Senior Intelligence Officials From 24 Countries Meet In Secret In Singapore

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines (centre) represented the US at the secret meeting of spy chiefs in Singapore.(Reuters: Caroline Chia) 

CNBC/Reuters: World’s spy chiefs meet in secret conclave in Singapore 

* The meetings are organized by the Singapore government and have been discreetly held at a separate venue alongside the security summit for several years, sources said. 

* The U.S. was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the head of her country’s intelligence community. 

Senior officials from about two dozen of the world’s major intelligence agencies held a secret meeting on the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore this weekend, five people told Reuters. 

Such meetings are organised by the Singapore government and have been discreetly held at a separate venue alongside the security summit for several years, they said. The meetings have not been previously reported. 

The U.S. was represented by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the head of her country’s intelligence community, while China was among the other countries present, despite the tensions between the two superpowers.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: World's spy chiefs connect in secret conclave at Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore (ABC News Australia)  

Update #2: World's spy chiefs meet in secret conclave in Singapore: Report (WION)

WNU Editor: This secret meeting was held alongside the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore this weekend. Officials from China and the United States were present, as well as representatives from two dozen of the world's major intelligence agencies.

Ukraine President Zelensky Disagrees With Ukraine, U.S., And U.K. Intelligence Assessments That Russia Is Going To Invade. Is He Wrong?

Zelensky doubled down on his insistence that a Russian invasion is not "imminent," as the US has repeatedly warned.

"I'm the President of Ukraine, I'm based here, and I think I know the details deeper than any other president," Zelensky told reporters.https://t.co/XWs5NcspNH

— Bryan MacDonald (@27khv) January 29, 2022

Washington Post: U.S. and allies debate the intelligence on how quickly Putin will order an invasion of Ukraine — or whether he will at all 

As Russia masses tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine, along with tanks, artillery and missiles capable of striking the capital, officials in Washington, Kyiv and across Europe are debating the likelihood and timing of an invasion. 

In one camp, officials in Washington, London and within Ukraine’s national security establishment are convinced that a Russian strike is imminent. But Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is not persuaded that the intelligence Western nations have shown him backs up their dire assessments. 

Somewhere in the middle, U.S. allies including France, Germany and Norway think Russia could strike but remain unsure of the timing and whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept some kind of diplomatic compromise that he can sell as a NATO retreat.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Any predictions on when Washington turns against Ukraine President Zelensky?

The U.S. Intelligence Community Is Focusing On China

After reviewing the CIA's priorities, Director William Burns recently announced the establishment of a China Mission Center at the spy agency. U.S. intelligence officials, current and former, recently spoke at a conference about the challenges posed by China's large spying operation directed at the U.S. Ian Morton/NPR 

NPR: As U.S. spies look to the future, one target stands out: China  

It's pretty rare for U.S. spies to gather at a conference and talk openly about the most pressing national security threats. 

"I've got to tell you all, it's so odd after 27 years of being in the clandestine service, to see your picture and your bio pop up," said Cynthia Saddy, a retired CIA officer. As she spoke to a ballroom filled with current and former intelligence officials at a resort in Sea Island, Ga., a huge screen displayed her photo and the high-powered positions she held at the agency, including chief of staff in the Directorate of Operations.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: I have been raising concerns about China for almost two decades. Its good to see that the US intelligence community has caught up.

Update: He is an interesting discussion from the Cipher Brief Threat Conference .... China Poses A National Security Threat Unlike Any The U.S. Has Seen Before (NPR).

U.S. Intelligence Says There Are 5 Kinds Of Technology That America's Rivals Are Gaining An Edge

Business Insider: 5 kinds of technology that the US's top spy catchers say rivals are gaining an edge in 

* The top US counterintelligence agency recently published a list of five tech sectors it says are vital to US interests. 

* Those sectors are also vulnerable to adversaries, according to the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. 

* That tech "that may determine whether America remains the world's leading superpower," the NCSC says. 

The US's top counterintelligence and security agency recently published a list of five technology sectors vital to US national and economic security that it says are vulnerable to malicious actors and adversaries. 

According to the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, those five prized sectors are artificial intelligence, bioeconomy, autonomous systems, quantum information science and technology, and semiconductors. 

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The National Counterintelligence and Security Center's report is here (link here).

Not Everyone In Silicon Valley Is Avoiding Doing Business With America’s Military And Spy Agencies

Yahoo News: In Silicon Valley, a new breed of investors is seeking closer ties to America’s military and spy agencies 

A budding group of venture capital firms and investors are working with the CIA and other U.S. intelligence and military agencies in an attempt to help shape the future of Silicon Valley, ensuring companies produce innovations useful for national security while avoiding funding from potential adversaries like China. 

Call it the new world of "spooky finance." 

These firms — like New North Ventures, Harpoon, Scout Ventures, and Razor's Edge — are often themselves staffed by former U.S. intelligence and military officials, and sometimes work together to cofund national-security-related startups in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and next-generation communications.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: There are billions in contracts that are just sitting there for Silicon Valley companies to grab. The big tech giants may not be interested in pursuing these deals, but there are a lot of other companies and investors who are.

Thousands Of US Intelligence Officers Are Refusing To Take the Covid Vaccine

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, left, next to CIA Director William Burns, testifies at a House Intelligence committee hearing on diversity and equity in the intelligence community on Oct. 27, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government's vaccine mandate, leading to concerns from Republican lawmakers about potentially hurting agencies considered critical to national security. Haines says she doesn't anticipate the mandate affecting the mission of national security agencies. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)  

The Hill: House Republican says as much as 40 percent of some intel agencies remain unvaccinated  

A Republican who sits on the House Intelligence Committee says, citing non-publicly disclosed data, that as much as 40 percent of some U.S. intelligence agencies remain unvaccinated against the coronavirus. 

While The Associated Press noted that most intelligence agencies have reported vaccination rates that outpaced that of the U.S. population, Rep. Chris Stewart (Utah) specified in an interview published Friday that those with lower rates were more often military-affiliated. CIA Director William Burns said last week that 97 percent of the agency's officers are vaccinated.

Read more ....  

Update: Thousands of intel officers refusing vaccine risk dismissal (AP)  

WNU Editor: If all of these intelligence officers are dismissed, I am sure it is going to severely impact national security.

Russian Diplomat Found Dead Outside The Embassy Grounds In Berlin

The Russian Embassy in Berlin. Shan Yuqi / Zuma / TASS  

Daily Mail: Russian 'spy' is found dead 'after falling from upper window of Berlin embassy' 

* Kirill Zhalo, 35, found dead outside the Russian embassy in Berlin on October 19 

* Zhalo was found by guards at 7.20am after apparently falling from an upper floor 

* But no cause of death was given because the embassy refused an autopsy, and German prosecutors cannot investigate due to Zhalo's diplomatic status 

* Zhalo is believed to be the son of prominent FSB commander Alexei Zhalo, whose departments have been linked to numerous assassination attempts 

A suspected spy with family ties to Russia's shadowy FSB has been found dead outside the country's embassy in Berlin. 

Kirill Zhalo, 35, was found lifeless outside the building in central Berlin at 7.20am on October 19 by German guards assigned to protect it. 

Medics were called but were unable to revive him. 

Zhalo appears to have fallen to his death from the upper floor of the building, German newspaper Der Spiegel said, as it broke news of the death today.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: It looks like it was a suicide. There are reports that he may have been a FSB officer .... Russian Diplomat Who Died at Berlin Embassy is Senior Intelligence Figure’s Son (Bellingcat). 

The Russian embassy response to questions has been a "no comment" .... Russian embassy declines comments on national diplomat’s death in Germany (TASS). 

Russian Diplomat Found Dead Outside The Embassy Grounds In Berlin  

Russian diplomat found dead outside embassy in Berlin -- RT  

Russian Diplomat With FSB Links Found Dead Outside Berlin Embassy – Reports -- Moscow Times  

Russian diplomat found dead in Berlin was 'spy' — report -- DW  

Russian Diplomat Found Dead In Front Of Berlin Embassy -- RFE  

Diplomat found dead outside Berlin embassy was Russian secret agent - Der Spiegel -- Reuters  

Russian diplomat found dead in Berlin was intelligence officer -- The Guardian

Are There Too Many White Males In The U.S. Intelligence Community?

FOX News: Adam Schiff laments intelligence community bringing so many White males to testify before House committee 

Schiff argued that diversity is most important to US national security interests 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., declared diversity the greatest national strength of the U.S. on Thursday and lamented that the intelligence community (IC) often brought White males to testify before his committee. 

"I remain concerned about inadequate progress in recruiting and retaining individuals of diverse backgrounds in the core IC collection and analysis missions," he said during a hearing on diversity. 

"For instance, I can't help but notice that the majority of IC briefers, though uniformly excellent, who appear before the committee are often White and male."  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Quoting Buddha. when you are pointing a finger at someone, you are pointing three at yourself. 

Will white male House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif. voluntarily give up his post to a non-white male Congressman or Congresswoman?

I doubt it. 

But there is no problem for him to judge other people based only on the color of their skin and gender.

Four U.S. Intelligence Agencies Produced Extensive Reports on Afghanistan But All Failed To Predict The Quick Collapse Of Kabul

Wall Street Journal: Four U.S. Intelligence Agencies Produced Extensive Reports on Afghanistan, but All Failed to Predict Kabul’s Rapid Collapse 

Summaries of intelligence reports show how agencies diverged over the strength of the Afghan government and military 

WASHINGTON—Leading U.S. intelligence agencies failed to predict the rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan prior to the final withdrawal of American troops and instead offered scattershot assessments of the staying power of the Afghan military and government, a review of wide-ranging summaries of classified material by The Wall Street Journal shows. 

The nearly two dozen intelligence assessments from four different agencies haven’t been previously reported. 

The assessments charted Taliban advances from spring 2020 through this July, forecasting that the group would continue to gain ground and that the U.S.-backed government in Kabul was unlikely to survive absent U.S. support. 

The analyses, however, differed over how long the Afghan government and military could hold on, the summaries show, with none foreseeing the group’s lightning sweep into the Afghan capital by Aug. 15 while U.S. forces remained on the ground. 

A month after President Biden announced his decision to withdraw all U.S. troops, for instance, the Central Intelligence Agency issued a May 17 report titled “Government at Risk of Collapse Following U.S. Withdrawal.” 

The report estimated that the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani would fall by year’s end, according to a summary. 

 Less than a month later, the agency issued another analysis titled: “Afghanistan: Assessing Prospects for a Complete Taliban Takeover Within Two Years,” according to a summary. 

A June 4 Defense Intelligence Agency report, meanwhile, said the Taliban would pursue an incremental strategy of isolating rural areas from Kabul over the next 12 months, according to a summary. 

In an “Executive Memorandum” on July 7, the DIA said the Afghan government would hold Kabul, according to a person familiar with the report.  

Read more ....  

Update: U.S. Intelligence Agencies Did Not Predict Taliban’s Rapid Takeover Of Kabul, Report Says (Forbes)  

WNU Editor: To WSJ's credit they reach out to Bill Roggio for his comment on the above report .... 

.... Bill Roggio, a senior fellow who follows Afghanistan at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish think tank in Washington, said intelligence agencies and policy makers bear responsibility for being blindsided by the Taliban’s swift battlefield success. 

Mr. Roggio said individual analysts at several agencies he was in touch with foresaw a rapid Taliban takeover, “and for whatever reason that didn’t make it to the top.” 

“The intelligence community needs to take a long, hard look at how it provides assessments to senior leadership,” Mr. Roggio said. The White House, he said, seemed intent on the troop withdrawal. 

Bill Rogggio's analysis is spot on. 

Bill Roggio also posts at the Long War Journal. I am a long time reader of his work, and the Long War Journal was predicting the rapid disintegration of the Afghan Army in June. A prediction that this blog was always posting on. 

One final note. In view of this massive intelligence failure from the top, will those who are responsible for the biggest US foreign policy/military defeat since the Vietnam War be held responsible and accountable for their mistakes?

The NSA And CIA Are Using Ad Blockers To Block Malicious Ads That Can Hack Devices Or Harvest Sensitive Information

VICE: The NSA and CIA Use Ad Blockers Because Online Advertising Is So Dangerous 

The Intelligence Community has deployed ad-blocking technology, according to a letter sent by Congress and shared with Motherboard. 

Lots of people who use ad blockers say they do it to block malicious ads that can sometimes hack their devices or harvest sensitive information on them. 

It turns out, the NSA, CIA, and other agencies in the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) are also blocking ads potentially for the same sorts of reasons. The IC, which also includes the parts of the FBI, DEA, and DHS, and various DoD elements, has deployed ad-blocking technology on a wide scale, according to a copy of a letter sent by Congress and shared with Motherboard.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: This makes sense. A lot of information can be gleamed from the ads that appear on your browser.

U.S. National Security Agencies Are Angry That Thousands Of Afghans Are Going To Be Left Behind

U.S. Marines during an evacuation operation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday. Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla  

NBC: Fury and disgust at CIA, Pentagon, in Congress that thousands of Afghans will be left behind

Evacuations are likely to slow greatly by Friday to give U.S. troops time to withdraw. That's not enough time to evacuate all the Afghans who helped the U.S. 

WASHINGTON — With President Joe Biden intending to stick to the Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan, it's becoming clear that thousands of the Afghans who helped the U.S. won't be evacuated, a scenario that has engendered deep frustration inside U.S. national security agencies. 

"People are furious and disgusted," said a former U.S. intelligence official who declined to be quoted by name. A defense official said he grew nauseated as he considered how many Afghan allies would be left behind. 

At the CIA, "officers feel a real sense of obligation, moral obligation and personal obligation," to the Afghans they supported and trained, said former CIA Director John Brennan, an NBC News national security consultant. 

But the precarious situation for U.S. troops on the ground left President Joe Biden with no good options to extend their presence, military officials said.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: There is also anger among the military/intelligence/and political leaders of other countries. I just saw on a Canadian news channel a retired Canadian General rip into the Biden administration's decision to leave Afghanistan and how it will kill Canada's evacuation efforts.

U.S. Intelligence Warned President Biden Of Afghanistan Military Collapse, But He Choose To Ignore Them

 

New York Times: Intelligence Warned of Afghanistan Military Collapse, Despite Biden’s Assurances 

WASHINGTON — Classified assessments by American spy agencies over the summer painted an increasingly grim picture of the prospect of a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and warned of the rapid collapse of the Afghan military, even as President Biden and his advisers said publicly that was unlikely to happen as quickly, according to current and former American government officials. 

By July, many intelligence reports grew more pessimistic, questioning whether any Afghan security forces would muster serious resistance and whether the government could hold on in Kabul, the capital. 

President Biden said on July 8 that the Afghan government was unlikely to fall and that there would be no chaotic evacuations of Americans similar to the end of the Vietnam War. 

The drumbeat of warnings over the summer raise questions about why Biden administration officials, and military planners in Afghanistan, seemed ill-prepared to deal with the Taliban’s final push into Kabul, including a failure to ensure security at the main airport and rushing thousands more troops back to the country to protect the United States’ final exit.  

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: If all of these reports are true, you have to wonder if President Biden has made an enemy out of the US intel community. 

More News On Reports That U.S. Intelligence Warned President Biden Of Afghanistan Military Collapse

US intelligence warned of quick Taliban takeover as Biden downplayed threat: report -- NYPost 

Former acting CIA director on Taliban takeover of Afghanistan: Blaming US intelligence ‘infuriates me’ -- FOX News

Intel Agencies Warned of Afghan Collapse as Biden Publicly Downplayed Possibility -- National Review

Taliban rout exposes US intelligence failings on Afghanistan -- Financial Times  

Afghanistan's collapse: Did US intelligence get it wrong? -- ABC News

U.S. Intel Community Turn To Scientists To Answer Unexplained Mysteries

Avril Haines, then the nominee to become director of National Intelligence, appears before the Senate Intelligence committee during her confirmation hearing in Washington on Jan. 19, 2021. (Melina Mara/Pool via The New York Times)  

New York Times: Spy Agencies Turn to Scientists As They Wrestle With Mysteries 

WASHINGTON — The nation’s intelligence agencies are looking for ways to increase their expertise in a range of scientific disciplines as they struggle to answer unexplained questions — about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, unidentified phenomenon observed by Navy pilots and mysterious health ailments affecting spies and diplomats around the world. 

Traditional spycraft has failed to make significant progress on those high-profile inquiries, and many officials have grown convinced that they require a better marriage of intelligence-gathering and scientific examination. 

Intelligence officials in the Biden administration came into office pledging to work on areas traditionally dominated by science, like studying the national security implications of climate change and future pandemics. 

But as the other issues have cropped up, the spy agencies have had to confront questions that are as much scientific mysteries as they are challenges of traditional intelligence collection.  

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: This is a surprise. I thought the US intel community already had a division dedicated to scientific and technology/engineering mysteries and/or how to apply science and engineering/technology in their operations. It looks like they do not.

Here is an easy prediction. Do not be surprised in the next intel budget request there will be a classified request for a lot of money to go into the start and operations of such a division.

A President Biden Administration Will Purge The US Intelligence Community Of All Trump Appointees And Supporters

Politico: Biden would revamp fraying intel community 

Intelligence has become a political weapon under Trump, the Democratic nominee's advisers say.

President Donald Trump was in the middle of receiving a highly classified briefing on Afghanistan at his New Jersey golf club when he suddenly craved a malted milkshake. 

“Does anyone want a malt?” he asked the senior defense and intelligence officials gathered around him, an august group that included the head of the CIA’s Special Activities Center, which is responsible for covert operations and paramilitary operations. “We have the best malts, you have to try them,” Trump insisted, as he beckoned a waiter into the room where code-word classified intelligence was being discussed. 

The malt episode, which took place a few months after Trump took office in 2017, became legendary inside the CIA, said three former officials. It was seen as an early harbinger of Trump’s disinterest in intelligence, which would later be borne out by the new president’s notorious resistance to reading his classified daily briefing, known as the PDB, and his impatience with the briefers, current and former officials said. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: A typical Politico post. President Trump bad. A President Biden will correct everything. But what caught my eye is an admission from those who are supporting the Biden campaign that a Biden administration will purge the intelligence community of everyone who was appointed by President Trump and/or those who support his agenda starting with the CIA Director Gina Haspel. And as to who will replace these officials that will be purged by a Biden administration. Again the Politico post is quoting sources who are very blunt and on the record (no anonymous sources/reporting here). The same gang that got fired by President Trump because of their intelligence leaks to the media, and their obstruction of the Trump agenda at the beginning of his term.

Gang Of Eight To Be Briefed By Top Intelligence Officials On Thursday

FBI Director Christopher Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Gen. Robert Ashley, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Paul Nakasone and Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about "worldwide threats" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

The Hill: Top intelligence officials to brief Gang of Eight on Thursday

CIA Director Gina Haspel and National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone will brief congressional leaders known as the Gang of Eight on intelligence related to suspected Russian bounties on U.S. forces on Thursday.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed at a press briefing that the classified briefing would take place on Thursday. The Gang of Eight includes the top Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate as well as the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence committees.

McEnany told reporters she was unsure whether anyone other than Haspel and Nakasone would participate in Thursday’s briefing.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The person who should show up at this meeting is this CIA officer .... O'Brien says top CIA official decided against briefing Trump on Russia bounty intel (CBS).

Is The White House About To Approve A Global, Private Spy Network That Would Circumvent Official U.S. Intelligence Agencies?

Erik Prince, a former Navy Seal and founder of private military contractor Blackwater USA, has been waiting to pitch his ideas to the US administration. Photo: AFP/Saul Loeb

The Intercept: Trump White House Weighing Plans for Private Spies to Counter “Deep State” Enemies

The Trump administration is considering a set of proposals developed by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a retired CIA officer — with assistance from Oliver North, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal — to provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House with a global, private spy network that would circumvent official U.S. intelligence agencies, according to several current and former U.S. intelligence officials and others familiar with the proposals. The sources say the plans have been pitched to the White House as a means of countering “deep state” enemies in the intelligence community seeking to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency.

The creation of such a program raises the possibility that the effort would be used to create an intelligence apparatus to justify the Trump administration’s political agenda.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Erik Prince has proposed a lot of ideas to the White House. From privatizing the war in Afghanistan .... Will President Trump Support Erik Prince's Plan To Privatize The War In Afghanistan?, to sending mercenaries to Syria .... Are Western Mercenaries Heading To Syria? This private spy network is probably another one of his ideas. As to what is my take on a global private spy network .... I say for get about it. Focus on the present US intelligence community, put the people you trust in positions of authority, demote and/or fire those who have actively opposed your mandate. You do not need to create another spy network. You already have one with a $70 billion a year budget, warts and all.

This Concert Brings Entertainers And Members Of The American Intelligence Community Together For A Good Cause

Spookstock helps raise money for families benefiting from the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Spookstock: Inside the world's most secretive concert https://t.co/8MCdUWFBLj pic.twitter.com/eNEElAf1KZ

— New York Post (@nypost) November 29, 2019

Daily Mail: Spookstock!: The country's most elite concert that brought Lenny Kravitz and the intel community together to raise millions for charities

* Spookstock is one of the most elite annual charity galas for members of the CIA and the intelligence community
* Invitations are exclusive offered to select individuals and the details surrounding the event are tightly guarded
* The Spookstock Foundation has raised millions for the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation
* The money goes to the families and children of special operations forces killed in the field
* Last year, each charity received $400,000 each
* Celebrities like Lenny Kravitz, Robert DeNiro and Harvey Keitel have attended the weekend-long event

Earlier this year, one of the most elite social events took place in Washington D.C., but only a select number of guests were able to secure the exclusive tickets.

Grammy-winning rocker Lenny Kravitz was among the 1,800 guests allowed into the undisclosed location on a carefully guarded date that eluded many Washington insiders.

The annual charity event, cleverly called Spookstock, is the annual gala that has become the go-to affair for the city's tight-knit intelligence and military operations communities. It raises money for the families of CIA operatives and special operations forces who were killed in the field.

The centerpiece of the event is a concert, and this year it appeared Kravitz performed, but it's not clear who else may have as the event details and its guest list are a closely guarded secret.

Read more ....

Update: Party like a spy: Spookstock is intel world’s hush-hush bash (AP)

WNU Editor: All for a good cause.

Robert Baer: CIA And FBI Have Never Trusted Trump

WNU Editor: According to former CIA operative Robert Baer, the CIA and FBI have never trusted President Trump. I think it is worse than that. When you look at former officials like FBI Director Comey, former Director of National Intelligence Clapper, and former CIA Director John Brennan, they have made it very clear in the past three years that they fundamentally disagree with the policies that President Trump ran on successfully in 2016. And even though they are no longer employed by the government, the people they hired and promoted are still there who I am sure share the same points of view. The FBI and CIA are there to serve the President, not the other way around.

For Robert Baer's video, go here .... Robert Baer: CIA and FBI have never trusted Trump (CNN).

Some U.S. Spies Are Saying That President Trump Is Either A 'Russian Asset' Or A 'Useful Idiot' For Putin

President Donald Trump. Reuters

Business Insider: US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a 'Russian asset' or a 'useful idiot' for Putin

  * Current and former spies are floored by President Donald Trump's fervent defense of Russia at this year's G7 summit in Biarritz, France.
  * "It's hard to see the bar anymore since it's been pushed so far down the last few years, but President Trump's behavior over the weekend was a new low," one FBI agent who works in counterintelligence told Insider.
  * At the summit, Trump aggressively lobbied for Russia to be readmitted into the G7, refused to hold it accountable for violating international law, blamed former President Barack Obama for Russia's annexation of Crimea, and expressed sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
  * One former senior Justice Department official, who worked closely with the former special counsel Robert Mueller when he was the FBI director, told Insider Trump's behavior was "directly out of the Putin playbook. We have a Russian asset sitting in the Oval Office."
  * A former CIA operative told Insider the evidence is "overwhelming" that Trump is a Russian agent, but another CIA and NSA veteran said it was more likely Trump was currying favor with Putin for future business deals.
  * Meanwhile, a recently retired FBI special agent told Insider that Trump's freewheeling and often unfounded statements make it more likely that he's a "useful idiot" for the Russians. But "it would not surprise me in the least if the Russians had at least one asset in Trump's inner circle."

"It's hard to see the bar anymore since it's been pushed so far down the last few years, but President Trump's behavior over the weekend was a new low."

That was the assessment an FBI agent who works in counterintelligence gave Insider of President Donald Trump's performance at this year's G7 summit in Biarritz, France. The agent requested anonymity because they feared that speaking publicly on the matter would jeopardize their job.

Trump's attendance at the G7 summit was peppered with controversy, but none was more notable than his fervent defense of Russia's military and cyber aggression around the world, and its violation of international law in Ukraine.

Read more ....

WNU Editor:  Here we go again. Russian collusion. Russian collusion. Russian collusion. And talk about timing. All of this coming out on the day when the Inspector General releases a report that the former FBI Director essentially weaponized the FBI to pursue his political agenda. Including pushing this Russian narrative.

Advances In Technology Is Transforming The Intelligence Industry

Nato Association of Canada

Tech Crunch: How tech is transforming the intelligence industry

Technology and the future of spying

At a conference on the future challenges of intelligence organizations held in 2018, former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats argued that he transformation of the American intelligence community must be a revolution rather than an evolution. The community must be innovative and flexible, capable of rapidly adopting innovative technologies wherever they may arise.

Intelligence communities across the Western world are now at a crossroads: The growing proliferation of technologies, including artificial intelligence, Big Data, robotics, the Internet of Things, and blockchain, changes the rules of the game. The proliferation of these technologies – most of which are civilian, could create data breaches and lead to backdoor threats for intelligence agencies. Furthermore, since they are affordable and ubiquitous, they could be used for malicious purposes.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: A good summary on how developments in technology is transforming the intelligence community.