#john sipher

[tomorrowusa]

During his administration, Donald Trump was passing Israeli intelligence on to Russia. This was known WAY early in the administration – this NYT article is from May of 2017.

Israel is one of the United States’ most important allies and a major intelligence collector in the Middle East. The revelation that Mr. Trump boasted about some of Israel’s most sensitive information to the Russians could damage the relationship between the two countries. It also raises the possibility that the information could be passed to Iran, Russia’s close ally and Israel’s main threat in the Middle East. [ ... ] Mr. Trump said on Tuesday on Twitter that he had an “absolute right” to share information in the interest of fighting terrorism and called it a “very, very successful meeting” in a brief appearance later Tuesday at the White House alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, told reporters that he was not concerned that information sharing among intelligence partners would stop. “What the president discussed with the foreign minister was wholly appropriate to that conversation and is consistent with the routine sharing of information between the president and any leaders with whom he’s engaged,” General McMaster said at a White House briefing, seeking to play down the sensitivity of the information Mr. Trump disclosed.

Trump is a blabbermouth who has never had a good record on keeping classified intelligence to himself. Anybody using his Mar-a-Lago bathroom could browse nuclear secrets while trying to complete their digestion of well-done Trump steaks with ketchup.

Israel’s concerns about the Trump White House’s handling of classified information were foreshadowed in the Israeli news media this year. Newspapers there reported in January that American officials warned their Israeli counterparts to be careful about what they told the Trump administration because it could be leaked to the Russians, given Mr. Trump’s openness toward President Vladimir V. Putin. “The Russians have the widest intelligence collection mechanism in the world outside of our own. They can put together a good picture with just a few details,” said John Sipher, a 28-year veteran of the C.I.A. who served in Moscow in the 1990s and later ran the C.I.A.’s Russia program for three years. “They can marry President Trump’s comments with their own intelligence, and intelligence from their allies. They can also deploy additional resources to find out details.”

So, did any Israeli intelligence that Trump gave to Putin then go to Iran which passed it on to Hamas?

Mike Pence was Trump's vice president and Nikki Haley was Trump's ambassador to the UN at the time Trump was passing secrets on to Putin's foreign minister. They are both candidates for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. It's particularly hypocritical for Haley to try to somehow blame Biden for the current situation in Israel.

Republicans do have a poor record on dealing with intelligence this century. George W. Bush famously ignored a 06 August 2021 presidential intelligence brief warning of an attack by al Qaeda. We all know what happened five weeks later.

A vote for Republicans, especially Trump, is a vote for passing classified secrets to America's enemies.

The world is becoming more chaotic; no American should add to that chaos by putting Trump back in power.

[alanshemper]

be on the lookout for a color revolution in Iran, coming soon...

[mariacallous]

When I was a foreign correspondent in West Berlin during the dying days of the Cold War in 1988, a British spy gave me a vivid insight into the state of Germany’s intelligence services.

‘If you want the Kremlin to take something seriously, give it to the Germans and tell them it’s a secret,’ he said. ‘It’ll be on every desk in the Politburo the next morning.’

Clearly little has changed in the intervening years.

On Friday, the Russians revealed that they had eavesdropped on a discussion between the head of the Luftwaffe and three top air force colleagues about the highly contested question of donating Germany’s long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Such weaponry would help that country strike Russia’s logistics depots and supply lines, such as the Kerch Strait Bridge that links Crimea to Russia proper.

Top brass in any self-respecting country would conduct such sensitive discussions on encrypted lines using special handsets, with the participants in secure locations — an arrangement known in this country as a ‘STRAP environment’.

But the gormless Germans used Webex, a conference-call system akin to Zoom.

One participant dialled in from Singapore — using his bog-standard phone. So, too, did the Russian intruders. Unbelievably, nobody noticed the extra, silent participant.

Nothing was decided on the call. The missiles’ delivery remains blocked by German chancellor Olaf Scholz. But the 38-minute recording, released by the Kremlin, did reveal that he has lied to the German public.

According to the brass hats, well-trained Ukrainians could program the missiles with targeting data — something Scholz had claimed would require German specialists on the ground in Ukraine. This would be an impossibly provocative step in his view.

But the worst damage was done not to reputations but to allied security.

‘If we’re asked about delivery methods, I know how the British do this. They always transport them in Ridgeback armoured vehicles. They have several people on the ground,’ said the head of the German air force, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, referring to the Storm Shadow missiles that we have donated to Ukraine.

Discussing military secrets on an open phone line is a sackable offence. But you cannot sack a whole country. Western allies are confronting the reality that our biggest and richest European ally is an appalling liability.

No 10 yesterday described the leak as ‘a very serious matter’ but declined to be drawn on whether there are plans to restrict our intelligence- sharing with Berlin.

But no one would blame them if they were considering just such a response. After all, Scholz is in the doghouse for other reasons, too.

Only last Monday, he let slip that British soldiers were on the ground in Ukraine assisting with the use of our Storm Shadow missile system.

This would come as no surprise to Moscow. But it is still embarrassing to have a sensitive detail blurted out by the leader of a supposedly trustworthy partner.

Chairman of the Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns, didn’t hold back, describing the blunder as ‘wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face’.

The bleak truth is that, in the eyes of Western allies, Germany is now regarded as worse than useless.

And no branch of its security set-up is in a more parlous state than its clueless, leaky secret services. A senior official in the German foreign intelligence service, identified only as Carsten L, and an alleged accomplice, Arthur E, went on trial in December for spying for Russia. The pair were arrested, not thanks to German diligence, but thanks to a tip from the FBI.

Former CIA officer John Sipher describes German spies as: ‘Arrogant, incompetent, bureaucratic, useless’.

Yet it is no laughing matter for the Ukrainians that Scholz dithers on sending weapons. High hopes of the Zeitenwende — ‘change of eras’ — that he announced after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have shrivelled.

Germany’s puny military remains under-equipped, ill-led and cash-strapped. Berlin’s aversion to hard thinking about security lies partly in its two catastrophic defeats last century, and its role as a potential nuclear battleground during the Cold War.

This past stokes anti-Americanism and anti-militarism. ‘Even the worst peace is better than the best war,’ said a leading German thinktanker as Ukraine began its struggle for survival.

The idea that freedom might be worth dying for counts for nothing.

Greed also plays a big role. Germany has obsessively pursued lucrative deals with Russia and China.

That contributed to Germany’s blind spot when it came to its eastern neighbours such as Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Yet it was these countries that the Hitler-Stalin pact fed into the meat-grinder in 1939.

Germany owes them a huge historical debt but, instead of making strenuous efforts to boost their security, Berlin blocked Nato defence plans for these states for years.

Worse, German spymasters stole their secrets. As I revealed in my book Deception, the German BND — the counterpart to our MI6 — recruited a top defence official in Estonia, Herman Simm, in order to keep an eye on American influence there.

What the Germans did not know was that Simm was also spying for the Russians. The damage was colossal.

I am no Germanophobe. I lived and worked there for many years. I tried to alert Germans to the danger presented by nascent, and now revived, Russian imperialism. The response was patronising and incredulous.

Meanwhile, Russian spies, thugs and crooks ran riot under the noses of the bureaucracy-bound German police and security services.

That reflects another legacy of the past: a resistance to state surveillance, thanks to the long shadows cast by Hitler’s Gestapo and then the Stasi, communist East Germany’s secret police.

Ultra-strict data-protection and privacy laws stop German authorities conducting the simplest security checks.

The consequences of this were recently highlighted by journalist Michael Colborne, who took only 30 minutes to track down a fugitive Left-wing terrorist, 65-year-old Daniela Klette, of the murderous Baader-Meinhof gang.

She had been living in Berlin under a false identity, despite being on Germany’s most-wanted list. A simple internet picture search led to her hasty arrest by the hitherto ignorant German police.

Germany’s policy makes it the weakest link in Europe’s defence. Suppose that Russia, boosted by success in Ukraine, tests Nato’s resolve in Poland or the Baltic states?

These states would respond with flinty and furious resistance. We and other allies will want to help them. But suppose Germany cries ‘Diplomaten statt Granaten’ — ‘Diplomats instead of grenades’ — and demands that the crisis be solved through talks not war?

Sitting, as it does, on the North European Plain, Germany and its supply lines would be vital in rushing aid and ammunition to the front. Yet Berlin might bristle at direct involvement and close its borders and airspace to allied reinforcements.

This nightmarish prospect is not fiction. Germany closed its airspace to reinforcement flights at the start of the Ukraine war. The uncomfortable truth is that Germany slumbers as Europe burns, and that means sleepless nights for the rest of us.

[warsofasoiaf]

What do you make of Trump's latest indictment?

I haven't read the whole thing, but it looks pretty solid, all things considered.

I'm more interested in the National Defense Act one, because I follow writers that talk about classified information (guys like John Sipher) and so I have a little bit better of an understanding of the background law in that topic.

This one though, has some serious potential if a guilty verdict is secured, because it focuses on actions rather than just his big temper tantrum about losing the election because he has the emotional depth of a five-year old knocking over the boardgame when he loses.

I doubt it'll convince the true believers though, who think that he's just getting railroaded because the political establishment can't handle 2016, and they'd rather stick their heads in the sand and whine.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[bllsbailey]

Nine of Those 'Intelligence Experts' Who Just Endorsed Kamala Signed False Hunter Laptop Disinfo Letter

The second I read the headline about 700 former national security and military officials endorsing Kamala Harris for president, I thought, “Were any of them the same ones who signed the infamous, duplicitous letter in October 2020—right before the election—that claimed Hunter Biden’s lurid laptop was likely Russian disinformation?”

It was a lie, and many if not all of those 51 “experts” knew it. To this day, most make no apology for their attempts to gaslight the public and affect the outcome of a presidential election:

Disinformation: No Shame: Intel Officials Who Signed Hunter Laptop 'Russian Disinformation' Letter Call It 'Patriotic'

Response From Intel Letter Signers Tells You Everything You Need to Know

Not surprisingly, the answer to my question above is “yes.” Nine of those miscreants signed on to the Kamala Harris endorsement. Not surprisingly, one of the most dishonest men in public life is one of the them—none other than former CIA Director John Brennan. He’s joined by his equally ethically challenged cohorts, former CIA Director Leon Panetta and former DNI James Clapper. Here are all nine:

former Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper

former CIA Director Michael V. Hayden

former CIA Director Leon E. Panetta

former CIA Director John Brennan

former Acting CIA Director John E. McLaughlin 

former CIA chief of staff Laurence M. Pfeiffer

former Department of Defense chief of staff Jeremy Bash

CIA chief of station John Sipher

former National Intelligence Council Chair Gregory Frye Treverton. 

A regular rogue’s gallery. Note how many of them are CIA, by the way. This and the endorsement by the IRS union really show you the type of people who want Kamala to be president. 

As my colleague Ward Clark wrote in his story about the Harris endorsement, titled appropriately enough, “Clueless or Deluded? 700 'National Security Officials' Release Letter Endorsing Kamala Harris”:

Bureaucrats, it should be noted, always favor more and bigger government, and honestly, that's all Kamala Harris has to offer these people. And that is, for a bureaucrat, enough; and the fact that none of the people involved in the drafting of this letter a) think Kamala Harris is "serious and capable" when she is so sadly and obviously neither, and b) they don't understand that the United States is not a democracy - well, that tells us all we need to know about these people. 

He’s right. People often talk about the deep state or the administrative state, and I admit that when I first heard those terms, they sounded a little conspiratorial. Since the arrival of Trump, however, we have seen over and over that it is indeed a thing, and it is dangerous. For instance, we don’t even know who’s in charge of the country right now—we know it’s not Joe Biden, who can’t even remember who he’s standing next to. It’s not Kamala Harris because she couldn’t run a lemonade stand.  

People like Brennan, Clapper, and Panetta have shown repeatedly that they're shameless hacks willing to say anything to accomplish their goals, regardless of whether there’s any truth to their statements or not. Of course they endorse Harris—they know she’ll never hold them accountable for anything. The other guy in the race, however, would be decidedly less friendly toward their antics were he to get back in office.

Bailey: Growing up in the 50s and 60s people believed in the American government. In the 2020s that completely changed because we now know all they do is lie, cheat, and steal.

[eak1mouse]

"The Trump [v. United States] decision thus manages to turn the essence of the Nuremberg trials — that “just following orders” is not a defense to a war crime — on its head: It provides absolute immunity for the president, unqualified authority to pardon in advance underlings who follow illegal orders and no legal accountability for obvious criminal activity." - By James Petrila and John Sipher

July 25, 2024 at 7:30 a.m. EDT

James Petrila, an adjunct professor at George Washington University School of Law, is a former lawyer with the National Security Agency and the CIA. John Sipher, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and host of the podcast “Mission Implausible,” worked for the CIA’s clandestine service for 28 years.

[ear-worthy]

Mission Implausible Podcast Snoops On The Most Famous Laptop In Conspiratorial History

 Today, people love conspiracy theories. They seem to bring order to a chaotic world. Their accuracy and plausibility are less important than their support of the believers' confirmation bias. That's why you should tune in to the latest episode of iHeartPodcasts’ investigative series Mission Implausible, hosted by two former high-level CIA operatives who use their world-class expertise and insights to explore and dissect the world’s most baffling conspiracy theories. Co-hosts John Sipher and Jerry O'Shea were two of "The Dirty 51," a group of former intelligence officials who wrote a letter warning that the discovery of Hunter Biden's laptop by Rudy Giuliani showed all the signs of continued Russian election interference. In this episode, the two sit down with co-producer Adam Davidson, to discuss new developments surrounding the laptop, which was used as evidence in Hunter Biden's recent trial and, just yesterday, was a specific element of the Supreme Court decision on whether the government improperly censored conservative social media. They also speak with another of "The Dirty 51," former CIA officer Doug Wise, who takes on the right-wing vilification of The 51, the death threats, the newest misinformation being spread by Trumpworld and the dangers of excoriating the law enforcement arms of the federal government.

Mission Implausible is hosted by John Sipher and Jerry O’Shea. John Sipher retired in 2014 after a 28-year career in the Central Intelligence Agency’s National Clandestine Service. He also served as a lead instructor in the CIA’s clandestine training school and was a regular lecturer at the CIA’s leadership development program. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal. Jerry O’Shea worked undercover as an operations officer for over three decades. A four-time Chief of Station running some of CIA’s largest and most critical missions abroad, he has relished the challenge of service to a greater good in the gray, blurred, and bleary borderlands between good and evil, right and wrong. 

Check out Mission Implausible if you dare. I warn you. Your pet conspiracy theory may go down in flames.

[inprimalinie]

Fost șef al CIA în Europa critică serviciile secrete germane pentru că serviciile secrete rusești reușesc să asculte negocierile secrete

John Sipher, care a condus timp de 28 de ani sediul general al CIA în Europa, a scris o rubrică pentru Bild intitulată “V-am avertizat în legătură cu Putin”. În ea, el critică conducerea germană pentru că “serviciile secrete rusești reușesc să asculte negocierile secrete”. Georgiana Arsene Sipher critică în mod special serviciile de informații germane: Pentru mult prea mult timp, serviciile de…

[taiwantalk]

This is a very good and very important article. https://www.yahoo.com/news/want-understand-russian-power-listen-143354641.html

[itsnothingbutluck]

John Sipher ging 2014 nach einer 28-jährigen Karriere im "National Clandestine Service" der CIA in den Ruhestand. Während dieser Zeit diente er in Moskau und leitete die Russland-Operationen der CIA. Sipher absolvierte mehrere Auslandsreisen als Stationsleiter und stellvertretender Stationsleiter in Europa, auf dem Balkan, in Asien, Südostasien und Südasien. Später leitete er die russischen Operationen im CIA-Hauptquartier.

[tomorrowusa]

John Sipher is a retired CIA official who specialized in Russia. He makes the point that leaders of Russia and the USSR have usually focused on régime security rather than national security. In the context of Putin’s war, that makes a lot of sense.

The continuation of the war does absolutely nothing for Russian national security. Russia grows weaker militarily, economically, and diplomatically with every passing week.

Because Putin owns this war, he desperately keeps it going to hold onto power. If the war is perceived as a failure in Russia then that could mean the end of Putin. It’s in his personal interest to attempt long shot measures to prevent a collapse of his military adventure. 

Putin has centralized power around himself in Russia in a way it hasn’t been since the death of Stalin. If you surround yourself with sycophants then you are never going to get forthright advice or useful criticism. So Putin’s conduct of the war is now based more on wishful thinking and fantasy than anything else.

[natonaika]

Ilta-Sanomat: Foreign experts highlight President Niinistö's NATO statement

Several foreign experts have noted Finnish President Sauli Niinistö's statement on possible Finnish membership in NATO, Ilta-Sanomat reports. Shashank Joshi, defence editor at The Economist, highlighted Niinistö's assurance that Finland's "room for maneouvre" included the possibility of applying for membership in NATO. Meanwhile, US intelligence expert John Sipher interpreted Niinistö's statement as saying: "If Russia invades Ukraine, we join NATO." Swedish economist Anders Åslund said that Niinistö's "logical but untold conclusion was that Finland and Sweden must join NATO."

[mojave-pete]

Hope Trump is able to civil sue the hell out of these mother fucks!

[ear-worthy]

Daily Show: Ear Edition; Black History Month: Mission Implausible Debuts

The Daily Show: Ears Edition with Jon Stewart debuts  Jon Stewart could not resist. He had to return to The Daily Show as fulltime producer and host on Mondays. Given his first appearance on Monday, it initially seems that Stewart has become more like Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes - crotchety and caviling. 

But I'm a long-time fan, so I'll give him time. So, if you can’t get enough of Jon Stewart’s return to “The Daily Show” check out season four of iHeartPodcasts’ The Daily Show: Ears Edition for full episodes, extended content, exclusive interviews and more every weekday. As Jon Stewart kicks off his “Daily Show” Monday night residency, he and The Daily Show News Team come to grips with the reality of America's two chronologically challenged presidential candidates: Joe Biden and Donald Trump. One is old, the other is old and stupid. 

____________________________________________________

 Season three of I Didn’t Know, Maybe You Didn’t Either debuts

iHeartMedia and Charlamagne tha God’s Black Effect Podcast Network have announced Season three of the original series focused on highlighting the events in Black history that still influence society today, “I Didn’t Know, Maybe You Didn’t Either.” 

Hosted by Brian “B-Daht” McLaughlin, comedian, radio host and creator of "The Freestyle Funny Comedy Show," 

“I Didn’t Know, Maybe You Didn’t Either” is a historical docuseries rooted in Black excellence and legacy with a comic twist.

 Throughout the series, McLaughlin showcases under-known Black history, including some events that took place near his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina. The progressive podcast series is focused on cultivating connectivity and progression through truth within communities. 

Season three of “I Didn’t Know, Maybe You Didn’t Either” will have something for everyone, from history buffs to those who are tuning in for a good laugh. In episode one, McLaughlin discusses the United States’ long history of racism, swimming pools and “White Flight,” a post-desegregation phenomenon that occurred when white residents would leave their neighborhoods once they became racially integrated.

IDKMYDE! (I Didn’t Know, Maybe You Didn’t Either!): Every day of Black History Month, B Daht presents a “Mr. Rogers-styled-esque perspective” of long-lost history facts. Season three is layered with originality and equipped with actual historical references and some hard truths, a journey of discovery filled with comedy and entertainment for all ages.

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Mission Implausible podcast about conspiracy theories debuts

  What's more common than a Karen on a Starbucks line? Conspiracy theories. Republicans in Congress seem to be the major manufacturers of such outlandish theories. I have to admit. It's fun to hear them, and postulate on the next series of machinations.

That's why the new iHeart podcast Mission Implausible is so timely. Just covering the conspiracy theories birthed by Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Matt Gaetz is a full-time job.

However, this new podcast informs us that "It turns out, the origins of conspiracy theories might not be what you think. As former high-level CIA operatives, John Sipher and Jerry O'Shea used to create fake conspiracies around the world."

The podcast began in late January. The first two episodes were superb -- Jewish Space Lasers and Bill Gates' Microchip Plan. The show offers surprises about these theories. 

 In their new show from iHeartPodcasts, O'Shea and Sipher execute their own fun and fearless investigation into conspiracy theories past and present to assess what's real. And how. And why. Tune into new episodes each Wednesday.