RUSSIA (DOG) HOUSE? Early Wednesday morning, Politico posted a lengthy story which alleges that the CIA has clamped down on sending intelligence on Russia to the White House. According to the story, the head of “Russia House” – the nickname of the Agency’s outfit that focuses on Russia, was fired earlier this year. The piece quotes sources speculating that CIA Director Gina Haspel is trying not to trigger the president, who is not a fan of getting news that Russia is up to no good. A CIA spokesman is quoted forcefully denying that any political motive is involved in selecting what intelligence gets shared with the top customer. Agency alumni we talked with told us it is not unusual for analysts and others to become unhappy if everything they produce is not accepted for wider distribution. What was unusual, however, was the assertion in the story that the Agency’s general counsel, Courtney Elwood, has been tasked with reviewing virtually every product that comes out of Russia House before it is approved to go “downtown.” Elwood is not a trained intelligence analyst or Russia expert as far as we know, but is one of the few political appointees at CIA.
WHAT’S THE BUZZ: You may recall that in the past, CIA insiders have told us that the Agency’s internal news clipping service “Media Highlights” which is a collection of news items shared with CIA employees, seems to have censored unfavorable news (for example threats against the so-called CIA “whistleblower.”) The Agency denied such allegations and said their news clips are not intended to be exhaustive…just representative. We reached out to the Agency and asked if they included the recent Politico story in Media Highlights. CIA Press Secretary Timothy Barrett told us, “We do our best to highlight factual news, not wildly inaccurate reporting.”
IC ADMIRERS: An article in Lawfareblog by Steve Slick and Joshua Busby notes that results of a poll conducted in 2019, show that “most Americans believe U.S. intelligence agencies are necessary and make vital contributions to national security.” This is the third year of the poll and what makes the results interesting is that negative comments by the president about the intelligence community seem to have had no impact on the way it is viewed by the public. The poll has been conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin’s Intelligence Studies Project. Among the key takeaways: a growing majority of Americans believe the IC plays an important role in protecting the country, an overwhelming majority believe the IC is effective – with eight in 10 crediting them with thwarting terrorist attacks, but only half of those responding think the IC effectively safeguards privacy rights and civil liberties.
LIKE A BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE: It seemed like a helluva good idea at the time. Forbes tells us that declassified documents from 1967 show that CIA once explored the possibility of “weaponizing lightning.” Although it sounds like something out of a superhero comic book, Agency scientists explored ways to “cause (lightning) discharges when and where we want them.” The concept involved inserting very thin, very long wires into storms. A typical lightning bolt is about 300 million Volts at 30,000 amps. The document Forbes cites was actually declassified in 2002, but only now, it seems, is lighting up imaginations. We’re pretty sure that the Agency never perfected the technique.
FOR EXAMPLE: Living proof that the CIA doesn’t have targetable lightning bolts, is Edward Snowden, who was in the news again this week. Snowden, as you recall, earned the enmity of the intelligence community for leaking highly classified information before taking up residence in Moscow. Court documents this week show that while apparently safe from lightning bolts, Snowden was forced to agree to forfeit more than $5 million in book royalties and speaking fees. That’ll teach him to skip the requirement to get his book cleared by the CIA and NSA in advance. According to CNN, the money will be put in a trust while Snowden appeals court decisions. We’re kind of surprised the ill-gotten loot wasn’t already hidden away in some Swiss bank account.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO (SOMEBODY): On September 18th the Department of State graciously acknowledged and celebrated the 73rd birthday of the United States Air Force. Initially, they did so (as pointed out by Cipher Brief expert Admiral Jim Stavridis) by tweeting out a picture of the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration team. Oops. Shortly thereafter State took down that tweet and posted another which contained a photo of an actual Air Force air plane. Just last week, the Dead Drop pointed out that identifying military hardware seems to be challenging for social media teams – and that the Trump campaign posted silhouettes of Russian aircraft, mistaking them for American. This week, the White House also posted a message from the president offering birthday wishes to the United “State” Air Force. They later corrected that and added an “s.” The Air Force shares a birthday with the Central Intelligence Agency (both organizations were created by the National Security Act of 1947.) Oddly, the State Department apparently did not wish the CIA (an organization their boss, Secretary Pompeo once led) a happy birthday. Just as well, someone told us. They might have posted a picture of Russian SVR headquarters. A Navy source, in the spirit of inter-service cooperation suggested that the State Department has a chance to make good. The Navy’s birthday is October 13th and he suggested that State post a happy birthday Navy tweet along with a photo emblematic of the Air Force. “Perhaps a B-52 …or a golf course.”
SOVIET ERROR: But before members of the media get too chesty about political campaigns and government departments making gross errors in identifying U.S. military equipment and personnel, someone reminded us that a few years ago The Washington Post ran an advertisement encouraging folks to acknowledge the veterans in their lives – and they accompanied it with a Soviet-era bemedaled Russian.
STAKING A CLAIM ON THE FINAL FRONTIER: The head of the Russian government space agency has declared that the planet Venus belongs to Russia. Dmitry Rogozin, made his pronouncement shortly after reports indicated there might be microbial life on the planet. Rogozin said that the Soviet Union “was the first and only” country to land a spacecraft on Venus and apparently called “dibs” on it or something. We would have thought the Russians would claim Mars, the red planet, but apparently Putin has his eye on Venus.
FIVE OR SIX EYES: At The Cipher Brief’s annual Threat Conference earlier this month, there was a robust discussion of how the “Five Eyes” (the intelligence coalition of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) see future threats and how they might see the possibility of expanding the group down the road. So a piece on the Australia’s ABC network caught our eye this week when it addressed “Why Japan wants to join the Five Eyes intelligence network.” One Bottom line: “Six Eyes” isn’t likely any time soon, which Cipher Brief Conference speaker and former chief of MI-6 agrees with. Our take is that Japan would bring technology and a China focus to the coalition – but there are hurdles ranging from the country’s clunky security system to its pacifist constitution, which is likely a hurdle for the elite Five Eyes.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
HALLMARK, WHEN YOU CARE ENOUGH TO SEND YOUR VERY BEST-DRESSED: The Hallmark Channel, known for sickeningly sweet movies, is shooting a new holiday movie called “USS Christmas.” Military.com says filming will take place from September 28 to October 1 in Charleston, South Carolina and the moviemakers are looking for sailors willing to put on their dress blue uniforms to appear as extras. Most of the filming is said to take place aboard the WWII-era aircraft carrier Yorktown which is a museum-ship these days. How much extra cash can you make? An 8-hour stint gets you $64 base pay. Then they throw in $50 more for bringing your uniform and an $20 bonus for taking a COVID-19 test (which is mandatory). Appropriately for testing sailors, Hallmark will be using a “swab.”
SPEAKING OF KINDER & GENTLER: Military.com also reports that the Army has deep sixed a time honored part of its basic training. No longer will recruits be greeted on day one of Army Basic Combat Training by a swarm of drill sergeants shouting at them and ordering that they drop and do some push-ups. The ritual, generally known as the “shark attack,” gave recruits a taste of handling stress. Among the reasons cited for stopping the practice were new safety procedures implemented to reduce the spread of COVID-19. No doubt those shouting sergeants were spreading a lot of aerosolized droplets.
SNARK ATTACK: Spot something interesting, weird, or amusing about the national intelligence community? Send us a tip at: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
