken out,"…(UPI, 27 Nov 06)

German Intelligence Warns Against Russian Shareholder in Deutsche Telekom

Germany’s intelligence agency BND warns against Russian conglomerate Sistema taking a stake in German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom, Tagesspiegel daily reported on Monday, Nov. 28, citing security sources….(MosNews, 27 Nov 06)

Averea: Secret Documents Discovered in Bulgarian Stamen Stanchev’s Apartment in Bucharest

In a search of Bulgarian Stamen Stanchev’s apartment in Bucharest who was accused in economic espionage in Romania were discovered many secret documents and data that could endanger the national security, Averea newspaper reports today….(Focus, 27 Nov 06)

Cover blown on post-Cold War spy networks

…The idea that Russia, after that collapse, would have no need for a wide international spy network turned out to be a "post-Cold War illusion," Wark said. Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself a former spy in the KGB, has made little secret of his affection for espionage…..(Standard, 27 Nov 06)

Anybody can tune in to the top spy agencies

…Anybody can tune in to the world's top spy agencies talking to operatives in harm's way. All you need is a cheap shortwave radio receiver - the kind available at any drugstore. Tune it to 6855 kHz or 8010 on the hour…(McClatchy Newspapers, 27 Nov 06)

A Poisoned Spy

Despite the utter lack of evidence about who poisoned Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy who died last week in a London hospital, it was hardly surprising that suspicion fell immediately on the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin….(New York Times, 27 Nov 06)

Prosecutor says arrested Belarusian spy targeted Polish intelligence

A Polish prosecutor on Monday said a Belarusian man arrested on allegations of espionage worked for his country's secret service and was trying to glean information about Polish intelligence agents….(AP, 27 Nov 06)

Britain’s Spy Mystery: A Slow Death by Poison

…In the case of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who died in a London hospital on Thursday night, the most confounding questions were also the most basic. Who gave it to him and when? And how did they get this particular poison?....(New York Times, 26 Nov 06)

Murdered KGB Agent Visited Israel