This is exactly why US HUMINT was lacking for years & conversely why Israeli intelligence is so strong.
Iran Admits That Its Computers Were Bugged
December 2, 2008: Iran revealed that an Israeli spy they recently executed had allowed Israeli technicians to install special electronic equipment in computer equipment the spy bought for the Iranian government. The deceased spy, Ali Ashtari, procured legal, and illegal (barred by one of the many export sanctions directed at Iran) computer equipment for the Iranian government. But the Israelis paid more, and that enabled the Israelis to, in effect, install special components that enabled them to monitor what the Iranians were doing with some of the equipment that Ashtari obtained. Apparently, Ashtari did not know all the details of just what the Israelis installed in the imported computers and other electronic equipment. The Israeli “additions” apparently enabled Iranian weapons and technology developments to be monitored. The Iranians did not comment on what they are doing to get rid of all the Israeli modified gear they are using.
Author of “Reparations and America’s 2nd Civil War
Reparations and America’s 2nd Civil War: Malensek, Scott: 9798864028674: Amazon.com: Books
Human intelligence is one area I’d push for a lot more of in the middle east (as opposed to more outright military action). Getting into the rat’s nest is the best way to figure out what’s going on. And of course, a little well-placed rat poison will go a long way, when necessary.
That’s the problem. HUMINT went the way of the dodo under Clinton and we had to start over…IF we started over. I’d sure like to think we did.
This man was a hero. Let’s hope both the Israelis and the US have plenty more where he came from.
May he rest in peace.
There is a rumor that Obama might choose Daniel Kurtzer for the Middle East enyoy. Oh boy, what a mistake.
Daniel Kurtzer has never been a popular figure in Israel. He doesn’t even consider Hamas as a terrorist Party, he calls them guerrillas. OMG, this Obama has really no judgment and neither does his fans.
Craig;
At this point, I don’t really care too much about who they pick to fill the slots. It won’t change what the Obama admin does one iota. Aside from saying or doing stupid things in the public eye that might be an embarrassment to this nation, offend other nations, or our allies. It really won’t be a hill of beans of a problem for America in reality. We will someday have another opportunity to restore our national dignity, respect, and prestige at some point in the future. Most of the damage will only be to America’s reputation.
IMO let them keep making stupid mistakes in their choices. Obama & the Dems are on this big ego trip and he was only interested in being the “Big Man”. The biggest problem with the socialist/anarchist mindset is they talk a good game, but once they are in power, they are clueless. They do not know how to govern. Best to deal with it like I did through the Clinton years. If you envision the incoming administration as if they were a zoo-like “Animal House” fraternity on a college campus, it may help you be more comfortable with it. The Clinton admin was an 8-year frat party. The more they refused to play by any rules, the more likely it was, and will be, that they will screw it up. Remember the old adage; “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Right now it looks like the new administration is going to be a joke for all of us will be laugh at a few years down the road. The more they screw up, the more likely this will be a single term presidency. And it will serve as a lesson for our misguided fellow countrymen (& women) who put us on this path so willingly. Then we can take over damage control and maybe prevent such a travesty of leadership from ever happening again. Or at least until the next time America gets a wild hair up it’s collective butt.
Hard Right;
HUMINT wasn’t extinct, it just went “underground” so-to-speak during the Clinton years. That’s why everything got rolling so quick during the early Dubya admin with Iraq & the War on Terror. Admittedly our intel agencies were partially blindsided by 9-11 as it was an unexpected departure the standard usual acts of terrorism we had become accustomed to. Our intel agencies knew something was in the works, they just couldn’t put their finger on it. In the military at the time, we were constantly on notice that something big was on the horizon, and we had best be as prepared as possible when the time came. Around year 2 of the Clinton era, the frequency of our exercises and terrorism awareness training saw a noticeable increase over the former 10 years I was in service. But at that time, the scenarios we were preparing for were such things as structure and vehicle bombs, preventing personnel from being kidnapped as hostages, illegal entry and infiltration, anti-hijacking, and other historically typical terrorist techniques. We hadn’t anticipated that someone hijacking a commercial airliner might use them as Kamikaze weapons.
One of the good things for America as I see it is the Obama-Biden admin will have the same trouble with earning security clearances as the Clinton admin did. Many of Bubba’s people could not obtain Secret and Top Secret, let alone Majestic security clearance levels either because they refused to comply with the requirements necessary to be awarded the clearance levels, or due to known problems with their past that are in their records such as drug abuse. Bill was often told in no uncertain terms that some of the information provided to him could not go beyond his presidential “Eyes Only” position or be discussed with his own cabinet. There were times when he would be allowed to read certain documents in the presence of agents, yet not be allowed to have copies of them. Carter ran into similar problems, though to a lesser effect due to such things like his family members (his alcoholic brother Billy for one could not keep a secret and frequently revealed thing Jimmy talked to him about that he shouldn’t have), Jimmy’s fixation concerning UFOs, and other reasons.
In other words, our intelligence agencies will be knowledgeable of things that others may not be privy to, in order to prevent those others from “screwing the pooch” too the extreme, as they would certainly do if they had full access. The real purpose of the Patriot Act was only lended the appearance of transparency to actions of a covert nature that would have gone on anyway. And “wiretapping” includes the ability to monitor computer use of “bad guys” (rogue governments, terrorists & radical extremists both foreign & domestic), through tools such as remote keyloggers, mirror terminals, surveillance of suspect IP addresses, etc. I am certainly not surprised the Israeli’s have engaged in similar activities.
Computer technology & Internet access is the single biggest boon to the art of intelligence gathering ever. You have to remember, during the Reagan era, computer technology was still in it’s infancy and the Internet was solely a government communications tool. Not part of the private sector. A PC computer with 64k of RAM & a 40mg hard-drive was top-of-the-line. Look at what technology has brought us just within the last decade, then consider that under Obama’s plan for our military, he has promised he would freeze our military’s technology and development while he is in office at it’s current level. In most cases, America’s military’s current technology is at least a decade more advanced than that of the rest of the world. Obama wants us to take a “time-out” so the rest of the world can catch up. Fortunately for America, this will have little effect on our intelligence communities and so-called Black Projects he and his administration will not be fully privy to.
It’s a sad state when our own intelligence agencies can’t trust our elected officials, but it does happen every once in a while. At least they, like our military, take the oaths they swore to protect America, it’s people, and our constitution seriously. And they will have our backs, and hopefully intervene, such as they can, should the socialization of America become too extreme.