SECTION I - CURRENT
INTELLIGENCE
NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE (NRO) REPORT ISSUED -- A
blue-ribbon 11-member bipartisan Congressional commission issued a
report on November 14th, entitled: "The Evolving Role of the NRO -
Preparing The NRO For The Future." It concluded that it was to the
nation's interest to 'turn back the clock' in a manner of speaking, and
to let the NRO (by another name) operate again in a nimble and
innovative manner in an 'out-of-sight' black world with adequate
funding, unencumbered by laborious DoD acquisition procedures.
The once highly secret NRO (even the acronym 'NRO' was
classified)-- the nation's highly effective space reconnaissance
agency -- came under fire after the end of the Cold War, particularly
when it built itself a shiny new headquarters in Chantilly, and there
were accusations of financial wizardry -- money saved by operating
spacecraft that were too durable and long-lasting was allegedly applied
to financing the new building. In the resulting uproar, the NRO was
forced "out of the closet," forced to operate with more public
and congressional transparency, and more integrated with the rest of the
intelligence community. Much of this was counterproductive to the
mission, as the commission recognized implicitly.
According to the report, budget constraints on the NRO have delayed
space reconnaissance modernization, while the proliferation of
commercial imaging technologies has provided U.S.adversaries with
"unprecedented insight within our national borders, as well as into
our overseas activities. ... Equally problematic, widespread knowledge
of the NRO's existence and public speculation on how NRO satellites are
used, has aided terrorists and other potential adversaries in developing
techniques of denial and deception to thwart U.S. intelligence
efforts." In addition, other technologies such as fiber-optic
communications "render certain NRO capabilities
obsolete." The report warned that the agency's resources were being
stretched "and the result is a prescription for a potentially
significant intelligence failure."
The Congressional report is too long and involved to condense here. Let
me summarize the principal conclusions:
(1) that a new " Office of Space
Reconnaissance" be created (within the present NRO), with special
acquisition authorities, to be staffed by experienced military and CIA
personnel, with a budget separate from other agencies and activities
within the National Foreign Intelligence Program, to be protected by a
special security compartment, and to operate under the personal
direction of the President, Secretary of Defense and Director of
Central Intelligence.
(2) that the President take direct responsibility to ensure that the
relationship of the SecDef and the DCI regarding the management of the
NRO is functioning effectively.
(3) that the SecDef and the DCI work closely together to achieve
an appropriate balance between strategic and tactical requirements for
NRO systems, present and future.
(4) That SecDef, in consultation with the DCI, re-establish the
'Defense Space Reconnaissance Program' as a means of funding tactical
military requirements for NRO systems and architectures.
(5) that the DCI be granted greater latitude to redirect funds among
intelligence collection activities and agencies in order to respond
most effectively to the specific types of issues that arise in NRO
programs.
(6) that the SecDef and the DCI jointly establish NRO career paths to
ensure that a highly skilled and experienced NRO workforce is
continued and sustained.
(7) that the NRO Director, with the support of the Air Force Materiel
Command and Space and Missile Systems Center, develop a contingency
plan for each NRO program. These plans should describe risks,
contingency options and failure mitigation plans to minimize satellite
system problems that might result from satellite or launch vehicle
failures.
(8) that a clear national strategy -- that takes full advantage of the
capabilities of the U.S. commercial satellite imagery industry -- be
developed.
(9) that the NRO should participate jointly with other agencies and
departments in strategic Airborne Reconnaissance development.
Specifically, the NRO should supply system engineering capabilities
and transfer space system technologies to airborne applications.
Other recommendations include:
(10) That decisionmakers at the highest levels (including the
President, SecDef and DCI) be personally involved in setting policy
direction for the NRO.
(11) that the NRO mission be updated, and that the confusion on
tasking, processing, exploitation and dissemination (TPED) activities
between NRO, National Security Agency (NSA), National Imagery and
Mapping Agency (NIMA), and Central MASINT Organization (CMO) be
cleared up.
(12) that the President, DCI and SecDef ensure proper funding for the
NRO Director's research, development and acquisition effort and the
application of its technology to satisfy the needs of its mission
partners and customers.
To sum up, "Without bold and sustained
leadership, the United States could find itself 'deaf and blind' and
increasingly vulnerable to any of the potentially devastating threats it
may face in the next ten to twenty years,"
The panel held that the agency had "become a publicly
acknowledged organization that openly announces many of its new program
initiatives," which in turn hindered its ability to tackle
intelligence problems, and recommended creating a new 'Office of Space
Reconnaissance' to work on super-secret projects to gain technological
advantage in space-related spying.
Said co-chairman Goss: "There are so many new things on the horizon
that have such promise and they need to be pursued, but they need to be
pursued in a way that we don't give the advantage to others of knowing
about them, or sharing some of the things we've learned."
The National Reconnaissance Office, which marked its 40th anniversary
this year, has evolved away from its original mission -- "to go out
and do things that had never been dreamed of before, and we need
that."
(Loeb/ Pincus WPost 16Nov2000, p. A41; T. Zakaria, Reuters)
(Full NRO Report at <http://www.nrocommission.com/toc.htm>;
Foreword at <http://www.nrocommission.com/foreword.htm>;
Executive Summary at <http://www.nrocommission.com/exec_sum.htm>;
Adobe Acrobat version of complete report can be downloaded at: <http://www.nrocommission.com/nro.pdf>;
) (Jonkers)
SECTION II - CONTEXT AND PRECEDENT
CHINESE DEFENSE WHITE PAPER VIEWS U.S. NEGATIVELY -- In 1998,
when China issued its second white paper on national defense,
representing a consensus view of the government, the document mentioned
the United States 10 times, each time positively. China's third Defense
White Paper, issued in October, mentioned the United States 13 times.
All but two of the references were negative.
Beijing's view of America is said to have been soured by a combination
of events: NATO's expansion and willingness to use force outside its
territory; the strengthening of U.S.-Japan defense guidelines regarding
joint action in the areas surrounding Japan; a congressional report
alleging two decades of Chinese espionage in the United States; Premier
Zhu Rongji's tough visit to the United States in April 1999 when he
failed to secure an agreement on Chinese membership in the WTO. In
addition, China has been disturbed by talk in Washington of a national
missile defense system and that such a system might be sold to Taiwan.
The May 1999 allied bombing of China's embassy in Belgrade during NATO's
air war against Yugoslavia, which killed three Chinese journalists,
outraged China, which declined to accept Washington's explanation that
it was an accident.
These events prompted a profound debate over the past year in China
about whether "peace and development are the dominant trend of the
times." That formulation, by the late leader Deng Xiaoping, is the
fundamental underpinning of China's economic reform program, which
placed China's economic development on the top of its four
modernizations, and Chinese national defense as the bottom priority.
While "peace and development" won out, China's leadership is
now paying more attention to military modernization -- mainly as a
result of troubled ties with the United States and Taiwan.
"No fundamental change has been made in the old, unfair and
irrational international political and economic order," the Defense
White Paper said. "Certain big powers [the United States] are
pursuing 'neo-interventionism,' 'neo-gunboat policy' and neo-economic
colonialism, which are seriously damaging the sovereignty, independence,
and development interests of many countries, and threatening world peace
and security."
Central to the assessment of China as a threat to the US, or vice versa,
is the US relationship with Taiwan, an island of 23 million people that
China views as a province of China. The Defense White Paper said that
Washington's continued arms sales to Taiwan were stalling China's
attempts to unite with the island. In September, the Pentagon approved
the sale of $1.3 billion in arms, including $150 million worth of the
AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM.
China's military forces are no match for the US, but it is upgrading its
air force and navy, as well as its missiles -- even though they
represent 20-year old technology. China has purchased a few Su-27 and
Su-30 fighter jets from Russia and is starting to produce the Su-27. It
has taken delivery of one Russian Sovremenny-class destroyer equipped
with supersonic anti-ship missiles; it will receive another one shortly
and may be prepared to buy two more. It has purchased two Russian-made
Kilo-class submarines and is believed to be buying one more (not much of
a deal) . On balance, China's resources remain limited and military
training is relatively primitive. China's defense spending is a fraction
of America's and the secondary tasks the army is responsible for, such
as combating floods, or combating fundamentalist and separatist
movements in Tibet and Xinjiang, can only hinder its modernization
drive.
A Chinese research institute run by the Ministry of State Security
forecast last year that the gap between China and the United States in
key indicators of comprehensive national power would continue to widen
for the next 35 years.
China's leaders have cautioned the military in recent weeks not to stray
from the party line that economic development is still the country's top
priority. Jiang criticized the military in a semi-public forum recently
for increasing China's sense of crisis in order to justify bigger
defense expenditures. (a phenomenon not unknown in the US). Premier Zhu
announced last month that China would do all in its power to settle the
Taiwan issue peacefully.
US- and Chinese-proclaimed national security interests clash over
Taiwan, considered a province of China by the Chinese. US policy there
will determine whether China is a "threat" to the US or vice
versa. (Washington Times November 17, 2000 Pg. 15) (Jonkers)
ARMY HUMINT NEEDS IMPROVING -- An Army-oriented publication has
recently published comments from active and retired generals specifying
the need for improved military HUMINT related to Urban Operations.
For example, retired Brig. Gen. Mike Hall, a military intelligence
officer who left the Army in October 1999, said military intelligence
needs to be completely retooled for urban operations in the information
age. "The intel system is very, very good for industrial age
warfare." he said. "It doesn't do what we need it to do inside
that city, pure and simple, and we've got to adjust it so it does. What
we need more of is 'HUMINT.' It takes time and you've got to have people
on the ground running agents of the same ethnic culture" as the
local population.
It is quite possible to agree with the reasoning of the generals while
entertaining considerable skepticism that the Defense Intelligence
Community (Army HUMINT now is done by the Defense HUMINT organization)
will have the HUMINT-qualified officers in adequate quantity to be
resident in enough places to cover all contingencies. ( Army Times 20
Nov '00, p. 15 /S. Naylor) (Harvey)
NEW INSCOM COMMANDER -- Army BG Keith Alexander is being
assigned as commanding general, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security
Command, Fort Belvoir, Va. Alexander is currently serving as Director
for Intelligence, J-2, United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force
Base, FL. (<http://www.vulcan.belvoir.army.mil/>
) (Macartney)
SECTION III - CYBER
INTELLIGENCE
NEW VIRUS ANNOUNCEMENTS -- Do not open emails titled CALIFORNIA.
Both IBM and AOL have announced that a new virus called WOBBLER is very
powerful, more so than Melissa, and there is no remedy. It will eat
all your information on the hard drive and also destroys Netscape
Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Also, if you receive an e-mail titled "Win A. Holiday," DO NOT
open it. It will erase everything on your hard drive.
( Justin Girard, LAN Manager, UC Berkeley, Berkeley Ca, 94720-7360)
(courtesy George Doherty)
UNAUTHORIZED CHAT ROOM ON CIA COMPUTER NET -- For the past 6
months or more, the CIA has been s investigating 160 employees and
contractors for exchanging "inappropriate" e-mail and
off-color jokes in a secret chat room created within the agency's
classified computer network and hidden from management. ... Several
officials, including members of the Senior Intelligence Service, have
been suspended with pay for the past six months while senior CIA
officials try to determine what punishment is appropriate. However, the
willful "misuse of computers" did not "involve the
compromise of any classified information." (courtesy Ed Badolato)
(Macartney)
(<http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64444-2000Nov11.html>)
FAKE ISRAELI WEBSITE -- It looks official, but the "Israel
Defense Force" Website on the Internet has the Israeli military up
in arms. Click on <www.israeldefenseforce.com>
and up comes a page that appears almost identical to the real Israeli
army's site at <www.idf.il>. Both
sites carry photographs of four Israeli soldiers killed by Palestinian
gunmen in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under the soldiers' photographs,
a caption on the fake site reads: "The four Israeli soldiers
killed just before their trip to the West Bank on a mission to kill
Palestinian civilians."
(<http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/641821l.htm>)
(Levine's Newsbits 11/16)
FBI RELEASES MORE CARNIVORE DOCUMENTS -- The FBI released another
batch of previously classified documents on its e-mail surveillance
system known as "Carnivore." Some 362 pages were released
today . "The information in today's packet seems to conflict with
what the FBI said about how Carnivore collects information that's been
filtered," said David Sobel, general counsel for the Electronic
Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the group that filed the Freedom of
Information Act lawsuit, which led a court to force the Justice
Department to begin releasing the documents.
(<http://www.newsbytes.com/news/00/158282.html>)
(Levine 11/16)
FBI AID TO LOCAL BUSINESSES -- Over the past year, FBI agent
Steve McFall has investigated less than a dozen local cases of computer
hacking. He suspects many more instances of corporate hacking occur in
East Tennessee, however, but businesses either don't realize they can
call the FBI or don't want to publicize their problems. So the FBI has
launched the local branch of a national effort to ally business and law
enforcement in addressing computer security concerns. The organization,
called InfraGard, held its first meeting last month. More than 25
businesses showed up, a response FBI officials found encouraging.
(<http://www.knoxnews.com/science/18449.shtml>)
(Levine 11/16)
SECTION IV - BOOKS
ESPIONAGE IN MEXICO: The 20th Century, by Harry Thayer Mahoney
and Marjorie Locke Mahoney, Austin & Winfield, now
part of University Press of America, 4720 Boston Way, Lanham,
Maryland, 20706 orders to (301)
731-9527; fax (301)
306-5357; 1997, ISBN
1-57292-057-2, with footnotes, bibliography, glossary and index.
We tend to focus on other parts of the world when covering espionage
literature, but neglect our southern neighbors. The Mahoney's book is a
valuable step in the right direction to correct this omission. As they
note in the Preface, espionage and covert action have flourished in
Mexico, as elsewhere, for centuries. The Aztecs, Conquistadors, the
Spanish colonials and the Catholic Church all practiced espionage to
further their aims. In this book, the authors chose to concentrate on
foreign espionage in Mexico since WWI, covering American, German,
Japanese, Russian and Cuban intelligence operations. Their descriptions
are brief and excellent reading both from the point of view of history
and its reference to the various intelligence schemes and personalities
involved.. Recommended for all who are interested in what happened in
our neighbor's territory during the past century. (Jonkers)
BIOGRAPHIC DICTIONARY OF ESPIONAGE, by Harry Thayer Mahoney and
Marjorie Locke Mahoney, Austin & Winfield, Bethesda, 1998, with
glossary, bibliography, index, additional reading notes. ISBN
1-57292-064-5. Referenced in a previous WIN, I want to draw attention to
another excellent work by the Mahoney's. Outstanding reference source
for bio sketches of spies and their stories through the ages, told in an
interesting and highly readable manner. Recommended for reference,
reading or browsing. (Jonkers)
SECTION V - LETTER TO THE EDITOR
PERIPHERAL SOVIET RECONNAISSANCE - A MEMORY -- LETTER TO A
CREWMEMBER -- Today, 17 November 2000, is the 30th anniversary of
the Pechora Sea incident when your recce crew received warning shots
from a pair of Mig-17s. That is the last time that the Soviets
fired at/in the vicinity of one of our aircraft.
Despite the hostile Soviet action you were to continue the mission,
turning once more toward Russian territory (while remaining over
international waters) to prosecute the collection effort against the
Part Time radar. Mig-17s once again formed up on your wing but
this time withheld their fire. After landing, the Russians protested
that our aircraft had "reached their airspace." The US
counter-protested against their "unwarranted discharge of weapons
in international airspace."
Given that 10 years earlier the Russians shot down Willard Palm's crew
in the Barents Sea, your actions in pressing forward with the mission
was in the finest tradition of the 55th SRW, the Strategic Air Command,
and the USAF. (text omitted) Robb Hoover, VP, 55th SRW Association (<RobbHoover@aol.com>)
Cobra Jaw/Briar Patch Crew member Max Moore (<MaxMoore55@aol.com>
responded: Ah, yes. I had not thought of the 'anniversary' until now.
.....When we were on the outbound leg of our first 'bowtie' under Novaya
Zemyla, and nearing the turn point, I gave A/C (aircraft commander)
Jimmy Jones two headings - one to head home and the other to turn back
inbound for the second circuit. It was his decision to turn back on
track. There was no vote, nor discussion. None was needed. Agreement was
tacit.
The MiGs were in so tight on that leg you could not see the entire
airframes. Both Jimmy and the co-pilot had to give the MiG pilots visual
hand signals that we were turning inbound so as not to collide with
them. They never left us and radioed to their controllers at Belusa Guba,
"The target is turning inbound. Awaiting instructions," or
something like that.
The tension was palpable while we awaited. The Russian controller's
first reply was in the best of our own beloved SAC's tradition,
"Stand by."
It may have only been minutes thereafter, but it seemed an eternity
until the word came back to "escort the target."
Then they shot us down and we all died. /s/ Max.
(courtesy Dan Hearne, <dhearn@king.cts.com>,
Pres. Reconnaissance Fund (Intel. Scholarship Foundation) - dedicated to
the memories of crew sacrifices during the silent war)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++END+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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