Article

2011-11-21 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Spies outed, CIA suffers at hands of Hezbollah in Lebanon

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Creregum Glolump8403 2011-11-21 07:17|| || Front Page|| [11127 views ] Top

#1 Not mentioned is that f-ing Russia has provided Hezbollah with a ton of counterespionage electronics, specifically to neutralize Israeli and US intelligence efforts in Lebanon.

At this point, the proper response from both Israel and the US should be to start systematically assassinating effective Hezbollah leaders.

Posted by Anonymoose 2011-11-21 08:36|| 2011-11-21 08:36|| Front Page Top

#2 Something really stinks here. Far too much info. Sounds like a turf issue. 'Current and former' officials speaking like this should be garroted, not to put too fine a point on it.

One takeaway here is that the CIA was able to plant spies. I thought they were no longer capable. Many ways to view that.

Posted by Whiskey Mike 2011-11-21 09:23|| 2011-11-21 09:23|| Front Page Top

#3 Any time you see this level of detail and bemoaning of lost assets, you ponder if its turf wars, payback to a rival by the loser outing the losses, or damage control, or the most devious of all, the verrification that a dangle asset(s)were snapped up to blunt CI efforts and you want to let them hear you howl as the dangle gets eaten, insulating your true penetration assets as they assume you are devastated.
The most devious and cold-blooded of all is to penetrate the CI system and then feed it meaningless assets to burrow it deeper and learn what valued resources are at risk.
Wilderness of Mirrors.......

Posted by NoMoreBS 2011-11-21 09:48|| 2011-11-21 09:48|| Front Page Top

#4 Tradecraft and experience has suffered. Although it was not said, a reliance on drones has maybe diminished experience and tradecraft. The hyper-criticism by donks during the GWB admin. of such things as waterboarding, Gitmo, black sites, and Abu Ghraib and other clandestine activities had its effect. Maybe a turf battle. Maybe a battle to preserve budgets.

Posted by JohnQC 2011-11-21 10:31|| 2011-11-21 10:31|| Front Page Top

#5 It's not just Russia that's introduced counter-espionage electronics to the area. We've given some to the Lebanese government. There are sometimes unintended consequences to that sort of assistance.

Posted by Odysseus 2011-11-21 11:29|| 2011-11-21 11:29|| Front Page Top

#6 Or moles now far up the CIA chain stateside. Part of the US acceptance of "multiculturalism" thoughout the stateside ranks.

Posted by Harry Dribble1924 2011-11-21 12:28|| 2011-11-21 12:28|| Front Page Top

#7 Yet another example of Jimmy Carter decisions still getting people killed 30 years later. His shakeup of the intelligence community to put emphasis on technical intelligence and to gut human intelligence is the gift that has kept on giving for about 30 years now.

Posted by crosspatch 2011-11-21 13:08|| 2011-11-21 13:08|| Front Page Top

#8 The sarcastic thought crossed my mind, "I wonder how many captured field agents were Elis?(Yale graduates)." Not any, I'd bet. Such people prefer nice offices in the US and clean shoes.

Posted by Anonymoose 2011-11-21 15:01|| 2011-11-21 15:01|| Front Page Top

23:17 RandomJD
23:01 crosspatch
22:50 Angoper Smith4384
22:29 Hank
22:29 Hank
22:19 Hank
22:09 JosephMendiola
22:03 USN, Ret.
22:00 USN, Ret.
21:59 JosephMendiola
21:52 JosephMendiola
21:49 USN, Ret.
21:48 USN, Ret.
21:43 JosephMendiola
21:29 JosephMendiola
21:28 Alaska Paul
21:25 JosephMendiola
21:12 Procopius2k
19:48 Hellfish
19:46 JosephMendiola
18:53 tipper
18:36 Secret Master
17:40 Bright Pebbles
17:24 Cincinnatus Chili