WELL, IF SHE SAYS SO: Long-time intelligence watcher James Bamford has a truly bizarre story in The New Republic which declares Russian “student” Maria Butina, innocent. Bamford, who initially gained fame by writing books critical of the National Security Agency’s operations, declares that Butina (who pled guilty to failure to register as a foreign agent and is awaiting sentencing) “is simply an idealistic young Russian, born in the last days of the Soviet Union, raised in the new world of capitalism, and hoping to contribute a better understanding between two countries while pursuing a career in international relations.” How does he know this? She told him – over several long lunches at a private DC club – before her arrest. Hmm. So, a young Russian graduate student manages to hook up with a prominent U.S. journalist who is a critic of the intelligence community, just because she is interested in world peace. Bamford doesn’t cite evidence that Butina is being railroaded – other than some emails that were mischaracterized shortly after her arrest as suggesting she was offering sex for access. But beyond that – he apparently believes her because she was convincing at their lunches. This is not Bamford’s first foray into polishing the image of a Putin pal. Back in 2014, he wrote a lengthy piece in Wired.com singing the praises of Edward Snowden. In that case, Bamford had to go to Moscow for the lunches, since Snowden was not available to join him at his private DC club. In that piece he described Snowden as a “solemn, sincere idealist.”
ON THE OTHER HAND: Cipher Brief expert (and 28-year CIA veteran) has a piece in The Atlantic which says that not only was Butina an “access agent” for the Russians – but that there may be thousands of other foreign students in the U.S. just like her. Augustyn notes that there are 1.1 million foreign students in the U.S. (about a third of them Chinese.) The Chinese intelligence service, in particular, he says is noted for briefing its students before coming to the U.S. and debriefing them on return about intellectual property and intelligence needs.
RUSSIANS HURL NEW WEAPON AT WEST: Press accounts say that the Russian Navy has developed a diabolical new weapon that can mess with an enemy’s eyesight and make them hallucinate and vomit. According to The Hill, two Russian warships have been equipped with the device for testing. It reportedly fires a beam at targets and can produce very uncomfortable results. We certainly hope this is not the precursor of a new stomach-turning arms race.
WAR GAMES: Meanwhile, Stars and Stripes reports that the U.S. Army has developed a tool to train soldiers on how to operate Stryker armored vehicles. The device is said to contain “Xbox controllers, luxury gaming chairs and foot pedals designed for racing games.”
PARTS IS PARTS: In 2013, then SOCOM commander, Admiral Bill McRaven, announced that the military was creating a bullet-proof exo-skeleton for elite warriors. The official title for the project was: “Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit” or TALOS. But everyone called it Iron Man. The idea was that those donning the outfit would have greatly enhanced strength, endurance and motor skills (plus that handy ability to deflect incoming bullets.) Defense One now tells us that SOCOM acquisition executives are admitting that the project is “not ready for primetime in a close-combat environment.” But bits and pieces of the TALOS outfit are being harvested for other uses.
LA CONFIDENTIAL: We noticed a Facebook post by Cipher Brief expert about a fundraising event he co-chaired last week in Los Angeles on behalf of the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation. The Foundation provides educational and other support for the children and spouses of fallen CIA officers. Faraon says the event broke previous fundraising records. The emcee of the event was Jay Leno and among the honorees were actor Kelsey Grammer and commercial real estate mogul John C. Cushman, III. CIA Director Gina Haspel was the keynote speaker. Former DCI George Tenet and former deputy DCI and acting DCI John McLaughlin also spoke.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
DON’T MESS WITH THE JUDGE: A Jamaican phone scammer called the wrong number several years ago when he dialed the home of former CIA and FBI Director Judge William Webster. In multiple phone calls, Keniel Thomas told the Judge (now 94) and his wife Lynda, that they had won the Mega Millions lottery but had to wire him $50,000 to cover taxes. When they said they weren’t ready to do so – Thomas threatened to burn down their home, shoot Mrs. Webster, and kill the Judge, too. According to CNN, Mrs. Webster used her cell phone to allow FBI officials to listen in to one of the scam calls. It took about three years for Thomas to get arrested and another couple years to come to trial. In court last week, Chief Judge Beryl Howell said that while Thomas struck out with the Websters –he successfully scammed more than 30 victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thomas was sentenced to almost six years in prison and then will be deported to Jamaica. Hopefully, while in prison, his telephone use will be carefully monitored.
FLYING INVERTED: Who among us hasn’t left home in a rush to get to some event and later found there was something wrong with our attire? Air Force General Joseph Lengyel, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, was among the potted palms at last week’s State of the Union address. Sitting among the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, looked sharp as he listened intently to President Trump's comments. But the next day, Lengyel took to Twitter to admit that he had accidentally put his seven rows of ribbons on his uniform upside down. Military veterans will tell you that there is a hierarchy of medals and your most important ones go on top and least significant on the bottom. Unfortunately for Lengyel, his Air Force Training Ribbon and Small Arms Marksmanship Ribbon were on top and his Defense Distinguished Service Medal were closer to his shoes. Air Force Times gave the general a thumbs up for owning the screw up before anyone else gigged him on it, however.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING: Got any tips for your friendly neighborhood Dead Drop? Shoot us a note at TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
LETTERS TO THE DEAD DROP:
Dear Dead Drop,
Choosing the ten worst and most inaccurate spy films leaves plenty of room for debate. Three Days of the Condor – maybe not accurate but a pretty thrilling movie? Although not a list, but how about Wrong Is Right? Not only is this movie inaccurate and bad, an accumulation of awfulness qualifies it for its own place on the list of the worst spy films ever, say, #11.
Made in 1982, it is filled with creepy premonitions of 9/11 and the age of fake news. The acting is dreadful, led by Sean Connery starring, not as James Bond, but as an omnipresent, blustery, and badly toupeed television reporter. Writer/director Richard Brooks, may have given us such classic rippers as Key Largo, Blackboard Jungle, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, but who knows what led him astray with this project. The plot is indecipherable, with action that swerves between Middle Eastern terrorists who want to get their hands on atomic weapons, a feckless President glued to TV screens and all-seeing spy satellite feeds, and naturally, a CIA so devious even it doesn’t know when wrong is right. Styrofoam special effects shake on their strings, matched by cartoonish characters like General Wombat (Robert Conrad), the over-wound head of the Counter-Terrorism Center, a female African-American Vice President (Rosalind Cash) who uncannily channels Condoleezza Rice, and a DCIA (G.D. Spradlin) who is so fiendish he kills a rat with an injection while casually conversing about an assassination. The terrorist leader (Henry Silva) is more a whiny Carlos the Jackal than OBL, but he controls an abundance of suicide bombers, including a blonde little drummer girl who grimly parachutes onto the Capitol Building. After an endless assault of clumsy and pointless combat scenes, the climax comes with two armed suitcase nukes tied to the flag pole on top of – where else? – the World Trade Center. The problem is by the time Wrong Is Right stumbles to this point, it suffers the worst spy movie’s fatal sin: it is boring. - T.G.
