GENERAL CONFUSION: We’ve been telling you for months about the mounting trouble caused by Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R, AL) one-man ban on the Senate confirmation for the promotion of senior military officers – now numbering in the hundreds. This week, the stars aligned for some major malfunctions. The U.S. Marine Corps, for example, found itself without a confirmed Commandant for the first time in over a century. General David Berger retired, as scheduled, on July 10th and instead of getting a change of command ceremony, his designated successor, General Eric Smith, got a nothing-Berger and became Acting Commandant…while still holding down his previous #2 position. Tuberville, meanwhile, told interviewers that he was confident that he was not impacting readiness by holding up flag officer promotions. He was told that by (among others) some colonel he had lunch with. Tuberville said he really wasn’t blocking all these generals and admirals and if the powers that be wanted to deal with it, they could do so by holding votes for them one-by-one. The Cipher Brief’s Walter Pincus tweeted “It’s time for Sen. Chuck Schumer to call Sen. Tuberville’s bluff and keep the Senate in session 24-hours-a-day voting on each of the military promotions.” According to Politico, each nomination could “eat up days of floor time in the Senate.” Perhaps if the Senators were forced to spend their planned August recess and the rest of the fall voting one-by-one, they might convince Tuberville to reverse course. The Pentagon says Tuberville is currently holding up promotions or assignments for 265 generals and admirals, but the number could grow to 650 by the end of the year. There is also a trickle-down effect with lower-ranking officers being unable to move to fill vacancies – and an impact on spouses and children who are left in limbo. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs nominee, General C.Q. Brown said at his confirmation hearing this week, that continued road blocks will have long term effects. “We will lose talent. The spouse network is alive and well, and the spouses will compare notes.”
SO THAT’S WHY BILL BURNS HAS BEEN MAKING THOSE TRIPS TO KYIV: The Russian Embassy in the UK recently highlighted in a tweet, a statement from Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Kremlin’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who claimed that CIA and other U.S. intelligence services “actually control all developments on the territory of Ukraine.” She said Ukraine “has long been run from beyond its borders, and its sovereignty & independence have vanished without a trace.” Kind of ironic since vanishing Ukraine’s sovereignty and unity seemed to be Moscow’s goal when it started this war. Oh well, we guess the Kremlin needs ‘some’ explanation for why their planned 3-day ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine has now gone on for more than five hundred days.
SUPER SNOOPERS: In the United States, a vigorous debate has been going on about whether to reauthorize section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act which the House Intelligence Committee says provides authority to “conduct targeted surveillance of non-U.S. persons located abroad to acquire foreign intelligence information.” It is unclear whether that re-authorization will make it through Congress. In France, they have their own controversial program, which is said to allow police to spy on individuals by “remotely activating the camera, microphone and GPS” on a suspect’s phone or other device. Not to worry, President Macron’s team says it won’t be used ‘that often’ – and for no longer than six months - on any individual.
FSB SAVES THE DAY (OR SO THEY SAY): The Russian federal security service (FSB) announced recently that they had thwarted an assassination attempt on the “Head of the Republic of Crimea,” Sergei Aksyonov. Unsurprisingly, they claimed that Ukrainian intelligence operatives were behind the plot and that an unnamed 35-year-old Russian citizen had been recruited for the mission. The Google translation of the FSB announcement (which leaves a bit to be desired) says that the wannabe assassin “chose a measure of restraint in the form of detention.”
SIGHTED SUB COMMANDER, SHOT SAME: Stanislav Rzhitsky, 42, a Russian military official who had commanded a submarine in the Black Sea that fired missiles at Ukraine, was reportedly gunned down in the southern city of Krasnodar while jogging earlier this week. Apparently, Rzhitsky routinely used an app that posted details of his regular running route. An unknown gunman shot him four times and he reportedly died on the spot. Shortly thereafter, a website that tracks people considered enemies of Ukraine posted his picture with the word “liquidated” covering his face. We don’t know but we’re guessing that senior military joggers all over Russia might be re-considering their running routes.
SPY VS SPY: Given the ongoing unpleasantness in parts of Ukraine, it comes as no surprise that there may be a lot of spying going on. Both sides are making claims of catching the other’s agents attempting to commit espionage. Some of these claims may actually be true. Among them (true or not) Ukraine’s Security Service (the SBU) announced that they had thwarted a plot to blow up a railway in the Cherkasy region. Separately, the SBU said they stopped an operation where Russians were making anonymous calls to Ukraine. The purpose of the calls was unclear. Meanwhile, Sputnik International touted Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claims of arresting a Ukrainian citizen accused of conducting espionage in the Lugansk People’s Republic. If the “LPR” does not sound familiar – it is a region of Ukraine that Moscow claims voted to join Russia in a referendum following the Russian’s “get out the vote” efforts which were conducted by invading Ukraine in February 2022.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
FRY SPY: Who among us hasn’t wondered if our household appliances are spying on us? Well, worry no more – well, not much more. Senator Ted Cruz (R, TX) just introduced a bill that would require companies to tell you if your refrigerator, washer, dryer, dishwasher – or air fryer have hidden microphones or cameras in them. Of course, if the makers of your kitchen gadgets are evil enough to spy on you – why should you trust them to tell you about it?
WE’VE GOT AN EYE ON YOU: So, don’t forget to send us news tips at: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
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