THE ZOUNDS OF SILENCE: There were lots of reports of “surprise and indignation” (the definition of the word “zounds” BTW) coming out of the just-completed annual Munich Security Conference. Among the interesting stories – speechwriter malfeasance where Vice President Pence’s staff gave him a line to read in his remarks expressing greetings from the President of the United States. Pence then paused expecting applause but was met with stony silence from the crowd. And then there was the knee-slapper from Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, who responded to a question by saying he is “a human rights professor” so don’t lecture him on his country’s abuses. The Cipher Brief talked with two seasoned non-U.S. intelligence professionals who were at the conference to get their take. One took special note of the fact that while a lot of the press coverage was about tensions between the U.S. and Europe, the Conference was attended by the largest ever Congressional delegation, Congressmen and Congresswomen determined to display their commitment to the Transatlantic Alliance. Another top non-U.S. intelligence pro told us that in addition to multilateralism, artificial intelligence was a big topic of discussion and how it will be a challenge to all of our countries and could create a bigger gap between democracies which will want to protect privacy and countries like Russia and China which operate without any rules.
BECAUSE THE NAME WORKED SO WELL FOR CIA: Business Insider says that Apple has an army of contractors who perform secret missions for the tech firm at undisclosed locations Apple refers to as “black sites” – the name the CIA used to describe its hidden locations where suspected terrorists were subjected to harsh interrogations. Apple’s contractors are unhappy with their second-class status complaining that they aren’t allowed to use the company’s gym or free food cafeteria. That’s one difference between them and the Agency’s black sites. We understand terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed were allowed to work out – and got their meals free. Beyond that though, the Silicon Valley workforce probably would not be willing to swap places.
LONG LIVE, FOIA! Good things come to those who wait. And wait. And wait. The folks at Muckrock.com tell us that they had filed a FOIA request to get their hands on the FBI file on Frank Wilkinson, an activist who fought against the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. Wilkinson’s file is reportedly over 132,000 pages long and, for a while, it had gone missing. But Muckrock now reports that the National Archives and Records Administration has found it. But NARA says that because of the file’s size, they wouldn’t get around to starting on clearing it for about six years – and then they would release about 1,000 pages a year. So, the full report should be available in about 138 years. Check back with The Dead Drop in the year 2157 and we will give you a quick summary of what is in the Wilkinson file. We can hardly wait.
GHOST SHIP: According to Military.com, a 132-foot long ship called “Sea Hunter” recently traveled from San Diego to Pearl Harbor and back again. That is not an uncommon trip. But what made this voyage memorable was that there was no crew on board. There was an escort ship alongside and periodically technicians would board the autonomous trimaran to check electrical systems and look for leaks and stuff – but the trans-Pacific trip was largely personnel-free. The Navy’s goal, we are told, is not to send ashore gobs of sailors, but instead to automate “dull, dirty or dangerous missions” so that manned vessels can focus on the other stuff. Originally a DARPA project, “Sea Hunter” is now under the aegis of the Office of Naval Research. Military.com says that ONR declined to be interviewed about the project. Maybe they could just automate the spokesman gig too.
NAVY: IT’S NOT JUST A JOB, IT’S A SENTENCE: Maybe crew-less ships might come in handy. We’re pretty sure Navy recruiters will not be thrilled by a backhanded endorsement of the wonders of naval life they just received. According to the New York Daily News, a spokesman for Bill Cosby says that the convicted sex offender is having an “amazing experience” in prison. How is he able to handle the loss of freedom so well? The 81-year-old comedian’s spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, explained: “He was in the Navy for four years, and this is no different than being in the Navy. People have rooms. People are over you. They’re just doing their jobs, and you have to follow rules. That’s how he operates every day.”
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
I SPY BOOKS: DC-based national security lawyer Mark Zaid probably caused eye strain among a bunch of authors this past weekend when he tweeted out a photo of his espionage library. The photo showed about eight shelves of spy books – organized alphabetically by author’s last name. Something just shy of 200 books were visible. And if you enlarge the image and turn your head sideways you can see what has been on Zaid’s reading list. But we are betting that a number of Dead Drop readers can outmatch Zaid’s collection size. Send us your photos of your clandestine book collection.
BUYER BEWARE: Someone pointed out to us that members of the public, with more dollars than sense, can now go to EBAY and, for just $24.99, buy what is labeled as a “CIA Central Intelligence Agency Special Agent Challenge Coin!” The seller brags that more than 100 have been sold. We’d note that the seal on the coin is NOT that of the CIA and the term “Special Agent” (emblazoned at the bottom of the coin) is NOT a title used by the Agency, but heck, what do you want for $24.99? If the “special agent” coin is too rich for your blood, the same seller offers another coin for only $14.95 with something closer to the correct CIA logo on the front and the name “Gina Haspel” on the flip side.
DID HE SHOW HER A CHALLENGE COIN? A 25-year-old New York Air National Guardsman was arrested earlier this week and charged with pretending to be a CIA officer to impress a woman he met in church. According to Syracuse.com, Staff Sgt. Ryan Houghtalen showed the woman a fake CIA badge and told her that his job was dangerous, that ISIS was after him, and because she knew him – her life was in danger too. Apparently, he deemed his real-world job of sensor operator for MQ-9 Reaper drones to be insufficiently alluring. But his girlfriend target was not buying the spin and called the police. The actual charge was “second-degree criminal impersonation of a public servant.” Wonder what it would take to earn a first-degree impersonation charge.
YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP – WELL, MAYBE YOU CAN: The “news” outlet “RT” (formerly known as Russia Today) carried a report on February 15th about an American “UFOlogist”, Dr. Steven Greer, who says we are “not alone.” No surprise there. People interested in UFOs often think there are extra-terrestrials among us. What caught our eye is that Greer says he once put together a briefing on UFOs for President Clinton and his CIA director. He doesn’t say they received the briefing but does claim that the U.S. government is hiding the truth. The RT interviewer asked Greer why he is allowed to make documentaries like one that streams on Netflix called “Unacknowledged” because, according to the interviewer, the “CIA has killed people for way less than disclosing a huge government cover-up.” Greer responded: “There were three people on my team who had been assassinated, who had been helping me, including a former CIA director.” Greer doesn’t reveal which CIA Director that was – but we will call around to the ones we know and make sure they are OK.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING: Got any tips for your friendly neighborhood Dead Drop? Shoot us a note at TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
