The staff and instructors of the CI Centre wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.
PJM, 23 Dec 09: Talk about a tough sale. Imagine being Saudi Arabia’s public relations firm in the United States in the months after the 9/11 attacks, which were perpetrated by 19 terrorists, 15 of whom were Saudi nationals. Shilling for a tarnished Saudi Arabia was the daunting task that faced Qorvis, a Washington-based PR company. The $14 million contract surely compensated.
In their 2002 contract, Qorvis promised to “draft and/or distribute talking points, press releases, fact sheets, and op-ed pieces in order to promote the [Saudi] Kingdom, its commitment to the war against terrorism, peace in the Middle East, and other issues pertinent to the Kingdom.”
Soon thereafter, a new organization appeared on the American scene, the “Alliance of Peace and Justice in the Middle East.” In April 2002, the organization ran radio spots on dozens of stations across the U.S. extolling the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by then-Crown Prince Abdullah and attacking Israel’s settlements.
According to one ad: “The [Saudis’] fair plan [would] end the senseless violence in the Mideast.” The plan involved Israel’s “withdrawal from the Palestinian land it has unjustly occupied for years. … There will be no more midnight raids and random searches, no more violence.” “Start the peace — end the occupation” is the phrase that ends the ads. It is followed by the words “paid for by the Alliance of Peace and Justice.”
Who was behind the alliance? One American Jewish activist tracked them back to a Virginia address, which just happened to be the offices of Qorvis.
Eight months later, in documents submitted to the U.S. Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Office (FARA), Qorvis began to fess up. They listed receipt of $679,000 from the Alliance of Peace and Justice for “payment for radio, television, and print ads.” . . . .
GAO Report, released 23 Dec 09: On May 7, 2009, the Government Printing Office (GPO) published a 266-page document on its Web site that provided detailed information on civilian nuclear sites, locations, facilities, and activities in the United States. At the request of the Speaker of the House, this report determines (1) which U.S. agencies were responsible for the public release of this information and why the disclosure occurred, and (2) what impact, if any, the release of the information has had on U.S. national security. In performing this work, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzed policies, procedures, and guidance for safeguarding sensitive information and met with officials from four executive branch agencies involved in preparing the document, the White House, the House of Representatives, and GPO. . . . .
Summary (HTML)
Highlights Page (PDF)
Full Report (PDF, 48 pages)
Accessible Text
Recommendations (HTML)
CIA, 23 Dec 09: On Christmas Eve in 1962, more than 1,000 prisoners taken during the Bay of Pigs invasion were granted a holiday miracle: their freedom. The prisoners would not have been released as soon had it not been for the skilled negotiating of Milan “Mike” Miskovsky, who served as a CIA lawyer during some of the most tumultuous years for the United States.
Miskovsky was born on May 11, 1926, in Chicago. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a master’s in forestry in 1949. For the next two years, Miskvosky worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the woods of Idaho, Montana, and Washington state. He was transferred to Washington, D.C., in 1951.
Soon after arriving in the District of Columbia, Miskovsky was hired by the CIA as an analyst of forestry resources in the Eastern Bloc. Miskovsky continued his education at George Washington University, and after graduating in 1956 with a law degree, he joined the CIA’s legal office, eventually becoming the Agency’s assistant general counsel. Little did Miskovsky know that he had an exciting career as a CIA lawyer ahead of him.
On May 1, 1960, U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union. He was captured immediately. The Soviets recovered the cameras and film from the crash site and began interrogating Powers. In August 1960, Powers was tried and convicted of espionage against the Soviet Union. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
As an Agency lawyer representing the U.S. government, Miskovsky worked to negotiate a trade with the Soviets: Francis Gary Powers for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. Working through New York lawyer James Donovan, who handled the face-to-face negotiations with Soviet representatives in Germany, Miskovsky proved himself to be a skilled negotiator in the case.
Their efforts paid off, for on February 10, 1962, Powers was released and traded for Abel. He walked across Berlin’s Glienicke Bridge, passing Abel in the middle, and met U.S. officials on the other side.
In April 1961, a 1,400-man force of Cuban-American exiles called Brigade 2506 launched an invasion of Cuba. Their goal was to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro. Brigade 2506 landed at the Bay of Pigs on Cuba’s southern coast where they were quickly defeated by the Cuban military. More than 100 members of Brigade 2506 were killed, and nearly 1,200 were captured.
Miskovsky was again asked to help negotiate the release of the prisoners. He worked closely with U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Donovan during these negotiations, which lasted nearly a year. Finally, Castro agreed to release the prisoners for $50 million in food, medicine, and humanitarian aid. Castro and Donovan signed the agreement on December 21, 1962. The prisoners were released just in time to celebrate Christmas with their families and friends in the United States. . . . .
RIA Novosti, 23 Dec 09: A Russian actor has been given a posthumous Federal Security Services (FSB) award for the best role portraying intelligence officer Stirlitz, Russia’s equivalent to James Bond.
The FSB, formally known as the KGB, awards the prize annually, and the ceremony took place this year at the organization’s headquarters building in downtown Moscow.
Russian legendary actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov, who played a Soviet spy working under the cover of an SS colonel in the still immensely popular Soviet spy serial 17 Moments of Spring, died in early December at the age of 81 of a heart attack.
