WARNING: Before reading The Dead Drop, note that the following content contains humor and sometimes pronounced snarkiness that might not be suitable for people who are unable to occasionally laugh at themselves or their preferred political party.
ELECTION DAY…ELECTION WEEK… ELECTION MONTH: Somehow big personnel changes and big policy pronouncements are part of the election aftermath in this year’s U.S. presidential race. On Tuesday November 17th, Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller marched into the Pentagon press briefing room to announce major drawdowns on U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to be completed by January 15. After completing his remarks, we’re told Miller did an about face and left without taking any questions. Everyone wants to end the endless wars, but there is a right way and a wrong way to make an exit. As one observer told us: “The president has wanted to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq in the worst way – and he has.” Oddly, there may soon be more non-US NATO and allied troops in Afghanistan than Americans. Based on stats we’ve seen, countries like Mongolia, Armenia and Montenegro already contribute more military personnel on a population adjusted basis than does the U.S. Of course, they will probably be pulling out soon, too. No doubt there is a politician somewhere saying: “Make Montenegro First”
DIGITAL DEEP STATE: Last week, we told you about some obscure folks who claimed the election was stolen through the use of CIA-developed software that magically switched votes from Trump to Biden. This week, that claim has been repeated by some not-so-obscure people – including Sidney Powell, one of the president’s lawyers who went on Fox News to say she has lots of ways to prove the conspiracy theory – but wasn’t going to do so on national TV. “Nobody in our government has paid any attention to… (this matter)” she said, adding that she wondered “how much the CIA has used it for its own benefit in different places.” Powell went on to say: “Why Gina Haspel is still there in the CIA is beyond my comprehension. She should be fired immediately.” Powell’s comments got play beyond Fox News. Her “Fire Haspel” recommendation also got big play on the Russian outlet Sputnik News. Then there was Congressman Louie Gomert who went on OAN TV discussing rumors that the U.S. military had seized a server in Germany which showed a landslide win for Trump. (Why Germany, why the military? Head scratching here…)
WITH SOURCES LIKE THESE: According to the Arizona Republic, one of the people pushing the deep-state election software conspiracy, a fellow named Dennis Montgomery, has a colorful past. The New York Times reported in 2011 that Montgomery was behind an effort shortly after 9/11 that (for a while) convinced the CIA that there were hidden coded messages embedded in Al Qaeda videos. We won’t re-litigate that one here – but note Montgomery’s former lawyer. Michael Flynn (no, not THAT Michael Flynn) described Montgomery as a “con man.” In any case, the head of the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, Chris Krebs, clearly stated that these software manipulation rumors are “nonsense.” And as a result, he was fired.
HARD WAY TO GET FOLLOWERS: Here at The Cipher Brief we are big Chris Krebs fans. Among other things, he has done a “State Secrets” podcast with us and appeared (virtually) at our last Threat Conference. Chris is one of those rare cybersecurity experts who both knows what he’s doing and can express himself in plain English. On November 17th, the President fired him via tweet. The reason? Apparently because Krebs knows what he’s doing and expresses himself in plain English (go figure). We suspect you haven’t heard the last of Krebs, who wasn’t surprised by his firing. A few months ago, Krebs set up a personal twitter account which, up until his departure from government, was little known. Shortly after being ousted, he tweeted “Honored to serve. We did it right. Defend Today, Secure Tomrorow. #Protect2020.” (OK, his spelling could use some work. But he went from a handful of followers to about 150,000 twitter followers within a day of getting canned.) We’re not CIA analysts or anything, but if you’re looking for tips on who might be next, it might be a good idea to scan twitter for secondary accounts created by current guvvies.
NO PDB? NO BIG DEAL: There has been a lot of discussion about the fact that GSA’s refusal to “ascertain” that Joe Biden won the election means, among other things, that the likely president-elect is not getting access to the President’s Daily Brief (PDB.) Some politicians are looking for work arounds. For example, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas who said of Biden: “Whether he actually gets the product itself, I think the information needs to be communicated in some way. I’m on the intelligence committee, we don’t get the PBR but we get products, intelligence products. I think he should get the information,” Cornyn said. Some picky folks pointed out that “PBR” usually stands for “Pabst Blue Ribbon” beer. We are not worried about Biden not getting PBR either. He looks more like an Amstel Light kind of guy to us.
CLEANING OUT THE IN BOX: Apparently, the prospect of POSSIBLY losing your job due to an election motivates some folks to accomplish things that have been on the back burner. That includes the president deciding to hurry up and remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, or firing various people he appointed to DOD etc. But is also includes lower level officials like Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite, who told attendees at a virtual Naval Submarine League Conference this week that he wants to create a “First Fleet” which would operate “in the crossroads between the Indian and Pacific oceans.” When asked, Braithwaite admitted that he had not mentioned this major move to Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller – but what the heck. Braithwaite figured he would announce it anyway. On the plus side, we give Braithwaite high marks for honesty saying that he knows he will be out of office anyway when the Biden administration comes in.
FLYING LIGHT SABERS: Lockheed Martin is working on putting a directed energy system on USAF fighters by 2025. The system “will demonstrate self-defense against surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.” So says National Defense. That’s nice…but kinda boring. It is all in the phraseology, however. The same story picked up by The Sun newspaper expressed it more colorfully. The Sun headline reads: SEE YOU LASER US Air Force to arm its fighter jets with DEATH RAYS to zap incoming enemy missiles out of the sky.” Which headline would you click?
COMING ATTRACTIONS: We hear that Spyglass Entertainment is developing a motion picture based on Christopher Rosow’s self-published book, False Assurances. The book is said to be about a young, brilliant, CIA analyst and was pitched as “a slacker generation Jack Ryan.” Meanwhile real-world former FBI counterintelligence analyst, Matt Miksa, has landed a deal to publish a novel called 13 Days to Die. That one is described as “Red Sparrow meets Inferno.” The plot involves an American intelligence officer and a Chinese virus hunter who become unlikely allies as they wrestle society’s darkest nightmares. It is scheduled to be published by Crooked Lane Books in March 2021.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
KUWAIT CRIME WAVE AVERTED: Army Times says a U.S. Army command sergeant major at Kuwait’s Camp Buehring collared a miscreant on base who was brazenly walking while wearing headphones. Apparently, the sergeant major yelled at the man, but the offender did not hear it – probably because he was wearing headphones. So, there was nothing else to do but call the MPs and place the man in handcuffs. Turns out the perpetrator was Captain Justin Thomas, a Pennsylvania Army National Guard chaplain. The first-time offender was eventually released without charges. His command was ordered to pick him up from the MP facility. Military Times said that “a soldier who went to retrieve Thomas jokingly brought along a nail file tucked away inside a Bible, presumably to aid the holy man’s escape.”
WE ARE NOT ALONE: Politico defense correspondent Bryan Bender says he had some questions about the “Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force” that the Pentagon established in August. DOD asked that he submit them in writing. So, he did. The answer he got back was that no one was available to do an interview on the “UAPTF” and they would not answer his questions because they wanted to “avoid disclosing information that may be useful to potential adversaries…” Wait. What? Who are the adversaries? ET’s?
SPACE FORCE – NOT THE FINAL PREMIER: Netflix has decided to renew (for at least one more season) the Steve Carell-led series Space Force. Critics gave the first season only a 38-percent Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Maybe they will work out the kinks in their second orbit.
MI-7: COVID crisis be damned – it looks like they are shooting the next Mission Impossible movie. Currently dubbed “Mission: Impossible 7,” the film stars Tom Cruise, of course and Angela Bassett will return as CIA Director Erika Sloan. The film is slated for release about a year from now, pandemic permitting.
USS SCHMALTZ: Last week’s Dead Drop mentioned a USAF holiday movie streaming on Netflix called “Operation Christmas Drop.” Well, the folks at the Hallmark Channel – whose hallmark is movies so syrupy they make you want to toss your egg nog, have answered with a movie of their own called “USS Christmas” which will premier over the Thanksgiving weekend. The flick features a Navy fighter pilot who goes by the call sign “Grinch.” The formula for all these movies appears to be the same. They start out with someone being a grouch (or grinch) and end up with them falling in love and deciding “It’s a Wonderful Life.” We mentioned in the September 25th Dead Drop that filming of “USS Christmas” was taking place in South Carolina. That’s a pretty quick turnaround from filming to airing. We’re guessing the production values may not be quite as good as the Mission Impossible 7 film.
FINISH YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING EARLY: Been wondering what gift to give the Dead Drop? Sure, you have. How about some news tips we can share with your fellow insiders? Send us a note at: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
