CHANGE AT THE TOP: On Tuesday of this week, in a ceremony in the Oval Office, the new Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, was sworn in. In a statement issued shortly thereafter Ratcliffe said that his “highest priority as Director of National Intelligence is to provide timely, accurate, and objective intelligence to inform the President and policymakers, and ultimately to keep all Americans safe.” On his way out the door, Acting DNI Richard Grenell gave an interview to the Washington Times. In an article titled: “Purge stifles anti-Trump resistance at White House, ODNI,” Grenell was credited during his four-month tenure with reducing staff and contractor positions at ODNI by 400. In the article, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien says he too removed “bureaucratic bloat” from the NSC staff when he took over his job. Mr. O’Brien praised Mr. Grenell’s tenure as acting DNI. “People have accused Grenell of politicizing the place,” O’Brien said. “I think it is just the opposite. He has depoliticized it. Ric just wants the facts and impartial analysis delivered to policymakers.” Politico reported this week that now free from his apolitical DNI duties, Grenell is about to join the Trump 2020 reelection campaign – an assertion that Grenell subsequently called “fake news.” CNN reported that Grenell was going to join the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB.)
BILL GATES-GATE: It is on the internet so it must be true, right? Well, not in this case. There is a four-minute long video floating around on social media which purports to show Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates briefing the CIA about a mind-altering vaccine. The alleged incident supposedly happened in 2005 and the video has been circulating since 2011. You might ask: what kind of mind altering did Gates want to conduct? The assertion is that the proposal was to vaccinate American citizens against thoughts and ideas about religion. A couple problems with the conspiracy theory. SNOPES.COM points out that the man in the video is decidedly NOT Bill Gates (that kinda seems like a big deal). The notion that the briefing was done for the CIA is odd since the video is labeled with a “DOD ID” and a Pentagon room number. Some of the images in the video are lifted (and altered) from other real projects. So, rest easy anti-vaxxers, Bill Gates and the CIA are not hoping to stick a needle in you and make you forget God.
THEY DON’T MAKE CODE NAMES LIKE THEY USED TO: The Times of Israel posted a retrospective story last week about a secret CIA program from the early 1950s which was intended to pressure King Farouk in Egypt to institute political reforms. The Times based its story on a 15-minute long video on a YouTube channel called “Cold War.” The video refers to the plan as “Project FF” but makes clear they are cleaning up the name. The first “F” referred to Farouk’s girth. The second apparently related to his penchant for spending time with the ladies. Project “FF” was created by some well-known names. According to the article, among the FF fathers were CIA Director Allen Dulles, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, CIA Officer Kermit “Kim” Roosevelt Jr., and CIA Cairo Station Chief, Miles Copeland, Jr. Despite all the brainpower behind FF – things did not work out as planned. Spoiler alert: influencing governments in the Middle East is not easy.
THE MOON IS MINE: With the United States getting back into the manned space launch business by allowing businesses to do the launching, many people are turning their eyes to the skies. After all, as the president has told us: we’re number one in outer space. Salon.com says that several companies are ramping up efforts to figure out how to extract minerals, rare earth elements, Helium-3 and even water from the moon. The Trump administration reportedly has created new rules via executive order laying out how companies might profit from lunar excavation.
THE ART OF PERCEPTION: Amy Herman is not the first person you would think of as an instructor for Navy SEALs, FBI officers, CIA analysts and the like. But The Telegraph newspaper in the UK says that the 53-year-old art educator has for two decades been delivering a seminar called “The Art of Perception” to folks in those professions. The seminar is intended to enhance the powers of observation and communication. She says she even taught the class to professionals from the “High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group” established in 2009. Students are asked to observe museum portraits for a minute or two and absorb as many details as they can. No doubt the SEALs picked up some tips from Herman and it sounds like she may have picked up some from them. Currently quarantined in her Manhattan apartment building, Herman says she runs 21 flights of stairs in her building every day to avoid going “stir-crazy.”
STAMP OF DISAPPROVAL: BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera had an interesting piece on his network’s website this week about a document that recently surfaced explaining how top Nazi Heinrich Himmler was captured 75 years ago last week. Just after the end of World War Two, Himmler and a couple other Germans were trying to pass themselves off as low-level soldiers when they were encountered by British troops. Asked to show their papers, Himmler pulled out a document identifying him as a Sergeant Hizinger. But British military intelligence officials spotted a stamp on the document which they knew had been used by the SS to help high-level officials try to escape. They took him into custody. The next day Himmler volunteered his true identity. Excellent work on the part of the Brits in capturing the Nazi. Not so much in their handling him thereafter. Shortly after being identified, Himmler killed himself with a cyanide capsule that he had somehow hidden in his mouth.
LONG AND SHORT OF FILLING AIR FORCE COCKPIT SEATS: There is a shortage of aviators in the Air Force. So, the service is going to new lengths to recruit potential pilots by dropping the requirements to get a waiver for candidates to get a crack at a cockpit if they are shorter than 5’4” or taller than 6’5.” Air Force Times says the move is particularly useful in getting more women in the air. Statistics show that 43.5% of young American women are 5’4” or shorter. In the past, height challenged candidates could sometimes get in with a waiver but now no waiver will be required. If they meet other requirements the Air Force will figure out what kinds of aircraft best fit their body size.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
WE BET THEY THOUGHT OF THAT ALREADY: A Chinese human rights activist told the tabloid newspaper Daily Star that she thinks North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister are both using body doubles to avoid assassination. Jennifer Zeng says: “if you look at new and old photos, the differences are quite obvious, especially the teeth, and the arms.” According to the Daily Star, social media users have picked up on Zeng’s claim and added to their tweets the suggestion: “CIA please investigate.”
A MUSK BY ANY OTHER NAME: A couple of weeks ago we mentioned that spacey entrepreneur Elon Musk and his girlfriend “Grimes” oddly named their baby “X Æ A-12 Musk.” Supposedly, the kid was named after their favorite airplane, the CIA’s A-12, a forerunner to the SR-71. The happy couple do not seem phased that the name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue – but California laws require that names contain only alphabetical letters. (Maybe THAT’S why Musk is threatening to leave the state). In any case, CBS reports the baby’s name has been changed to: “X Æ A-Xii” with the “12” converted to Roman numerals. Hopefully X Æ (as we like to call him for short) will be home schooled. Otherwise we predict a lot of trouble on the playground.
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