SIGNS OF THE TIMES: We assume the Trump administration elected to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War to send a message (not just on a whim cause it sounded tougher. Who would do that?). While the change is currently symbolic – since it would take an act of Congress to make it official – the rebranding - if fully implemented - would blow a hole in the federal budget. NBC News reports that changing the name “could cost as much as $2 billion, according to six people with knowledge of the potential cost.” Jeez, for that much money – the Pentagon could build six or seven ‘White House’ ballrooms instead.
PUTIN’S POTEMKIN OFFICES: We were shocked (not really) to see a recent story from RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty suggesting that the Kremlin’s been playing musical chairs with Putin’s offices. A new investigation found that the Russian president keeps a collection of near-identical offices across the country, complete with the same furniture, curtains, and clocks - all to make it seem like he’s in Moscow when he’s really… not. The duplications are so precise that it’s hard to tell which office he is really in at any given moment (and that is assuming that it’s Putin making the appearances and not one of his reported body doubles). To be clear, we were not shocked that the Kremlin might be playing hide and seek with Putin – we were shocked because we didn’t know Radio Free Europe still existed.
SO, IS IT “FOUR EYES” NOW? CNN reports that the United Kingdom has stopped sharing some specific intelligence with the U.S. about suspected drug trafficking in the Caribbean because some sources say America’s most trusted ally doesn’t want to be associated with what some international observers believe to be extrajudicial killings (AKA war crimes.) Why does this matter? Because it could signal a not-so-common rift between the U.S. and its four closest allies that regularly share intelligence among the group known as the “Five Eyes”, giving each of the member countries (U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) a global intelligence advantage. While we understand the Trump Administration’s desire to stop the flow of drugs into the U.S. (who would argue with that?), the fact that the Administration has so far failed to share compelling details about the legality of the U.S. military strikes with members of Congress makes a whole lot of people weary.
The Dead Drop is now updating throughout the week. There's just too much good gossip in the national security world for a once-a-week drop.
CONVERTING UNIFORMS TO UPLOADS: Turns out the military isn’t just about drills and deployments anymore. Business Insider recently ran a three-part series about some military members making more from their side hustles of TikTok dances and viral videos than they get from Uncle Sam. The appropriateness and legality of some of this stuff is a bit fuzzy. But we can understand the attraction of the side gig. YouTube is not as likely as the feds of threatening to withhold your paychecks, after all. The latest article notes that “Military guidelines prohibit advertisements, but don't address newer ways influencers can make money — that includes speaking fees, referral codes, Venmo links, or payments from brands.” The services are wary. Navy Secretary John Phelan warned sailors and Marines recently that their online posts would be reviewed for political content, we guess because blatant political appeals is the province of their civilian leaders. But apparently, troops can mention their rank and even wear their uniforms in videos as long as they don’t imply that their message has official blessing. What kind of posts draw the most eyeballs? In an earlier story in the series, Business Insider pointed to a video called “Ms. Bikini Olympia Attempts the US Navy Physical Test which had 5.4 million views when last we checked. Army Sgt. 1st Class Johnny Vargas starred in the first segment of the series. He reportedly reached about 25 million views a month on TikTok and Instagram.
MISSION: IMPAYABLE – CIA officers are pulling double duty without a paycheck too as the U.S. government shutdown holds the not-so-great title of the longest in history. CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis warned at a Washington lawyers’ conference recently that extended gridlock is straining mission-critical operations according to coverage of his comments by Bloomberg News. “While our officers have been committed to mission, the longer they go without pay, the longer we aren’t able to expend funds for critical mission needs, the greater the danger becomes,” Ellis said, marking the first public acknowledgment from Langley about the shutdown’s toll. Here’s an idea: maybe they can fund some intelligence operations by making some TikTok videos.
DEEP STATE THREAT — No. Not THAT Deep State. According to an article on FoxNews.com, the next great national security threat may be swimming. Apparently, a new app that tracks “unidentified submersible phenomena” has logged more than 9,000 mysterious objects spotted underwater off U.S. coastlines and some defense analysts are taking notice. The sightings range from “metallic spheres” to “glowing triangles,” raising the question of whether these are foreign drones, deep-sea research gear or just really confused jellyfish. The objects have been dubbed “Unidentified Submersible Objects (USOs)” - because – well, that’s clearly what they are. For those paying attention, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena that the U.S. Government has been slightly more forthcoming with the public about in recent years, includes reports of an object that flew through the air, quickly changed direction and then plunged into the sea. The FoxNews article quoted an author by the name of Kent Heckenlively (which is a heckuva good name if you ask us) as saying "I’m skeptical of alien stuff," but adding "I’m convinced that the government is lying to us."
HAUTE MESS: DGSE’S LUXURY INVESTMENT BACKFIRE: France’s spy agency, known to those who can’t speak French as the DGSE, reportedly lost millions from a secret “rainy-day” fund meant to keep operations running if the French state ever collapsed. Instead of stashing the cash safely, those holding the purse strings reportedly invested the money in a luxury-goods venture that flopped—badly. Now Bernard Bajolet, a former DGSE chief, is on trial over alleged heavy-handed tactics imployes while trying to recover the money, including alleged threats and surveillance of a businessman tied to the debacle. The fund was supposed to insure France’s spies against disaster—not cause one. Bajolet denies the charges.
PLAIN PLANES: NOT WHAT THE DHS ORDERED: Apparently, someone at the Department of Homeland Security got the bright idea of suggesting that their subordinates at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) be ordered to buy ten Boeing 737 jet aircraft from the financially troubled Spirit Airlines. According to The Wall Street Journal, the notion was that if they had their own air force, DHS could speed up the deportation flow of alleged immigrants who are here illegally and could perhaps provide more VIP travel options for Secretary Kristi Noem and her staff. One problem though. Well, maybe two. ICE officials told DHS that Spirit didn’t own the planes that were targeted due to the airline’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings – and whoever WAS selling them – did not include engines in the purchase price (you’d think there be a sticker somewhere that said Engines Not Included). We’re not aviation experts but it seems that might slow you down. Reading between the lines though – the fact that this non-purchase landed in the media seems to suggest conflict between senior officials at DHS and ICE may be on the rise – even if those engine-less airplanes are not.
SOMETHING YOU WANNA GET OFF YOUR CHEST BUT NOT QUITE READY FOR TIKTOK? DROP US A SNEAK PREVIEW: thedeaddrop@thecipherbrief.com
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