January 2006 Intelligence News

EFF Sues AT&T to Stop Illegal Surveillance Electronic Frontier Foundation 31 Jan 2006 -- The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T Tuesday, accusing the telecom giant of violating the law and the privacy of its customers by collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) in its massive and illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications.
Venezuela Probes Military Officers for Allegedly Spying for US VOA 27 Jan 2006 -- The Venezuelan government says it is investigating allegations that some members of the navy passed state secrets to the U.S. Defense Department.
White House Vigorously Defends Controversial Spying Program VOA 26 Jan 2006 -- The Bush administration launched a vigorous defense of its controversial electronic eavesdropping program this week.
EU to Press US, European Leaders to Testify in CIA Prisons Probe VOA 26 Jan 2006 -- European Union lawmakers say they will press U.S. and European leaders to appear before an inquiry into alleged secret CIA prisons in Europe.
Transcript: President Visits National Security Agency The White House 25 Jan 2006
NSA Surveillance Saves American Lives, Bush says AFPS 25 Jan 2006 -- President Bush today reiterated the need for a terrorist surveillance program to save American lives and win the war on terrorism.
Bush Continues to Defend Domestic Spying Program VOA 25 Jan 2006 -- President Bush is defending his authorization of a domestic spying program designed to monitor communications with suspected terrorists in other countries.
Russia: Spy Scandal Highlights Mounting Pressure On NGOs RFE/RL 25 Jan 2006 -- The espionage charges leveled by Russia against Britain this week have sparked a bitter diplomatic row that could well sour long-term relations between the two nations
European Parliament committee investigating CIA torture flights to meet Thursday IRNA 25 Jan 2006 -- A constituent meeting of the European Parliament's temporary committee set up to investigate the use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners is to take place in Brussels on Thursday, the EP said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Russian Duma Appeals To Europe Amid British Spy Scandal RFE/RL 25 Jan 2006 -- Russian lawmakers today called upon their European colleagues to condemn the funding of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) by foreign secret services.
Defense Department Report, January 24: Interrogator Reprimanded Washington File 24 Jan 2006 -- A military jury issued Army Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer a reprimand after being found guilty of negligent homicide and dereliction of duty for using an aggressive interrogation technique on an Iraqi general who died while undergoing questioning.
Bush: Terrorist Surveillance Plan Necessary, Lawful AFPS 24 Jan 2006 -- President Bush yesterday called his terrorist surveillance plan a lawful, necessary step in the war against terrorism.
EU urges member states to cooperate with inquiry into CIA torture flights IRNA 24 Jan 2006 -- The European Union's top justice and security official said Tuesday that a Council of Europe report on CIA secret flights contained new information, and he called on EU member states to cooperate with the inquiry launched by the European human rights watchdog.
U.S. Rejects European Report Alleging Torture RFE/RL 24 Jan 2006 -- The United States has rejected a European investigative report into allegations of torture, saying it contained nothing new.
Council of Europe Investigator Reports on CIA Probe VOA 24 Jan 2006 -- An investigator for the 46-member Council of Europe says he has found no irrefutable proof that CIA-run secret detention centers may have existed in Europe.
Russia: 'Spy-Rock' Scandal Has NGOs Worried RFE/RL 24 Jan 2006 -- On 22 January, the Russian state television channel RTR showed viewers film footage of a rock, but not just any rock. This was an artificial rock that allegedly contained espionage equipment
'No Incontrovertible' Proof Of CIA Prisons In Europe, Probe Finds RFE/RL 24 Jan 2006 -- The head of a European probe into alleged secret CIA prisons in Europe said today that he had found "no formal, incontrovertible" evidence to back the charges.
Transcript: Remarks By General Michael V. Hayden: What American Intelligence & Especially The NSA Have Been Doing To Defend The Nation Office of the Director of National Intelligence 23 Jan 2006
Bush Defends Domestic Spying Program VOA 23 Jan 2006 -- President Bush is stepping up his campaign to win support for a controversial domestic spying program
Putin Sends FSB To Secure Caucasus Energy Plants RFE/RL 23 Jan 2006 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin today instructed the FSB federal security service to boost security at all energy facilities in the Caucasus.
Transcript: President Discusses Global War on Terror at Kansas State University The White House 23 Jan 2006
Defense Department Report, January 23: Former Analyst Prison Bound Washington File 23 Jan 2006 -- A former Pentagon analyst, who was an expert on Iran, has been sentenced to more than a dozen years in prison for his role in passing classified intelligence to an Israeli diplomat and two American lobbyists.
US Deputy Intelligence Chief Makes Surveillance Defense VOA 23 Jan 2006 -- The second-ranking member of the U.S. intelligence community offered a vigorous defense of a controversial electronic surveillance program Monday.
Britain Surprised, Concerned At Russian Spying Allegations RFE/RL 23 Jan 2006 -- The British Foreign Office today expressed "concern and surprise" at a report on Russian state television showing video footage of what it claims are British diplomats spying in Moscow.
Bush Launches Administration's Defense of Domestic Spy Program VOA 23 Jan 2006 -- President Bush will defend his controversial domestic spying program Monday during a speech at a university in the midwestern U.S. state of Kansas.
JSTARS adds blue force tracking capability AFPN 19 Jan 2006 -- The ability to distinguish between friend and foe, a concept known as blue force tracking, is critical to conducting effective network-focused military operations.
Air Force takes delivery of first production Global Hawks AFPN 19 Jan 2006 -- The first of two production Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles began flying missions in support of the global war on terrorism within hours of arriving in theater earlier this month.
New Controversy Faces Britain Over CIA Flights VOA 19 Jan 2006 -- A leaked British government document suggests that there are official doubts about the legality of allowing CIA flights carrying suspected terrorists to refuel at British airports.
US Sanctions Top Syrian Official VOA 18 Jan 2006 -- The United States is taking action against Syria's military spy chief.
Pakistan has intelligence sharing with 50 states, says Pak FM IRNA 18 Jan 2006 -- Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has informed the lower house of Parliament that the country has intelligence cooperation with at least 50 countries.
European Parliament To Investigate Alleged CIA Prisons RFE/RL 18 Jan 2006 -- The European Parliament voted on 18 January to set up a committee to investigate allegations that the U.S. secret service, the CIA, operated secret prisons in Eastern Europe.
Swiss Investigator 'Convinced' CIA Ran Prisons In Europe RFE/RL 14 Jan 2006 -- A Swiss investigator, Dick Marty, has said he is convinced the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ran secret prisons in Europe, and that European governments have been complicit in illegal CIA activities.
Pakistan: Islamabad Says U.S. Raid Missed Al-Qaeda Figure RFE/RL 14 Jan 2006 -- Pakistan says that a top Al-Qaeda leader was not killed in an apparent U.S. air strike near the Afghan border.
Pakistan Files Protest With U.S. Over Air Strike RFE/RL 14 Jan 2006 -- Pakistan today filed a formal protest with the U.S. Embassy over a deadly air strike on Pakistani territory
US News Reports: al Qaida's al-Zawahiri Believed Target of Pakistan Attack VOA 14 Jan 2006 -- But the reports, quoting both U.S. and Pakistani officials, say it is still not known if Zawahiri was killed or injured in the attack.
German secret service issues passports for Mossad IRNA 14 Jan 2006 -- Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency has issued German passports for Israel's Mossad secret service, the daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger quoted a former high-ranking BND member as saying on Saturday.
EU Parliament Begins Probe into Alleged CIA Prisons VOA 13 Jan 2006 -- The European Parliament has started its own investigation into reports of CIA secret prisons in Eastern Europe.
Rumsfeld Defends US Military's Actions Against Prisoner Abuse VOA 12 Jan 2006 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has defended the military's response to allegations of prisoner abuse, saying those responsible for illegal conduct are being punished.
Army Terminates Aerial Common Sensor Development Contract US ARMY GARRISON FORT MONMOUTH 12 Jan 2006 -- The United States Army announced today that it is terminating the $879 million Lockheed Martin, System Design and Development (SDD) contract for the Aerial Common Sensor.
ORBIMAGE Completes Acquisition of Space Imaging; Changes Brand Name to GeoEye DULLES, Va., Jan. 12, 2006 – ORBIMAGE Holdings Inc. (OTCBB: ORBM) has finalized the acquisition of substantially all of Denver-based Space Imaging’s assets. The combined company will now do business under the brand name GeoEye. GeoEye is the world’s largest commercial satellite imagery company with a pro forma combined revenue for 2005 of approximately $160 million.
German secret service assisted US in Iraq war IRNA 12 Jan 2006 -- Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency actively aided US troops during its Iraq war in spring 2003 despite Berlin's repeated remarks it had no role in the conflict, the German media said Thursday.
HRW calls on European states to cooperate in secret CIA prison inquiries IRNA 09 Jan 2006 -- European governments should cooperate fully with investigations into alleged secret CIA detention centers in Europe and the unlawful transfer of detainees in CIA custody over European soil, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday in an open letter to foreign ministers of member states of the Council of Europe.
EU says existence of CIA prisons in Europe 'serious case' IRNA 09 Jan 2006 -- The European Commission, the European Union's executive, said it has not been informed about a fax reportedly sent by the Egyptian foreign minister confirming the existence of CIA prisons on European territory.
California Guard to get the Predator AFPN 04 Jan 2006 -- As part of ongoing Total Force initiatives, the Air Force, the National Guard Bureau and the Adjutant General of California announced today that the California Air National Guard’s 163rd Air Refueling Wing, March Air Reserve Base, Calif., will become the home for a new MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) unit.
Declassified Letters Indicate NSA Initiated Domestic Spying Effort VOA News 04 January 2006 - A declassified letter from a U.S. congressional leader suggests the National Security Agency (NSA) may have begun domestic eavesdropping without specific permission from President Bush.
Bush Defends Government Phone Tapping Program By Paula Wolfson VOA News 01 January 2006 President Bush goes into 2006 with a controversy brewing over his decision to launch a program that enables the government's National Security Agency to monitor the phone calls and e-mails of people in the United States. Mr. Bush says the program is an essential tool in the war on terrorism. "We're at war, and as the commander-in-chief I have to use the resources at my disposal within the law to protect the American people," said President Bush, "and that is what we are doing."