ALSO HOT AIR:Under the stand-down order, case officers in Europe largely have been forbidden from undertaking “unilateral operations” such as meeting with sources they have recruited within allied governments. Such clandestine meetings are the bedrock of spying.CIA officers are still allowed to meet with their counterparts in the host country’s intelligence service, conduct joint operations with host country services and conduct operations with the approval of the host government. Recently, unilateral operations targeting third country nationals — Russians in France, for example — were restarted. But most meetings with sources who are host nationals remain on hold, as do new recruitments.The CIA declined to comment.James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said during a public event Thursday that the U.S. is assuming more risk because it has stopped spying on “specific targets,” though he didn’t spell out details.Spying stand-downs are common after an operation is compromised, but “never this long or this deep,” said a former CIA official, who, like others interviewed for this story, spoke on condition of anonymity because it’s illegal to discuss classified material or activities. The pause, which has been in effect for about two months, was ordered by senior CIA officials through secret cables.
Needless to say, this is an odd time to go dark, and not just because of Russia and their own operations in Europe. The US needs to keep a close eye on the impact of ISIS in Europe, both in terms of recruitment to the battlegrounds of Syria and Iraq but also penetration into the governments of our allies.
Just hours after President Barack Obama conducted a joint address on Russian aggression alongside the president of Estonia, Russian forces captured and detained a counterintelligence officer on September 5th from inside that NATO allied nation. The move was seen as an effort to provoke and destabilize the Baltic states, where some believe sizable Russian minorities may lead the Kremlin to conduct operations similar to those being undertaken in Ukraine’s east.The Baltics are deeply concerned over Russia’s territorial expansionism and aggression, and are taking steps to communicate to Moscow that they will resist an incursion. This week, the NATO nations of Poland and Lithuania announced that they would joint Ukraine and form a joint military unit headquartered in Poland designed to bolster their ability to deter Russian aggression.The Polish Defense Ministry said the work on forming the unit began in 2007. It is to be headquartered in the eastern Polish city of Lublin.The ministry said the unit will operate under the auspices of the United Nations, NATO or the European Union.However, the ministry did not provide any more details or say whether the armed conflict in Ukraine would affect its work.Lithuania further aggravated Russia by agreeing to host a NATO Military Committee conference in Vilnius where defense officials from Atlantic alliance nations will discuss regional and global military challenges.In what is surely related news, Russia captured a Lithuanian vessel allegedly in international waters on Friday.REMEMBER ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS OBAMA AND HILLARY DID WAS THE RUSSIAN RESET, APPEASEMENT OF PUTIN PLAIN AND SIMPLE - AND CANCELING DEPLOYMENT IN EASTERN EUROPE OF NMD.
IF OBAMA ISN'T A DOUBLE AGENT WORKING FOR PUTIN, THEN HE MIGHT AS WELL BE!
1 comment:
WTH???
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