AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #32-07 dated 20 August 2007

Click here to view disclaimers, removal, methods of use of the links in this document.

The WIN in its entirety appears below; however, the document may also be viewed online by current members with usernames and passwords at: https://www.afio.com/pages/currentwin.htm  Usernames and Passwords appear on AFIO Membership Cards. They work only if the membership is current.


WIN CREDITS FOR THIS ISSUE:  The WIN editors thank the following contributors to this issue: mh, dh, mr, pjk and lc. 
All have contributed one or more stories used in this issue.  


*** 25-27 October 2007 - McLean, VA - AFIO National Intelligence Symposium  ***
at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel, Tysons Corner, VA


CONTENTS

Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Section II - TERRORISM

Section III - BOOK REVIEWS, RESEARCH ASSISTANCE REQUEST, CORRECTIONS, AND COMING EVENTS

Book Reviews

Research Assistance Request

Corrections

Coming Events

  For Additional Events two+ months or more....view our online Calendar of Events  


Section I - INTELLIGENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Foreign Intelligence Agents Flood Mindanao. The Philippines is host to a number of foreign intelligence agents roaming around Mindanao to help the government fight terrorism, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said on Saturday. Gonzales revealed that foreign intelligence agents in Mindanao include those from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States, the Australian Federal Bureau of Investigation, and representatives of the British government. Japan, China, France, Germany, South Korea, and member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have also sent intelligence operatives to the south, Gonzales added. Gonzales did not confirm the presence of the Mossad, although there are reports that the Israeli secret intelligence organization fielded their operatives years earlier, disguising themselves as suppliers of water system equipment for agriculture plantations in Mindanao. Reports also claimed that CIA agents were deployed to monitor mining exploration activities on the island.

Gonzales, however, stressed the peculiar security situation in Mindanao and the presence of the Abu Sayyaf and other armed extremist groups with links to al-Qaeda make it attractive for foreign intelligence agents who want to test their skills while helping the government fight terrorism. He said the presence of foreign intelligence agents formed part of the bilateral and multilateral agreements the government has signed with other countries to combat terrorism. [PhilipineStar/Regalado/12August2007] 

Mendez CIA Rescue Story in Development for Hollywood Film. George Clooney's production company has signed on to make a film about a daring hostage rescue engineered by former CIA officer Tony Mendez nearly 30 years ago. The movie, called "Escape From Tehran," will show how Mendez helped get six Americans out of Iran in January 1980 by pretending to be part of a movie-making team. Mendez said stories about him and the rescue have been the subject of movie options before, but never has the process advanced this far. Hollywood trade media have reported that Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the rights to a story Wired magazine published in April about the rescue. Smoke House spokesman Stan Rosenfield said Friday that "Escape From Tehran" is "in development," but hasn't reached the "green light" stage, when production could begin. 

When the U.S. embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979, Mendez - who ran the CIA's graphics and identity transformation division - was working on how to free American hostages there. Then, he was directed to instead help rescue six Americans who had escaped from the embassy and were hiding with Canadian officials. He said two initial ideas for a cover scheme were pretending that the Americans were nutritionists or school teachers. Mendez rejected the first two ideas and thought up the movie idea. A Hollywood contact told him that six was about the right number for a group scouting a film location. Mendez helped devise "Studio 6" and the many details that went with it. He made up a story and trade ads about a planned science fiction movie called "Argo." Hollywood press fell for it and ran stories, helping to create more cover. As film producer "Kevin Costa Harkins," Mendez went to Tehran, found the six Americans and coached them on their new identities as a Canadian film crew. Despite tense moments at the airport, the ruse worked and the group flew out of Iran. President Jimmy Carter honored Mendez.

The public didn't know details of the rescue until the CIA asked Mendez in 1997 to talk openly about it as part of a campaign promoting the agency's 50th anniversary. [Schotz/Herald-Mail/13August2007] 

Iran Completes Espionage Investigation of Two Academics. The Iranian government has completed its investigation of two Iranian-American academics who were arrested in May on espionage charges, a prosecutor told the state-run IRNA news agency. The development may move the case, which has worsened tensions between the United States and Iran, closer to resolution. Hassan Haddad, the deputy prosecutor in Tehran, told IRNA in an interview that the government had gathered the information it needed about the two academics: Haleh Esfandiari, a scholar at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center, and Kian Tajbakhsh, an urban planner with ties to the Open Society Institute. "They have to do some written work and then a decision will be made about them," Mr. Haddad said without elaborating further, the news agency reported. 

Ms. Esfandiari and Mr. Tajbakhsh, who have been held for three months in a notorious wing of Evin prison called Section 209, were seen on state-run television last month in a video suggesting that the two academics were involved in activities intended to overthrow the government. Another Iranian-American scholar - Ali Shakeri of the center for Citizen Peacebuilding at the University of California, Irvine - is also being held in Iran. Mr. Haddad said today that his case is not connected with that of Ms. Esfandiari and Mr. Tajbakhsh. Mr. Haddad made no mention of Parnaz Azima, another Iranian-American with dual citizenship who has been barred from leaving Iran. Ms. Azima is a journalist employed by Radio Farda, an American-financed station based in Europe. Mr. Haddad did mention the case of Mansour Osanloo, a high-profile union leader who was jailed last month. Mr. Haddad said Mr. Osanloo was arrested while distributing political literature, that his arrest was not related to his union work, and that he had been sentenced to five years in jail. Most people jailed on national-security charges in Iran are held in Section 209, which is run by the Intelligence Ministry. Mr. Haddad rejected criticism of the section today and said it was "one of the best prisons in the world." [Fathi/NewYorkTimes/12August2007]

Czech Security Services Received Additional Material from Former Communist Counterintelligence Database. Czech military experts have successfully reconstructed databases of the former Czechoslovak military counterintelligence (VKR), that was a component of the notorious communist secret police (StB). Officials put together the database after three months of analytic work on thousands of documents, originally stored in 202 sacks, which were intended to be liquidated. Among the found documents are lists of agents appointments and files on cooperation agreements with thousands of reports of collaborating persons. All together there are more than 30,000 pages, according to military counterintelligence spokesman Ladislav . [Axisglobe/13August2007]

Dossier Links Indonesian Intelligence to Activist Murder. Indonesian state prosecutors have compiled an array of fresh evidence that implicates the powerful state intelligence agency in the murder of a rights activist. Munir Said Thalib, Indonesia's most prominent rights activist, was poisoned as he traveled from Jakarta to Amsterdam in September 2004. He had made many enemies during the rule of dictator Suharto, and after his 1998 downfall. In a plot worthy of a spy thriller, an off-duty pilot from the state-run airline Garuda Indonesia, who is accused of links to Indonesia's intelligence agency BIN, was convicted of slipping a lethal dose of arsenic into Munir's food or drink during his flight. But in a move sparking international outrage, the Supreme Court last year overturned the verdict against Pollycarpus Priyanto, citing insufficient evidence. A charge that the pilot used a falsified document to board the same Garuda flight as Munir, however, was upheld and he was jailed for two years, although he walked free shortly afterwards.

Now, amid escalating international pressure to find the culprits, state prosecutors are requesting a so-called judicial case review. This would see the Supreme Court reconsider its own decision, based on an admission of fresh evidence or any errors or consistencies in its verdict. A dossier detailing the evidence is expected to be submitted to a lower court on Thursday, which will determine whether the request is admissible. If the review goes ahead, the Supreme Court will hear testimony from a series of new witnesses that again points the finger at the pilot, Priyanto, but also finally links him to BIN, according to the dossier. Connections between Priyanto and BIN have long been alleged - the pilot made some 41 phone calls, for instance, to a senior BIN official around the time of the murder. But the new evidence is tighter, said an optimistic Usman Hamid, a human rights worker with Kontras, an organization founded by Munir, who has also seen the dossier. [PhillipineStar/14August2007]

US Military Sees Looming China Threat to Satellites. China may be just three years away from being able to disrupt US military satellites in a regional conflict, a senior US military leader said, citing a recent anti-satellite test and other advances. The warning came amid calls at a conference in Alabama for intensified efforts to ensure US "space superiority" in the wake of China's shoot down January 11 of one of its own satellites with a ballistic missile.

"It is not inconceivable that within about three years we can be challenged at a near peer level in a region," said Lieutenant General Kevin Campbell, head of the US Army's Space and Missile Defense Command. "That means taking out a number of communications capabilities over a theater of war," he added in a speech to an audience of defense contractors in Huntsville, Alabama. Campbell later told reporters that while a number of countries have some capabilities to interfere with satellite communications, China is the country he is most worried about.

Its anti-satellite test in January was a clear demonstration of its ability to destroy an orbiting satellite, he said. But its development of jamming capabilities and advances in computer network attack point to a comprehensive approach to denying the US military access to space in a conflict, he said.

Satellites are vital to US military operations, enabling the flow of torrents of communications, imagery, and navigational data for the kind of high tech precision warfare that the United States excels at. But US reliance on satellites also has created vulnerabilities that though long understood had not taken concrete form until the Chinese test. Campbell said it has spurred the military to think about how to counter the threat, including ways to track and surveil objects in space to know what they are up to. He said his command has devised a "space alert" system patterned on "air alerts" that would key the military's responses to a threat to a friendly satellite. The military also is thinking about offensive counter-measures, he said. [Breitbart/15Augus2007]

Independent Rights Groups to be Let in Jordan's Intelligence Prisons. Jordanian intelligence services will allow independent human rights groups to visit detainees in its prison facility, a New York-based rights watchdog said. "The Jordanian intelligence agency has agreed to allow independent human rights monitoring organizations to visit prisoners at its secretive detention facility for the first time," Human Rights Watch said in a statement. The group said its representatives, along with those from the Jordanian-based Adaleh Center and Human and Environment Observatory, have been given permission to visit the prison later this month and speak with detainees. The representatives also hope to hold talks with officials from Jordan's General Intelligence Department and with military prosecutors from the State Security Court to address areas of concern, the statement said.

Though HRW said this was the first time it would visit the intelligence services' prison, Jordan's chief government spokesman, Nasser Judeh, said other detention facilities had already been open to rights groups. HRW and other groups make regular visits to detainees, he told the official Petra news agency. "The visits are programmed and the security apparatus deals with those organizations with openness and transparency," he said. "Jordan works according to the law and international standards."

A September 2006 Human Rights Watch report alleged that intelligence officers from the GID frequently detain suspects arbitrarily and mistreat them, including by inflicting prolonged solitary confinement. The watchdog also cited persistent complaints about a lack of access to detainees by lawyers and family members. The U.N. special rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, formally reported earlier this year that he found evidence of systematic abuse in at least two Jordanian detention centers, but that he believed torture was not a widespread phenomenon in the kingdom. Jordanian officials deny those allegations.  [InternationalHeraldTribune/15August2007]

Iran Holds Two Chinese 'Spies.' Iran has arrested two Chinese nationals on espionage charges. It is the first time any Chinese have been charged with espionage in Iran. "The Chinese nationals were detained while taking photos and recording videotape of a military complex in Arak city," Ali Reza Jamshidi, a spokesman for Iran's judiciary, said on state radio. "They entered Iran through Kish Island as tourists." Mr Jamshidi said the case was under initial investigation by the country's judicial authorities. Arak, where a 40-megawatt nuclear reactor is under construction, lies about 450 miles from the Kish Island tourist resort in the Gulf. 

The development marks a departure for Iran's intelligence ministry, which has in the past taken action against alleged British and American spy networks around the country. [Attewill/GuardianUnlimited/15August2007] 

Denmark Investigates Threats to Relatives of Soldiers in Iraq. Denmark's military intelligence agency is investigating whether insurgents are using mobile phone records to track down and threaten relatives of Danish soldiers deployed in Iraq. Family members of several soldiers have told the Danish media that they have received threatening phone calls from Iraq. The callers have not identified themselves. The Danish Defense Intelligence Service says the Iraqis may have tracked down the numbers by monitoring private calls made by the soldiers to their relatives in Denmark. Defense officials say they're currently mapping the extent of the threat. An agency spokeswoman says once that is completed they will consider whether guidelines on the use of cell phones and e-mails by Danish troops should be revised. [Olsen/cnews/16August2007] 

US Documents Show Pakistan Gave Taliban Military Aid. The Pakistani government gave substantial military support to the Taliban in the years leading up to the September 11 attacks, sending arms and soldiers to fight alongside the militant Afghan movement, according to newly released US official documents. Islamabad has acknowledged diplomatic and economic links with the Taliban but has denied direct military support. The US intelligence and state department documents, released under the country's freedom of information act, show that Washington believed otherwise.

The suspicion has lingered that some elements of Pakistani intelligence are still protecting the Taliban and its al-Qaida allies in the autonomous tribal areas along the Afghan border. US officials have warned they might take direct military action without Islamabad's approval. Among the documents acquired by the National Security Archive, an independent group pressing for government transparency, is a confidential memo sent in November 1996, from intelligence report from Islamabad to the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, describing how Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps was operating across the border. The Frontier Corps are recruited from the Pashtun population in the tribal areas, but commanded by officers from the regular Pakistani army.

No one was available for comment at the Pakistani embassy in London yesterday. Privately, Pakistani officials concede that the intelligence service was instrumental in turning the Taliban into an organized force before 2001, but claim that the committed Islamists in the ISI's ranks have been purged.

Those claims are being viewed increasingly critically in Washington, due to Islamabad's failure to uproot Taliban and al-Qaida militants in tribal regions, like Waziristan. Bush administration hawks and the Democratic presidential contender, Barack Obama, have called for direct US military action in the region. [Guardian/16August2007]

Case of Spy vs. Vote Monitor in Kazakhstan. What appear to be internal documents detailing an exchange between Kazakhstan's intelligence service and President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev suggest that Kazakhstan conducted intelligence operations against international monitors during the presidential election in 2005, aimed at swaying the conclusions of the monitors' reports. The documents, which have been circulating among diplomats since last month, raise new questions about election misconduct in the former Soviet world and suggest that the Kazakh intelligence service operated against observers from the same group its government one day hopes to lead. A Kazakh diplomat in the United States called them a fake. Western diplomats who received them have reserved judgment and said they could become a point of contention when the European organization meets this month after its summer recess.

The documents include an operations summary under the letterhead of Nartay Dutbayev, former head of the National Security Committee, or K.N.B., Kazakhstan's successor to the K.G.B. Mr. Dutbayev resigned in 2006 when five of his subordinates were accused of murdering a prominent opposition politician and two members of his staff. He has left public life. Dated Dec. 21, 2005, and marked "secret," the summary bearing his signature outlines "a number of measures" taken to "have an influence on the informational and operational activities of the body of international observers from O.S.C.E./ O.D.I.H.R." The Office of Democratic Initiatives and Human Rights is the arm of the European group that monitors elections in former Soviet republics. Its reports are influential. The United States often relies on them for its own assessment of a country's progress toward fair and transparent elections. They are widely cited by Western independent organizations and in news reports and by opposition movements throughout the former Soviet sphere.

The summary, addressed to the Kazakh president, described steps taken by the intelligence service to inhibit the observers' work and influence public opinion, including collecting pro-government and anti-opposition material "through operational measures" and planting it in the news media. The letter also alluded to efforts to divert the observers' attention when they were not at work. "In order to prevent them from collecting biased materials, leisure activities were organized for observers, using operational resources," it stated. The letter ultimately claimed that the intelligence service's activities had helped to divide the monitors into rival groups. But it noted that the mission still labeled the election undemocratic.

The documents were sent this summer by someone with connections inside the Kazakh intelligence service to European diplomats, including those in the Office of Democratic Initiatives and Human Rights in Poland, according to a Western diplomat who received copies and declined to be identified, citing diplomatic protocol. Their authenticity could not be determined.

Christian Strohal, the head of the monitoring group, said any follow-up action would have to be taken by the missions and diplomats of the observers' parent organization in Vienna. Its next session is scheduled for Aug. 27.  [Chivers/NewYorkTimes/17August2007]


Section II - TERRORISM

Exodus of UK Military Intelligence Officers Hits War on Terror. The military's ability to fight global terrorism is being hampered by an exodus of officers from the Intelligence Corps. According to defense sources, 20 percent of military intelligence officers have departed in the last three years. More than 100 officers have been lured into highly paid private security jobs or become disillusioned at the way intelligence is handled and left the service, undermining one of the key weapons in fighting the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, as well as Islamic terrorists.

Senior officers are also deeply concerned that the fall in numbers has resulted in people being posted to jobs above their rank, for which they do not have the experience or training. The defections to the private sector come at a time when the Armed Forces are fighting increasingly bloody battles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last week it emerged that the military was on course to lose more troops in Iraq this year than in 2003 - when the invasion took place - after suffering 41 fatalities since the start of the year compared to the 53 who died four years ago. [Harding/Telegraph/14August2007]

Al Qaeda Seeks High Impact from Western Recruits. Britain is stepping up counter-terrorism cooperation with countries in South Asia and Africa to thwart al Qaeda attempts to train Britons overseas and send them back home to commit attacks, a senior official said. The aim is to counter a perceived al Qaeda preference for deploying Western volunteers on their home soil, even when they have trained abroad or volunteered for foreign theatres such as Pakistan, Somalia or Iraq. The source said British authorities are now working with a number of countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh to keep tabs on suspected militants planning to pick up training abroad and then apply it back home.

While officials refuse to name the African countries involved, analysts and media reports have cited South Africa as a popular transit point between Britain and South Asia.

Security analyst Kurt Shillinger said the country's liberal laws, sizeable Muslim minority, English-language Islamic seminaries and strong communications and transport links made it an attractive location where militants could lie low while raising funds or obtaining false passports for onward travel. Suicide attacks on London in 2005 by four young Britons, three of Pakistani origin, showed the value to Osama bin Laden's network of local operatives who can travel abroad for training without attracting attention. Two of the men had spent months in Pakistan before the attacks. But other countries are also of concern, the source added, citing Somalia as one where militants have issued an "open invitation" to Muslims to come and gain jihadist experience. And British sources say they are also worried about the possible training of recruits in camps run by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the network's new North African arm. [Trevelyan/Reuters/14August2007] 

Disputes Slow Terror Probes. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ignored or dropped leads and at times entire cases involving terrorist activities because of disputes with the FBI, says a report by federal officials. In examining 10 cases that began at ICE and were taken over by the FBI, the inspectors general of the Homeland Security and the Justice departments found that seven of them suffered from lack of cooperation until they were taken over by the Joint Terrorism Task Forces, which the FBI controls. The report cited delays and refusals by the FBI involving investigative actions that needed court approval, which led ICE agents to avoid leads and cases that would have required FBI involvement. "We were ... extremely troubled that ICE agents would say that their agents declined to undertake a case of potential national security significance for such petty reasons," the inspectors general wrote. Still, they said, "while the hostility to the FBI's dominance in the field of terrorist financing investigations is palpable, we have no direct evidence that any ICE agent has actually been derelict."

Using a hypothetical example, the report said, if a case involved two leads - one involving illegal drugs and the other involving terrorism - an agent would pursue the drug lead in order to avoid working with the FBI. In such cases, the agent did not always forward the terrorism lead to the joint task force, the report said. "It seems obvious that the findings of this report justify concerns about a lack of trust between our two largest federal law enforcement agencies. They need to work together in order to do everything possible to protect Americans in the war on terror." [Time/14August2007] 

Iran Cleric Warns US Not to Pick on Guards. A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday that plans by the United States to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist group invited a fight with the Iranian nation which America could not win. "Americans should know that in this field, as with nuclear energy, they are dealing with the whole nation. And the great nation of Iran will never abandon its revolutionary people," Ahmad Khatami told worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran. "Americans should know that if they act madly in this regard, they would be entering a swamp they won't be able to get out of," the conservative cleric said in a speech that was broadcast live on the radio. Khatami is a member of the Assembly of Experts, an influential clerical body which has the power to appoint or dismiss Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

U.S. officials said on Wednesday the United States may soon name the Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist group, reflecting frustration over Tehran's nuclear program and suspected role in Iraqi violence. The designation would be the first time the United States has placed the armed forces of any sovereign government on its list of terrorist organizations and would allow Washington to target the Guards' finances.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps is an ideologically driven force which sees itself as a guardian of the Islamic Republic. Its command structure is separate from the regular military. The Guards has a range of business interests, including energy projects awarded to its engineering subsidiary Khatam al-Anbia. [Reuters/17August2007] 


Section III -  BOOK REVIEWS, RESEARCH ASSISTANCE REQUEST, CORRECTIONS AND COMING EVENTS

Book Reviews

Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, TIME Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent, by Larry Berman. 

[Following is an edited review by Merle L. Pribbenow. Merle L. Pribbenow, the author of "Limits to Interrogation: The Man in the Snow White Cell," Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 48, No. 1, is a retired CIA operations officer and Vietnamese linguist who served in Vietnam 1970-1975. During this period he had no contact with or personal knowledge of Pham Xuan An. It should also be noted that Pribbenow provided extensive translation support to Professor Berman as he conducted his research for Perfect Spy. Please see his complete review at http://www.washingtondecoded.com/site/2007/08/the-quiet-vietn.html

What goes on in the heart of a spy? What makes him tick? Can a spy truly have friends? How does a spy decide between his loyalty to his secret masters and his loyalty to his friends? How does he live with himself? And how do his friends react when they find that the friend and colleague they had known, trusted, and even loved - lied to them, betrayed their confidences, and may have been responsible, directly or indirectly, for the deaths of other friends and countrymen?

These are some of the questions Larry Berman poses in a fascinating new book, Perfect Spy. Berman, a political science professor at the University of California-Davis and the author of three previous books on Vietnam, has made a formidable contribution to untangling the twisted skeins of truth and lies that made up the life, and the myth, of a man whom the Vietnamese Communists now proclaim as their most important and productive spy during the Vietnam War's American phase.

Despite the author's conscientious efforts - which included dozens of trips to Vietnam to interview Pham Xuan An and a number of An's espionage associates and controllers, along with prodigious archival research in the United States and extensive interviews with An's American friends and colleagues - much about Pham Xuan An's life still remains shrouded in mystery. An, like the professional intelligence officer that he was, set strict limits on his cooperation with Berman. An refused to name most of his sources of information, and while eager to discuss his journalistic career, he was almost maddeningly vague about many aspects of his parallel covert life as a Communist spy. The Vietnamese government provided Berman only very limited assistance and support, and the files on An held by the Vietnamese intelligence service and by the many other intelligence services with officers An admittedly contacted (the CIA, the South Vietnamese, the French, the British, and the Taiwanese, among others) remained closed to Berman, and to all outsiders.

Because of these vital limits, which the author freely admits, this book does not provide the complete story of Pham Xuan An's espionage activities. That story will have to await the opening of Vietnam's intelligence archives. Until that time - if indeed, it ever comes - Berman's book will stand as the definitive, first-hand account of An's life as a Communist undercover operative.

At the heart of Perfect Spy is the account of An's career as a journalist working for the Americans and the friendships he formed during the course of his employment, all the while putting first and foremost his duties as a covert Communist spy. An clearly was a very intelligent, perceptive, and engaging man, a witty and even brilliant raconteur. Berman provides excellent descriptions of An's relationships with a number of Americans, ranging from journalists Robert Shaplen, Neil Sheehan, and Robert Sam Anson (the book's first chapter is devoted to the risks An took to secure Anson's release when Anson was captured by Communist forces in Cambodia in the summer of 1970) to Edward Lansdale and Lou Conein of the CIA, the latter an officer in the Saigon station who was deeply involved in the 1963 coup d'�tat against Ngo Dinh Diem.

The most authentically fascinating element of the story is how few of An's American friends and colleagues seem to have felt betrayed when they found out, not long after the war was over, that An had been a senior officer in Hanoi's military intelligence service all along. (One notable exception to this general equanimity, Berman notes, is Beverly Deepe, who employed An and depended on him greatly when she was the Saigon correspondent in the mid-1960s for the now-defunct New York Herald Tribune). An himself adamantly insisted, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, that he never betrayed his American friends and that his espionage activities had never caused any deaths or physical harm to anyone. He claimed this despite his own admission that he provided the Vietnamese Communist military command with much of the information they needed to plan the Saigon aspects of the 1968 Tet offensive. During the second phase of this attack, John Cantwell, one of An's own colleagues at TIME magazine, and three other foreign journalists (one British and two Australian) were killed by Communist troops in a single ambush.

Since An is now dead, it will never be known whether or not An himself actually believed that his espionage activities never harmed anyone. The psychology of espionage is a tricky business. Spies often are forced to compartmentalize their lives in order to be able to "live their cover" and to survive the tensions of living in two different worlds. Frequently, they also develop the ability to perform some bizarre mental gymnastics to justify their actions, even to themselves, or perhaps, most importantly to themselves.

What is more interesting to me is why An's American journalist friends, for the most part, believed him, continued to support him, and insisted that they did not feel betrayed by him even after they learned the truth about his double life. (During the war, the only journalist/employer who seems to have ever harbored reservations about An was Reuters' Nick Turner, a New Zealander). I wonder whether these American journalists would have been equally forgiving if it turned out that An had been spying for the CIA rather than for the "Viet Cong."

An told Berman that he was no "James Bond" and that his role as a spy more closely resembled that of his hero Sherman Kent, a founding father of U.S. analytical methodology, rather than the dashing Ian Fleming character or Richard Sorge, the German journalist and Soviet intelligence "super-spy" who in 1941 warned Stalin of the impending German invasion of the Soviet Union (the Vietnamese media has frequently compared An to Sorge). An said that while he did provide photographs of classified American and South Vietnamese secret documents to Hanoi on occasion, most of his reports were not raw intelligence in the strict sense of the word, but rather were his analyses of the situation based on his understanding of the Americans and the South Vietnamese from his unique vantage point, with one foot in both camps.

Although An may well have been down-playing his role as a spy, at least for the American audience, his claim actually does make more than a bit of sense. The xenophobic and relatively poorly educated Communist leadership in Hanoi had very little knowledge of the United States. Almost none of them had ever traveled to the West, and many had never traveled anywhere outside of Vietnam. The only Western country with which they had any experience at all was France, and knowledge of the writings of Victor Hugo and of the treasures of the Louvre were of little help in deciphering the thinking of American "invaders" led by the "cowboy" Lyndon Johnson.

Perfect Spy is a book that focuses on one single covert operative and makes no claim to tell the complete story of the Vietnamese Communist espionage establishment as a whole. It would have been useful, however, to have had at least a short exposition on the overall apparatus and its activities so as to place An's life and work into context, and enable the general reader to assess better An's overall contribution to the Communist victory. An, after all, was but one of thousands of spies, ranging from coolie laborers, maids, and high school students, to generals in the South Vietnamese army and members of the South Vietnamese legislature, who reported to at least three separate Communist intelligence services - An's own military intelligence service, a civilian public security espionage department, and the Party's separate intelligence and propaganda organization.

Ever since An's double life began to be known in 1976, a number of accusations have been made claiming that An's primary role, in fact, was to use his position as a journalist working for U.S. news organizations to plant disinformation and Communist propaganda in the press for the purpose of influencing and demoralizing the American public. Berman devotes several pages to refuting those charges, and I think that on balance, he is probably correct. No professional intelligence officer worth his salt would ask such an invaluable intelligence source as An to take the risks involved in spreading propaganda stories that could, and probably would, immediately raise suspicions about his loyalties.

There is one last secret in Pham Xuan An's life, one that this book raises briefly but does not answer. During one of Berman's last interviews with An, he revealed that he had continued to work for the Vietnamese Army's General Department of Intelligence after the war ended and right up to the last six months before he died (on September 20, 2006). An told Berman that his work was only as a "consultant" (the same description he gave for his relationship with the old South Vietnamese CIO), and also claimed that he was simply asked to "read things and give my analysis."

An had previously told Berman and every other American and foreign visitor with whom he met that ever since 1975, the Communist regime in Vietnam had viewed him with suspicion, and had placed him under constant surveillance because of his close relations with Americans and his obvious affection for the United States. One must ask, then, if An's claims about the regime's suspicions of him were true, why did its intelligence service continue to share information with him and trust his analytical conclusions? Is it not more likely that An's old spymasters asked him to report on his conversations with his foreign friends and visitors, and provide his personal assessments of them and their political views? Was there some hidden purpose behind An's meetings with his "old friends" and his efforts to reestablish old contacts? Is this just one more secret that the perfect spy Pham Xuan An has taken to his grave?

We may never know, but this is only one of the intriguing questions that this important book raises. [Pribbenow/WashingtonDecoded/11August2007]


Research Assistance Request

Thank you from Dr. Salter.  I would like to thanks those members of your organization who contributed mainly anonymously to my just published book on the role of the OSS in general and General Donovan in particular in the preparation of the Nuremberg war crimes trials entitled Nazi War Crimes, US intelligence and selective prosecution at Nuremberg: controversies regarding the role of the OSS, Taylor Francis, June 2007.  Dr Michael Salter, Professor of Law, UClan, Preston, UK.

Thesis research.  Ms. Sara Lense, a rising senior and film major, is currently conducting research for her senior thesis, an analysis of the relationship between the sociopolitical atmosphere of the Cold War in America (focus on 1950-1965) and the on-screen performances and personas of Doris Day. Ms. Lense is interested in how the popular and political discourse of the 1950s and 1960s informed the sociopolitical atmosphere and, in turn, also informed the female and domestic representations we see on screen in the films of Doris Day. 

Ms. Lense is looking for materials in which the government stipulates the importance of films and Hollywood as mediums for transmitting pro-American sentiments, particularly materials which discuss popular female actresses as tools for combating communism through pro-American messages. She is interested in how the institution of marriage, and a preservation of women-as-homemaker, family values, and patriarchy were seen as essential tools to combat communism. She is interested in how the government's concern with civil defense was paired with the significance of films and Hollywood in 1950-1965 America. 

Ms. Lense is also interested in interviewing any members of AFIO who may be able to provide valuable and intriguing information on this subject. Please contact her at 631.682.2708. 


Corrections

Misquote - Brian Latell.  The WIN editors would like to thank Brian Latell for clarifying information in an AFP article published July 27, 2007 that quoted him stating he had first hand information about alleged secret talks between high level military officers of the Cuban and American governments. Mr. Latell clarified that he did not make those claims, and informs us that he has no such information. Mr. Latell did tell the AFP reporter that he had heard a report in the Spanish-language media in Miami that a respected television and radio journalist there had reported on such talks, attributing the story to a confidential and unidentified source. Mr. Latell says he told the AFP reporter exactly that, and emphasized that he had no additional information and could not comment further. 

Olson, not Olsen.  In last week's Book Review of Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill To Power and Helped Save England, the author is Lynne Olson, not Lynne Olsen.  We regret the error.


Coming Events

 23 - 25 Aug 2007 - Las Vegas, NV - Know Your Enemy - Seminar 2 - Islam, Jihad, and Terrorism by the Center for Strategic Analysis (CSA). The seminar will be conducted by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from U.S. intelligence agencies, counter-terrorism experts, specialists from academia, and individuals with a unique understanding of the “Terrorist mindset” and why they hate us. Registration is $495.
For security reasons the exact location will only be shared with attendees who are fully paid and agree not to share the location information with non-attendees. Once attendees have been given details of the seminar there will be no refund for any reason.
If you have any questions, and to register, email pboylan@centerforstrategicanalysis.org or call Patrick Boylan, Executive Director of CSA, at 702.866.6466

25 August 2007 - Seattle, WA - AFIO Pacific Northwest Chapter Meeting.  25 August 2007 - Seattle, WA - AFIO Pacific Northwest Chapter Meeting featuring Capt Cannady, LTC Woodard, and Maj. Krueger. An outstanding program is planned with speakers from McChord AFB and the Washington National Guard. Captain Matthew Cannady is the Intelligence Officer assigned to the Western Air Defense Sector (WADS) at McChord. He will provide an in-depth briefing on the workings of the Air Defense system on the West Coast. Lt. Colonel Timothy Woodard the J2 of the Washington National Guard and Major Bill Krueger will provide a detailed briefing on the recently created 194th Intelligence Squadron. The cost of the meeting will be $25 which includes a breakfast buffet. Time: 09:30am - 1:30pm. Where: South View Lounge at the Museum of Flight. The meeting is open to anyone interested in national intelligence whether they are a member or not. The chapter welcomes family, friends and associates to attend. SPECIAL OFFER: A gracious corporate donor has agreed to pay $5 for each of the first 10 people who send their CHECKs to arrive with Fran Dyer prior to July 16. The first 10 people who meet these conditions will receive a $5 refund at the meeting. Please mail your checks, payable to AFIO PNW Chapter, to: AFIO PNW Chapter, 4616 25th Ave NE Suite 495, Seattle, WA 98105. Please RSVP Fran Dyer at: FD@CromwellGroup.us.

27 - 29 August 2007 - New Orleans, LA - SYNERGY '07 - Conference and Expo - Advancing an Integrated Defense Intelligence Enterprise. Co-sponsored by: The Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD/I). The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, (USD/I), headed by Lt Gen James R. Clapper, Jr.,, USAF(Ret) is co-sponsoring with Government Emerging Technology Alliance (GETA) this Synergy ‘07 New Orleans, LA. Synergy '07 will strive to bring DoD Operations and Intelligence Community representatives together for open dialog with the objective of fostering better collaboration between decision makers and members of the war-fighting, requirements, collections, analytics and vendor communities. The conference, chaired by Brigadier General Billy J. Bingham (USAF, ret), a former Assistant Deputy Director for Operations and Deputy Chief, Central Security Service at Fort George G. Meade, and Director of Intelligence (J2) U.S. Pacific Command, will focus on past operational successes as a means of addressing the impediments and challenges that the various components face in providing quality support to U.S. warfighters during peace, crisis and wartime. "What we are hoping to do is build a confederation of communities, including, to the extent possible, our coalition partners that will increase the effectiveness of DoD operations and provide upgraded support from the ISR community to our boots on the ground warfighters," said Jim Riggins, NCSI's Executive Director of Intelligence Community Programs and Initiatives. More about the conference can be found at  http://www.ncsi.com/synergy07/index.shtml

30 August 2007 - Houston, TX - the AFIO Houston Chapter Summer 2007 Dinner will feature CIA former Chiefs of Disguise and the former Chief of the Graphics and Authentication, Antonio J. Mendez, and his wife, Jonna H. Mendez. Also present will be retired KGB Major General Oleg D. Kalugin, former Chief, KGB Foreign Counterintelligence (Directorate KR) as well the Youngest General in KGB history. This exclusive evening is being held at the Sheraton Suites, near the Houston Galleria: Immediately preceding dinner, there will be an author's reception with appetizers and a book signing. Antonio and Jonna Mendez are authors of the Master of Disguise and Spy Dust and will be delighted to sign their books for all attendees. Both books will on sale on location. Please RSVP here: rsvp_events@afiohouston.com

4-6 September 2007 - Chicago, IL - INSA 3 day presentation of Analytic Transformation. The DDNI for Analysis will present new standards for analysis suggested for the Intelligence Community. $695 per person. Speakers will include Thomas Fingar, DDNI for Analysis; James Clapper, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence; Michael Wertheimer, ADDNI for Analytic Transformation & Technology; and others. Location: Sheraton-on-the-Water, Chicago, IL. Further details at https://secure.insaonline.org/em/index.php?page=register&id=61

5 September 2007 - Las Vegas, NV - The AFIO Las Vegas Chapter meeting will feature guest speaker Stephen M. Scott, formerly with Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State. The chapter will hold it's meeting at the Officers’ Club at Nellis Air Force Base. Our featured speaker will be Stephen M. Scott, formerly with Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State. Mr. Scott will speak on “Living in Moscow: A Diplomatic Security Engineer's Perspective.” Date/Time: Wednesday, September 5th, at 6:00 p.m. (RSVP deadline to submit names of guests is Thursday, August 31st.) Place: The Officers' Club at Nellis Air Force Base. All guests must use the MAIN GATE located at the intersection on Craig Road and Las Vegas Blvd. Address: 5871 Fitzgerald Blvd., Nellis AFB, NV 89191 Phone: 702-644-2582. Dinner: The Officers' Club has an excellent, informal dinner venue along with a selection of snacks. You are welcome to arrive early and join us in the "Check Six" bar area. Water will be provided during the meeting, but you may also purchase beverages and food at the bar and bring them to the meeting. Once again, please feel free to bring your spouse and/or guest(s) to dinner as well as our meeting.
Please contact Christine Eppley at eppley@nv.doe.gov or 702.295.0073 by Thursday, August 31, RSVP if you wish to be added to the Access List for entrance to Nellis Air Force Base (through the Main Gate) to attend the meeting on September 5. Entrance to the base cannot be guaranteed if names are not submitted by Ms. Eppley

Thursday, 6 September 2007; 6:30 pm - Washington, DC - Sharing the Dragon’s Teeth: Terrorists and Technology, an joint event by the International Spy Museum and RAND Corporation “Terrorists attacking British bases in Basra are using aerial footage displayed by the Google Earth internet tool to pinpoint their attacks, say Army intelligence sources.”— The Telegraph, 13 January 2007 It may be hard to imagine the use of “best practices” in a terrorist context, but terrorist groups have found new and efficient ways to achieve their goals. In Sharing the Dragon’s Teeth, Breaching the Fortress Wall, and Freedom and Information, Brian A. Jackson, Kim Cragin, and Eric Landree examine how terrorist groups attempt to use and exchange technologies and information. In this discussion, the authors will review a variety of technologies ranging from remote-detonation devices to converted field ordnance to katyusha rockets, terrorist strategies to counter government efforts to protect the public, and the availability of data regarding U.S. counterterrorism systems and defenses for attacks on the U.S. air, rail, and sea transportation infrastructure. Join the experts as they share their thoughts about improving threat assessments, disrupting innovation processes, and affecting terrorist groups’ cost-benefit trade-offs. Tickets: $20 http://www.spymuseum.org/programs/register.html

6 September 2007 - Front Royal, VA - Tony Sesow Golf Classic.  The Naval Intelligence Foundation hosts its annual "Tony Sesow Golf Classic" fund-raising tournament at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Course. The tournament starts at 0800 with registration, followed by a light breakfast and concludes with lunch and refreshments. Lucky draw and all skill prizes will be awarded. The cost is $80.00 for an individual, $300.00 for a team and sponsorship is available for $400.00 (team included). Each Closest-to-the Pin winner will automatically be entered into the Jetblue shoot-out for $50,000 which will take place directly after the tournament. For sponsorship and additional information, please contact Peter Buchan at (540) 671-4435 or pibuchan@comcast.net.

9-14 September 2007 - Oxford, United Kingdom - Christ Church Conflict Conference 2007 "The Nature of War"  The object of the 2007 Conflict conference is to study War in its various manifestations, its apparent ‘permanence as a feature of the human condition’ (Clausewitz), and the successes and failures of attempts to control it. The program looks first of the basic steps on the road to war, not least an examination of alternatives to armed conflict. Next, the different types of war: civil wars that engulfed the English-speaking world in the 17th and 19th centuries, or Bosnia in 1990; conventional warfare between nation states: the 20th century and its two world wars, guerilla wars and the conflicts of decolonization - and the uniqueness of the Falklands War of 1982. All these will come under scrutiny. The pervading granular warfare that engages us all today with the threat of terrorism, focused closely on the present Iraqi conflict. Finally there will be an examination of the outcomes of war and the inevitable social change that comes in its wake. Christ Church welcomes speakers of the highest distinction and scholarship. Speakers at the Nature of War conference are drawn from amongst political and military experts as well as the media. Amongst those participating are Professor Kenneth Hagan of the US Naval War College; Larry Hollingworth, with personal experience of the Iraqi conflict and a veteran of Afghanistan, Chechnya and East Timor; and Major-General Julian Thompson, military commander in the Falklands War. The program will be administered by Alex Webb, and her Christ Church conference team. Further information will be shortly published on the Christ Church website and an illustrated prospectus will be available. Contact Nature of War, The Steward's Office, Christ Church, Oxford, OX1 1DP, U.K. or email conflict@chch.ox.ac.uk, telephone +44 (0) 1865 286848.

15 September 2007 - Kennebunk ME - the AFIO Maine Chapter hosts former CIA officer Tyler Drumheller. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the Kennebunk Free Library, 112 Main Street, Kennebunk, at 2:00 p.m.  Further information at 207-985-2392.

19 September 2007 - Scottsdale, AZ -The Arizona Chapter of AFIO meeting features Richard W. Bloom, College Dean/Director of Terrorism, Intelligence, and Security Studies at Embry-Riddle. The chapter will hold it's meeting at 11:30 AM at Buster's Restaurant in Scottsdale. The speaker will be Dr. Richard W. Bloom, Dean of the College of Arts and Science, Professor of Political and Clinical Psychology and Director of Terrorism, Intelligence, and Security Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. Dr. Bloom has worked for the United States government as an intelligence operations manager, intelligence analyst, special operations planner, politico-military planner and military clinical psychologist. He is President of the Military Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association, diplomat of the American Board of Professional Psychology (Clinical Psychology). He carries out policy analyses and reviews applied research in Aviation Intelligence, profiling of aviation security threat and assessment, terrorism, and counter terrorism, psychological warfare, propaganda and disinformation. For information and reservations contact Bill Williams at (602) 944-2451 or FIREBALLCI@HOTMAIL.COM

20 September 2007 - Colorado Springs, CO - AFIO Rocky Mountain Chapter features speaker Craig B. Chellis on "Adapting the Intelligence Process to Monitoring Natural Disasters". Craig is a former staffer of both NRO and CIA.. The lunch meeting is at the Falcon Room of the Officers Club, Air Force Academy. The cost is $10.00 and the lunch starts at 11:30 am. Contact Richard (Dick) Durham at 719-488-2884 or by e-mail riverwear53@aol.com. Reservations must be made to Durham not later than September 17, 2007

Thursday, 20 September 2007; 12 noon – 1 pm - Washington, DC - iSpy: Surveillance and Power in the Interactive Era, free booksigning at the International Spy Museum Your groceries, the songs you buy for your iPod, the programs you TiVo, all these choices are added to a global data mine. Unbeknownst to the casual user of these services, this mother lode of information is already being put to use in various economic, political, and social contexts. In his new book iSpy: Surveillance and Power in the Interactive Era, Mark Andrejevic reveals how untempered public enthusiasm for new technologies offers unfettered new modes of surveillance and control. Join Andrejevic for a chilling look at the vortex in which collaborative participation becomes centralized control. Free! No registration required! Join the author for an informal chat and book signing.

20 September 2007, 6 pm - 10 pm - Tysons Corner, VA - The OSS Society hosts the William J. Donovan Award Dinner  The dinner will honor MG John K. Singlaub USA(Ret), the current Chairman of The Society, who will be the Award's 2007 recipient. The event will include The Society's own celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of CIA, formed after the OSS disbanded. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been invited to present a keynote address, and other military leaders are invited. Further details can be found by writing them at osssociety@aol.com

Tuesday, 25 September 2007; 6:30 pm - Washington, DC - The Agency at 60: Former DCI & CIA Director R. James Woolsey Reflects - A Special Evening at the International Spy Museum “We have slain a large dragon, but we now live in a jungle filled with a bewildering variety of poisonous snakes. And in many ways, the dragon was easier to keep track of.”— R. James Woolsey, 1991 Former U.S. Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) R. James Woolsey headed the CIA at a time of great change and challenge. The Cold War was ending and the Agency was suffering from the recent revelation that intelligence officer Aldrich Ames was a Soviet mole. Serving as both the DCI and the CIA director, Woolsey was appointed by President Clinton to help restructure the intelligence service. During this candid conversation, the former DCI will share what it was like to head the CIA during that tumultuous time. He will draw on his tenure at the CIA and his distinguished government career to comment on the Agency as it turns 60. Woolsey will also share some of his thoughts about the future of the CIA during this intimate event. Tickets: $20 REGISTER: http://www.spymuseum.org/programs/register.html

26 - 27 September 2007 - The Hague, Netherlands - Netherlands Intelligence Studies Association (NISA) CONFERENCE 2008  The Netherlands Defence College (IDL), The Hague, Netherlands is the location for 'Intelligence Failures and Cultural Misperceptions: Asia, 1945 till the present' The NISA would like to invite both academic and (former) practitioners of intelligence to submit proposals for papers that entail a theoretical approach to the intelligence failures and cultural misperceptions against the backdrop of the situation in Asia since 1945. The intention of the conference organizers is to develop a more analytical perspective on the above mentioned events, rather than adding to existing descriptive narratives. Submitters are requested to send in proposals of approximately 400 words pertaining to the following subjects : The Cold War in Asia Economic espionage in and from Asia Intelligence cultures UKUSA cooperation in Asia The 'war on terror' Proposals should be submitted no later than 1 May, 2007 and can be sent to: Beatrice.deGraaf@let.uu.nl or write to bobdegraaff@yahoo.com

28 September 2007 - Tysons Corner, VA - AFIO National Fall Luncheon Hold date on your calendars. Event to be held at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Tysons Corner/Vienna, VA. Details to follow. afio@afio.com 

and for your October planning.....  

Wednesday, 3 October 2007; 6:30 pm - Washington, DC - The Truth is Out There: Conspiracy Theories and Their Use by Intelligence Agencies at the International Spy Museum “Once contracted, conspiracy theory is an incurable condition.”—Christopher Andrew in Eternal Vigilance Do you believe the U.S. Army manufactured AIDS as a biological weapon? That Washington has been covering up UFO sightings for decades? Or that the CIA was involved in Kennedy’s assassination? If so, you are not alone. Americans are obsessed with conspiracy theories to a point that many have come to believe our democracy is really controlled by invisible forces operating behind the scenes. What makes conspiracy theories so appealing and why have they become so prevalent in this day and age? Do some of them contain a grain of truth? And who stands to gain from spreading these ideas? Join Robert Alan Goldberg, author of Enemies Within, as he unravels the mysteries of many popular conspiracy theories and International Spy Museum historian, Thomas Boghardt, who will reveal how intelligence agencies across the world have used these ingenious inventions as political weapons. Tickets: $15 REGISTER: http://www.spymuseum.org/programs/register.html

Thursday, 4 October 2007; 12 noon � 1 pm - Washington, DC - Corporate Spy: Industrial Espionage and Counterintelligence in the Multinational Enterprise at the International Spy Museum In May of 2006, PepsiCo alerted the Coca Cola Company that someone was trying to sell Coke’s secrets. An FBI sting implicated a secretary who has since been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from the famous beverage maker. How unusual was this case? How frequently are businesses under attack? How can they protect themselves? Join Steeple Aston, PhD, author of Corporate Spy, as he uncovers the world of the corporate spies: who they are and how they operate. You’ll learn the warning signs and hear about some of the most dramatic cases of industrial espionage in recent years. Free! No registration required! Join the author for an informal chat and book signing.

 5 October 2007 - New York, NY - The AFIO New York Metropolitan Chapter hosts an evening meeting to hear Haviland Smith. Smith is a retired CIA station chief having served in East and West Europe and was chief of CIA's Counterterrorism Staff. He served in Tehran, Beirut, Prague, Berlin and Washington. A classic spymaster's tour of duty. Undergraduate of Dartmouth, a Master's from University of London, both in Russian Studies. Smith is mentioned numerous times in Tim Weiner's new book "Legacy of Ashes" - which takes a highly one-sided, critical view of the Agency. Haviland Smith is well-known for being a dynamic, mesmerizing speaker! Join us this evening and find out. New Location of event: Club Quarters (former Chemists Club), 40 West 45th St, Between 5th and 6th Ave. Questions: Jerry Goodwin, President, AFIO - New York Metropolitan Chapter at 212-308-1450

Tuesday, 16 October 2007; 7 pm - Washington, DC - Syriana. Movie and post-film talk with former CIA Officer, Robert Baer. “Intelligence work isn't training seminars and gold stars for attendance…” —Bob Barnes in Syriana Corruption and power drive the plot of Syriana, a multi-layered thriller that weaves together emirs, analysts, intelligence officers, and immigrant workers. In the thought-provoking film, one commodity connects everything—oil. This shocking depiction of ruthless deals and raw emotion is inspired by the experiences of former CIA case officer Robert Baer—the screenplay is drawn from Baer’s books See No Evil and Sleeping with the Devil. Baer’s twenty-year career in the Directorate of Operations took him to assignments in Northern Iraq, Lebanon, and Tajikstan. His understanding of the Middle East shaped the film and brings a grim realism to this exploration of a double-crossing and morally skewed world. Join Baer for a special screening and discussion of the award-winning film. Program to be held at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and G Streets, NW Tickets: $15 REGISTER: http://www.spymuseum.org/programs/register.html

17-18 October 2007 - Chantilly, VA - AFCEA International Classified Fall Symposium - Top Secret SI/TK As part of an ongoing series for business executives with active intelligence community clearances, the AFCEA will be exploring Intelligence Community and National Security issues as they relate to the topic of information sharing and collaboration. The event will be held at the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly. Four focused sessions will address what has worked, what has not worked, and what still needs to be done. This is a critical topic requiring changes not only within the government and Intelligence Community, but also for marketing ideas for the private sector. For further details see: http://intel.afcea.org

18-19 October 2007 - Laurel, MD - The Symposium on Cryptologic History sponsored by the Center for Cryptologic History, to be held at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD. The National Security Agency's Center for Cryptologic History (CCH) hosts its 2007 Symposium on Cryptologic History. The CCH is looking for papers to be presented on fresh topics relating to the history of cryptology, with an emphasis on World War II and the Cold War, although papers on other fresh topics will be considered. Send your proposal for a paper or a panel, or any questions about the symposium to history@nsa.gov, or FAX them to 301-688-2342. Proposals will be considered after March 16, and a schedule issued.

19-20 October 2007 - Hampton Beach, NH - The Fall 2007 meeting of the AFIO New England Chapter will be held at the Ashworth-by-the-Sea in Hampton Beach. A full description of services as well as directions to the hotel are available at http://www.ashworthhotel.com/ Their main speaker will be Andy Bacevisch. They will also hear from their own Gene Wojciechowski. Andrew Bacevisch was born in Normal, IL in 1947 and is a 1969 graduate of West Point. He served in Vietnam commanding an armored cavalry platoon, and later earned an MA and PhD in history at Princeton while teaching at West Point. After his army service, he taught at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies before coming to Boston University, where he headed the Center for International Relations for several years. He is the author of a number of books on the US military and his op-ed pieces appear regularly in the national press. The program will begin with a Friday evening complimentary wine and cheese social at the Ashworth-by-the-Sea starting at 6:00 PM. This get-together is a wonderful opportunity to renew friendships, as well as make new ones in a relaxed informal setting. We anticipate that our speakers will join us at the social. This may be followed by a no-host dinner at local area restaurants. Our Saturday schedule is as follows 9:00 - 10:45 a.m. Meeting Registration, 11:00 - 11:20 a.m. First Speaker, 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. Luncheon,1:15 - 2:15 p.m. Keynote Speaker, 2:30 p.m. Adjournment. For additional information contact afionechapter@gmail.com

20 October 07 - Kennebunk, ME. The Maine Chapter of AFIO will host John Robb, author of "Brave New War." Robb, a graduate of the Air Force Academy and Yale University,  has worked as a special operations counterterrorism officer and is a successful software CEO pioneering in weblogs and RSS.  He has worked, lived ,and traveled extensively throughout the world.  Over the past few years he has been analyzing guerrilla insurgencies on his blog Global Guerrillas.  Robb offers a unique insight into terrorism, global security, and U.S. vulnerabilities to this type of warfare.  The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the Kennebunk Free Library, 112 Main Street, Kennebunk, at 2:00 p.m.  Further information at 207-985-2392

22-26 October 2007 - The Midwest Chapter of AFIO is planning a trip to Washington, DC  The trip will run from Monday, October 22, 2007 through Friday, October 26, 2007. Plans are being made to visit the White House, the Pentagon, and the Capitol, with the possibility of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All other tours will be worked around the laying of the wreath and scheduled tours provided by the government. Contact Angelo DiLiberti at 847-931-4181 for more details and a registration reply form. Spaces are limited and reply forms must be submitted early for tour background checks.

23-24 October 2007 - NMIA Symposium for 2007 visits the National Reconnaissance Office - SECRET/NOFORN. Attendees must hold SECRET/NOFORN clearance. Fee: $475 pp.  Includes presentation by LTG David Deptula, A-2, HQ USAF Transformation followed by speakers on AF Cyber Command, Airborne ISR and ISR Personnel Development. Day two features Under SecDef James Clapper on “Revitalization of DOD Counterintelligence” followed by speakers from the Office of the SECDEF discussing the future of CI at military commands and the merger of CI and HUMINT. To signup visit  https://www.123signup.com/event?id=xmhks

25-27 October 2007 - McLean, VA - AFIO National Intelligence Symposium. The AFIO National Intelligence Symposium runs Thursday, October 25 through Saturday, October 27, at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel in Tysons Corner, VA. Using a different format, it will feature presentations on a special, controversial topic: the view of intelligence agencies and other public institutions in terms of missions assigned and from where, performance, assessment of results, and where to place blame for current and historic unwanted outcomes. Will include presentations by the National Counterterrorism Executive, NSA, FBI, DHS, and other speakers.


For Additional Events two+ months or greater....view our online Calendar of Events

-----------------------------------------------------------------------  

Disclaimers and Removal Instructions

Weekly Intelligence Notes (WINs) are commentaries on Intelligence and related national security matters, based on open media sources, selected, interpreted, edited and produced for non-profit educational uses by members and WIN subscribers. 

REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS: We do not wish to add clutter to inboxes. To discontinue receiving the WINs: 

a)  IF YOU ARE A MEMBER -- click here: UNSUBSCRIBE and supply your full name and email address where you receive the WINs. Click SEND, you will be removed from list.  If this link doesn't open a blank email, create one on your own and send to afio@afio.com with the words:  REMOVE FROM WINs as the subject, and provide your full name and email address where you are currently receiving them.

 b) IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER, and you received this message, someone forwarded this newsletter to you [contrary to AFIO policies]. Forward to afio@afio.com the entire WIN or message you received and we will remove the sender from our membership and distribution lists. The problem will be solved for both of us.

CONTENTS of this WIN [HTML version recipients - Click title to jump to story or section, Click Article Title to return to Contents. This feature does not work for Plaintext Edition or for some AOL recipients]. If you wish to change to HTML format, let us know at afio@afio.com. The HTML feature also does not work for those who access their e-mail using web mail...however NON-HTML recipients may view the latest edition each week in HTML at this link: https://www.afio.com/pages/currentwin.htm

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

WINs are protected by copyright laws and intellectual property laws, and may not be reproduced or re-sent without specific permission from the Producer. Opinions expressed in the WINs are solely those of the editor(s) or author(s) listed with each article. AFIO Members Support the AFIO Mission - sponsor new members! CHECK THE AFIO WEBSITE at www.afio.com for back issues of the WINs, information about AFIO, conference agenda and registrations materials, and membership applications and much more!

(c) 2007, AFIO, 6723 Whittier Ave, Suite 303A, McLean, VA 22101. Voice: (703) 790-0320; Fax: (703) 991-1278; Email: afio@afio.com

Click here to return to top.