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AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #21-99, 28 May 1999

This WIN prepared by John Macartney (jdmac@erols.com)

WINs are normally produced by Roy Jonkers, AFIO Executive Director, who is hiking in France and will be out of the office until mid-June. afio@afio.com

Contributions by members are invited.


AFIO LUNCHEON at Fort Myer, Va., 14 June 99. The Hon. LAWRENCE EAGLEBURGER, former Secretary of State and former Ambassador to Yugoslavia will talk about the Balkan situation. AFIO members and guests, $26. Others $29. Make out check to "AFIO" and send with note including name, address, tel/email info, to AFIO, 6723 Whittier Ave, McLean, Va 22101-4533. We expect a full house.


SECTION I CURRENT INTELLIGENCE

COX REPORT ON CHINESE ESPIONAGE FINALLY OUT. The declassified version of the Cox Report finally was released on May 25. Although there were no new bombshells, there is more detail and the whole controversy has been reinvigorated. There have already been calls for the resignations of Sandy Berger, the President's National Security Advisor, and Janet Reno, the Attorney General. (See item below about Berger.) Except for an item in the appendix that criticizes the CIA for warning industry that Congress was going to be questioning them (see 2nd item below), there is not much criticism of the Intelligence Community. The FBI and the Energy Dept counter- intelligence office did their jobs -- failures were mostly in top management at the National Labs, the Energy Dept, Justice and the White House. Congress will hold still more hearings and the scandal will be used against VP Gore's presidential campaign and also by those who would like to throttle back US-China relations and trade. http://www.house.gov/coxreport/

SANDY BERGER. The May 16 Washington Post had the best analysis I have seen on how the Clinton Administration makes foreign policy. The focus was on Sandy Berger, President Clinton's White House based National Security Adviser. Basically, it said that Berger and his deputy, Jim Steinberg, are the dominant policy makers, eclipsing SecState Madeleine Albright and SecDef William Cohen. Berger chairs the NSC Principals Committee which meets, on average, once a week, while Steinberg chairs the NSC Deputies Committee, which meets daily, often four times a day. SecState Albright and SecDef Cohen are powerful, too, of course, but, according to the Post do not have as much influence as Berger and Steinberg. Albright, Berger & Cohen, the so called "ABC Club," meet for breakfast and lunch weekly. Finally, the Post said, Berger, who sees foreign policy issues primarily in term of US domestic politics, is closest to Clinton. Meanwhile, a Willam Safire op-ed piece in the NY Times (5/17) reports that Congress is so incensed at Berger's NSC "spin machine" that there have been threats to zero out the budget of the White House NSC staff. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-05/16/055l-051699-idx.html, http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinion/safire/051799safi.html

CIA CRITICISM IN COX REPORT. AFIO member Richard Cummings noted that this section in the Appendix of the Cox report is worth reading. Quote: "CIA and Hughes. The Select Committee's attempts to investigate allegations made by a CIA analyst were made more difficult by certain actions of the CIA. The analyst had alleged that, while visiting Hughes in 1995, he had come across information indicating that technical data had been improperly passed by Hughes to the PRC in connection with the 1995 failure investigation, and that the CIA had ignored his request for a formal report to CIA Headquarters to that effect. As part of its investigation of Hughes' conduct in 1995, the Select Committee had previously determined that it should interview several of the Hughes employees from whom the CIA analyst said he had obtained his information since they were known to have played a part in the failure investigation. "Because the CIA analyst could not remember the names of the Hughes employees with whom he had spoken, the Select Committee asked the CIA to retrieve the information from its files. The CIA did so, but also, without the prior knowledge of the Select Committee, advised Hughes not only that the Select Committee might seek to interview these employees, but also of the lines of questioning that the Select Committee probably would pursue. The Select Committee was concerned that this notification may have inadvertently given Hughes the opportunity to destroy relevant evidence and allowed its employees to be less than candid. The Select Committee considered this action by CIA to be ill-advised and an impediment to this aspect of its investigation. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was separately investigating this matter of the CIA analyst, made a formal notification of the matter to the Justice Department. Justice was also already investigating the conduct of Hughes employees. The Justice Department had not yet concluded its investigation at the time of this report. "The CIA's official explanation for its actions was that it notified Hughes as a courtesy. The CIA denies that its notification to Hughes was intended in any way to interfere with the Justice Department or Congressional investigations that were then under way. "The Select Committee is disappointed about the lack of judgment that CIA personnel showed in this matter by not coordinating the CIA's communication with Hughes on this matter with the Select Committee prior to the event. The decision to advise Hughes about the Select Committee's intentions was discussed at length within the CIA and was approved by, among others, the CIA's Principal Deputy General Counsel and Deputy Director for Congressional Affairs. Because their personal counsel advised certain CIA employees not to make themselves available to the Select Committee during the pendency of the Justice Department investigation, the Select Committee was unable to interview all the CIA personnel who were involved in this matter. However, based on the information the Select Committee has been able to obtain on this matter, the Select Committee believes that at no time in the course of the many internal discussions and exchanges of correspondence did any of the CIA employees involved voice any concern about the adverse effects their proposed course of action might have on the Justice Department or Congressional investigations that were under way, nor even of the impact that lack of notice of this action might have on relations between the CIA and those entities. "Remedial action is needed at the CIA to ensure that employees are made more sensitive to the implications of their activities as they relate to on-going investigations by Congress and law enforcement agencies. Steps also should be taken to ensure that competent legal advice is available to CIA personnel. The Select Committee understands that, in addition to the Justice Department, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are reviewing this matter."

PEARL HARBOR CHIEFS EXONERATED. The Senate has added an amendment to the FY2000 Defense Authorization bill that restores the reputations of Adm Husband Kimmel and Gen Walter Short, the US commanders in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Both were removed from command, court martialed and humiliated after the Japanese attack -- sparking half a century of controversy. Most historians now believe they were scapegoats. Although there was no clear intelligence warning of a pending attack, Washington officials, but not Kimmel and Short, had access to Magic intelligence information and that indicated hostilities were imminent and that there was daily Japanese interest in ships at anchor in Pearl Harbor. (Wash Post, 5/26, p A4)

DEFENSE SPENDING GOING UP. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $289 billion in defense spending for FY2000. That's about $13 billion more than this year and $8 billion above the President's request. (Wash Post, 5/26, p A4)

FORMER US ARMY SERGEANT LINKED TO BIN LADEN. A former Army sergeant was indicted on Wednesday for allegedly participating in a conspiracy led by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden to kill Americans abroad. Ali Mohamed, 46, was charged with acting with others including bin Laden's group al Qaeda to plan the murders of U.S. military personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia and Somalia and last August's bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/Reuters19990519_3016.html

CIA SUED FOR HISTORIES. The nonprofit National Security Archives has filed suit for CIA histories concerning involvement in the 1948 Italian elections and 1953 coup in Iran. The National Security Archive is the same NGO that succeeded in having the intelligence budget figures released in 1996 and 1997 (their suit for 1998 is pending). (Wash Post 5/14/99.)

CIA EMPLOYEES SUE AGENCY. A group of current and former CIA officers is suing the Agency, charging that they were discouraged from getting legal assistance for adverse personnel actions, or if they had a counsel, their lawyer was denied access to relevant files.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-05/14/047l-051499-idx.html

INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION PASSES HOUSE. The FY2000 intelligence authorization bill passed the House on May 13 and awaits action in the Senate. According to the Washington Post (5/14), there is increased funding for counterintelligence and for analysis.

FORMER M.I.6 OFFICER PUTS NAMES ON THE INTERNET. According to Reuters, Richard Tomlinson, a disgruntled former British MI6 intelligence officer, posted the names of over 100 "agents" on the internet. The British govt has shut one or more sites down, but Tomlinson then posts another site. "Agents," in this press report, probably means career MI6 officers. http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/Reuters19990512_3235.html


SECTION II CONTEXT AND PRECEDENT


SECTION III - BOOKS & OTHER SOURCES.

SPY LETTERS OF THE AMERICAN REOVOLUTION. Apparently there was more than just one Benedict Arnold in the American Revolution, as this terrific exhibit makes clear. Part of the Sir Henry Clinton Collection at the Clements Library, University of Michigan, "Spy Letters" offers a fascinating look at the world of espionage during the Revolutionary War. Read the actual letters (such as one from Rachel Revere to her horse-riding hubby, Paul), or learn about the likes of Ann Bates, Benjamin Church, John Andre, Benedict Arnold, and others. http://krabappel.si.umich.edu/spies/

BRITISH INTELLIGENCE. For those following the story (above) about former MI6 officer Richard Tomlinson, there is a parallel internet case of former MI5 officer David Shayler. Shayler has two web pages with criticism and revelations about MI5 operations and personalities: http://www.shayler.com , http://www.inside-news.ch/shayler.html

Bill Gertz, Betrayal: How the Clinton Administration Undermined American Security, Regnery, May 1999. Washington Times intelligence reporter, Bill Gertz, uses his extensive sources within the government andunrivaled access to confidential documents in this sensational exposé. A 3-part series taken from the book appeared in the Washington Times May 16, 17 and 18. In the words of former Clinton DCI James Woolsey: "When I was DCI, Bill [Gertz] used to drive me crazy because I couldn't figure out where the leaks were coming from. Now....I read him religiously to find out what's going on."


SECTION IV -- BULLETIN BOARD

AFIO CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP - - AFIO invites corporations and professional offices to become corporate members. For more information contact:

AFIO Vice President for Corporate Membership Programs, James ("Jim") Boginis, jim.boginis@lmco.com

"HEADS UP" SCHEDULE. Lists events of interest to AFIO members and intelligence scholars. NOTE: If you know of an event coming up in the next 12 months that should be added to this list, PLEASE ADVISE John Macartney, jdmac@erols.com and AFIO afio@afio.com

June 18, Washington. DIA's Joint Military Intelligence College sponsored conference on teaching intelligence in colleges and universities. Contact AFIO member LTC (colonel-select -- congratulations!) Kevin Johnson, (202) 231-4173 or, k-m-johnson@worldnet.att.net

June 24 - 28, Great Lakes Naval Base, IL. AFIO Midwest Chapter 10th annual Intelligence Seminar at Great Lakes June 24, 25 and 26, followed by at tour of the Joint Reserve Center at Fort Sheridan on the 27th, and sessions as well as dinners on 27 and 28 June at the Eagles Nest at the Great Lakes Base. Contact President Angelo Diliberti diaboliq@home.com.

July 16-17, Peru, VT. Summer meeting of AFIO New England Chapter at the Bromely Sun Lodge, (860) 669-7706.

September 10-12, Berlin, Germany. Conference, "Berlin: The Intelligence War," co-sponsored by the CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence, the Allied Museum, and Teufelsberg. Registration fee is $100. Deadline for registration is April 26. Attendance by invitation only. For information, contact: Carol Minor at fax (703) 613-3050, or richaes@ucia.gov

September 13, AFIO Luncheon, Ft Myer, Virginia. Speakers to be announced.

October 21-23, AFIO National Convention and Symposium. Symposium will be conducted 8 October in the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Auditorium, Chantilly, Virginia. Further announcements will be forthcoming.

Oct 29-30, Kennebunkport, ME. Fall meeting of AFIO New England Chapter, Nonantum Resort. (860) 669-7706.


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