News & Views for Feb 17

[EndtheMadnessNow]

News & Views on attempting to contain the Red Dragon & Red Bear at same time.

FBI puts BLM take-the-knee agent in charge of Russia counterintelligence

Although President Donald Trump is promising to clean the FBI of its woke misadventures, woke business continues as usual at the bureau. Intelligence community sources with direct knowledge tell me that a senior agent who kneeled while on duty at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Washington, D.C., has been promoted to one of the FBI’s most prized jobs. They say that Sarah Linden is a new deputy assistant director out of the FBI headquarters. There, Linden has been placed in charge of Russian counterintelligence in the national security branch. In other words, Linden is now the top U.S. counterspy against the Kremlin. The FBI declined to comment.

Yes, sending our best.   Russkies shakin in their boots.

This Is Not Restoring the Way the Justice Department Is Supposed to Work

By Andrew C. McCarthy
February 16, 2025 7:51 AM

This is the second of seven posts on Attorney General Pam Bondi’s “Weaponization Working Group.” (The first is here.)

Under the guise of “Restoring the Integrity and Credibility of the Department of Justice,” the AG is implementing the Biden DOJ model of conviction first and trial later — if ever. Standing convicted are Trump’s principal prosecutorial nemeses — Biden DOJ special counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and New York Attorney General Letitia James — and therefore guilty by association are any DOJ and FBI personnel who aided and abetted them. In what crimes, we’re not told — only that Bondi will be “provid[ing] quarterly reports to the White House regarding the progress of the review.”

The end of the transatlantic alliance Europe has lost its way

There is no longer any doubt that Europe and America are parting ways. The death of the transatlantic relationship was foretold many times, but at the Munich Security Conference this weekend, it finally ended.

The great American-European divorce has played out in three areas — Ukraine, free speech, and trade. Last week, Donald Trump blindsided the Europeans with his announcement of peace talks with Vladimir Putin. (He said he would do this during his election campaign, but Europe’s leaders were clearly not paying attention.) Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, told the Europeans on Saturday that they will not be included in high-level peace negotiations.

The outlines of a peace deal are emerging: no Nato membership for Ukraine; a frontier that respects the current military situation; a demilitarised zone around the new frontier; and, I presume, a return of Russia’s frozen assets, and a gradual lifting of the sanctions. Trump even wants Russia back in the G7.

This has left the Europeans furious. The European media, and numerous academics, keep up the increasingly implausible narrative that Ukraine can win the war only if the West maintains its support. But this is how people talk with no skin in the game. Robert Skidelsky, the British economic historian, recently pointed out the uniformity of pro-war views in the British media. Ukraine’s unconditional supporters within the British media, European think tanks, and US university history departments have all failed to heed an important lesson from the German military historian Carl von Clausewitz: do not go to war unless you know how to end it. For the Europeans, war is a spectator sport. Their support for Ukraine was all about principles and promises; there was no strategic planning, no endgame, no agreement on second-best outcomes, no concrete planning for post-war scenarios.

U.S.-Russia meeting on Ukraine war to take place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday

The meeting between senior U.S. and Russia officials to discuss a possible agreement on ending the war in Ukraine and prepare for a Trump-Putin summit will take place on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, two sources with direct knowledge told Axios Sunday.

Why it matters: The meeting will be another significant step in improving U.S.-Russia relations since the breakthrough that happened last week with the phone call between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

    The meeting created a lot of anxiety and frustration in the Ukrainian government, which is concerned about a U.S.-Russian deal behind Kyiv's back.

The latest: On Monday, the Kremlin and the State Department officially confirmed that the meeting will happen Tuesday in Riyadh.

    The Kremlin said the aim of the meeting is to restore Russian-U.S. relations and prepare for possible negotiations on a diplomatic settlement to the war in Ukraine.

The other side: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky told me on Saturday in Munich that Ukraine hasn't received an invitation for the meeting.

From day one, Ukraine was never, ever expected to win. It was or is about over-extending Russia so the US could contain them, like during the Cold War. I don't think it's been working very well. Oh well, on to plan B.

On the flip-side... left out in the cold?

Ukraine Won't 'Recognize' U.S.-Russia Talks In Saudi Arabia, Zelenskyy Says

U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy "will be involved" in any peace negotiations to end the Russian war, while he also stated that he could meet "very soon" with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Trump, in separate remarks to reporters on February 16, did not specify details as a flurry of diplomatic activity swirled from the Middle East to Paris and at a NASCAR speedway in Daytona, Florida.

‘No Reason for Illusions’: Russians Hopeful, But Skeptical on Ukraine Peace Talks (Moscow Times)

When Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump agreed to enter peace talks aimed at ending Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials and state propaganda trumpeted what it called a victory for Moscow.

But among ordinary Russians, reactions have been much more mixed, with hopes for an end to the bloodshed but doubts over whether the talks would bring lasting peace or improve life at home.

“People are hoping [for peace], but it seems that [the hopes] may not be realized,” said Karina, a resident of Voronezh — a city located about 200 kilometers from the border and regularly attacked by Ukrainian drones.

“Even if the negotiations take place, it doesn't mean we won’t have to deal with the consequences of the war,” she said, referring to the Kremlin's diminished standing on the global stage as well as domestic challenges like social stagnation and economic difficulties.

“The only thing being discussed now is whether this meeting [between Putin and Trump] will affect the ruble exchange rate — everyone is looking at it through the lens of how the negotiations will impact their finances and wages,” said one mid-level manager from a public sector organization in Moscow.

“I personally think the result will be nothing — it will be discussed politically for a long time, but the outcome will be zero,” she told The Moscow Times.

The war may end but life will remain miserable for a long time, imo.

The state we are in – British Army decline

General Sanders was evidently as blunt as he felt he could be in his valedictory communication when standing down as Chief of the General Staff (CGS). From day 1 of his appointment he was publicly candid about the size of the Army, which did not sit well with the Secretary of State for Defence; it is well known that even exceptional politicians find it difficult to cope with inconvenient truths. Nevertheless, Wallace was considered one of our better politicians.  I still wonder why the shining star that was Wallace faded so quickly. I do hope there is not an unedifying explanation.

Sanders’ assessment of British Army decline was as explicit as he dared to be but full of implicit warnings that will be lost on most people. He was absolutely right to make the case to re-arm as fast as we can (a huge challenge given our sclerotic acquisition processes).  What was left largely unsaid is the inability of the Army to prepare, deploy and sustain itself in the field.

....
Arguably, the Army has fallen below critical mass, with the majority of its equipment very aged and with limited ammunition stocks. Patrick Sanders knew this before he was appointed CGS and tried to improve the situation. Perhaps his less than sycophantic attitude limited his tenure, and therefore his ability to put things right; hence his last pronouncements articulate his frustration with a government that deliberately continued the decline of the Armed Forces and the Army in particular. Will the change in administration, and the outcome of the associated costly Defence Review, make a difference?

China condemns US for tweak to Taiwan reference; Washington calls it ‘routine’ update

TAIPEI, Taiwan – China urged the United States on Monday to “correct its mistakes” after it removed wording on a State Department website stating that it did not support Taiwan independence. The U.S. brushed off the change as an update.

The State Department’s latest “fact sheet” for Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by China, used to include the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence,” but that was dropped on Thursday.

The State Department also modified a passage in the fact sheet to suggest broader support for Taiwan’s inclusion in international organizations, by dropping the words “where statehood is not a requirement.”

It added that Taiwan’s dispute with China should be resolved “free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.”

“As is routine, the fact sheet was updated to inform the general public about our unofficial relationship with Taiwan,” said its spokesperson, as cited by Reuters news agency.

Policy agreements with US-China on Taiwan going back to the Nixon/Kissinger days is now being back tracked by Rubio who is playing a very dangerous game. Taiwan will end up looking like Gaza. The US does not care, and if they can't have Taiwan (toward keeping China contained) then nobody can, period.


Meanwhile...

Pro-Taiwan official joins US President's Intelligence Advisory Board

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien has been appointed to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB).

O’Brien, who served during former President Donald Trump’s first term, announced the appointment on X Wednesday, saying he was “honored to serve” the US again.

A strong advocate for Taiwan, O’Brien was awarded the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon by former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2023 for his contributions to Taiwan-US relations. Taiwan’s Representative to the US, Alexander Tah-ray Yui (俞大㵢), also entrusted him to deliver President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) congratulatory letter to Trump in November.

O’Brien has urged Taiwan to increase its defense spending in response to growing threats from China. "They've got to ramp up their spending to contend with the PRC and CCP, and we can help them, we can be part of that," he said in July. "But I think what President Trump is saying is ... we've got to have burden sharing.” He recommended Taiwan allocate at least 5% of its GDP to defense.

Iranian state cleric suggests Trump is the one-eyed Islamic Antichrist

A senior cleric appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader suggested in a sermon on Friday that US president Donald Trump was the one-eyed Islamic equivalent of the Antichrist prophesied to menace humanity around judgment day.

"He is completely one-eyed, and this is a sign of the end times," Seyyed Hassan Ameli told congregants in a sermon for Islamic Friday prayers according to the Tehran-based Didban News website.

Ameli is Ali Khamenei's representative to deliver the weekly sermon in the large northwestern city of Ardabil, and Friday prayer-leaders' remarks reflect official thinking in the theocracy.

In Islamic eschatology, a figure called Dajjal is a false messiah who will emerge in the end times, spreading corruption and misleading people with false promises of power and prosperity before being ultimately defeated by a righteous messiah.

His description in Islamic scripture as "one-eyed" has been interpreted to refer to his deception and ability to manipulate others for personal gain.

"The new US president has a completely one-sided view," Ameli said.

"He sees the world purely through a materialistic lens and openly declares that America is a business corporation."

"He covets wealth wherever it exists—whether it's Middle Eastern oil, Syrian oil, or Ukraine’s minerals," he continued.

Ameli further criticized Trump’s approach to foreign relations, saying that the US president has used intimidation tactics to pressure countries into submission, expecting Iran to comply in the same way.

Reimposing the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran from his first term this month, the hawkish Republican president has said he much prefers a deal on Iran's disputed nuclear program over any military attack on the country.

Trump then shocked Mideast leaders by saying he planned to seize and re-develop the Gaza Strip into the "riviera of the Middle East" after a 15-month incursion by US-allied Israel flattened much of the coastal enclave.

Khamenei appeared to promptly blast that idea, rejecting Trump's territorial ambitions as a fantasy.

"In regione caecorum rex est luscus"

"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."
— Desiderius Erasmus from Adagia


From the WSJ tabloid...

A New Spy Unit Is Leading Russia’s Shadow War Against the West

The operations of Moscow’s Department of Special Tasks have included attempted killings, sabotage and a plot to put incendiary devices on planes

Russia’s spy services have a shadowy new unit taking aim at the West with covert attacks across Europe and elsewhere, Western intelligence officials say.

Known as the Department of Special Tasks, it is based in the Russian military-intelligence headquarters, a sprawling glass-and-steel complex on the outskirts of Moscow known as the aquarium. Its operations, which haven’t been previously reported, have included attempted killings, sabotage and a plot to put incendiary devices on planes.

The department’s creation reflects Moscow’s wartime footing against the West, the officials said. It was set up in 2023 in response to Western support for Ukraine and includes veterans of some of Russia’s most daring clandestine operations in recent years, according to two European intelligence chiefs and other U.S., European and Russian security officials.

“Russia believes it is in conflict with what it calls ‘the collective West,’ and is acting accordingly, up to and including threatening us with nuclear attack and building up its military,” said James Appathurai, deputy assistant secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in charge of hybrid warfare.

“These are, as usual, completely unsubstantiated accusations,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The new department, which is known to Western intelligence officials by its Russian acronym SSD, is believed to be behind a host of recent attacks against the West, including the attempted killing of the chief executive of a German arms maker and a plot to put incendiary devices on planes used by shipping giant DHL.

Estonian spy chief: ‘Hybrid schmybrid, what’s happening is attacks’

MUNICH, Germany — The head of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service has criticized the “misleading and soft” word “hybrid” being used to describe Russian acts of sabotage and subversion across the continent.

In a late panel discussion on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, Kaupo Rosin protested the use of the word which has been applied to a range of hostile activities that are deemed to be deniable or below the threshold justifying an armed response.

“Hybrid schmybrid,” he said. “I think the word ‘hybrid’ is misleading and soft… What’s happening is attacks, cyberattacks, assassination plots, maybe in some parts it’s actually state-sponsored terrorism what is going on.”

Estonia, which was occupied by Russia during WWII — with tens of thousands of Estonian families deported to Russia, including the mother of former Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, now the European Union’s foreign policy chief — has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine as it resists Russia’s full-blown invasion.

Similar “hybrid” incidents have been occurring across Europe. Last year, Germany identified Russian cyber espionage targeting political parties, alongside the interception and leaking of a conversation between military officials about support for Ukraine.

“I feel that in [the] Estonian case, our foreign intelligence… and our internal security service have a proper mandate to go after those guys, to catch them. So all the tools which are out there, we are able to use. I know in different European counties, it’s a different level how invasive and aggressive we can be.”

Kinda like Operation Gladio.

Why a former CSIS official says the U.S. is positioned for ‘another 9/11’

Dan Stanton, a former executive manager for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said in an interview with The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson that cuts are “degrading the efficiency” of the U.S. intelligence community, which could have a much bigger impact than just America’s borders.

As part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, Canada benefits from national intelligence from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the U.S.

Ottawa relies on information frequently from allies with much more expansive foreign intelligence systems, such as Britain’s MI6 and the American CIA.

But Stanton said while there are concerns about whether the U.S. could cut off intelligence sharing, he said if there were cutbacks it would mostly be in “non-threat foreign intelligence,” such as political or economic reporting that helps shape foreign policies.

A top aide to newly-minted CIA director John Ratcliffe also told The Wall Street Journal that Trump’s CIA would have a greater focus on the Western Hemisphere and would target countries not traditionally considered adversaries.

“degrading the efficiency”? LOL.

Under Trump, CIA plots bigger role in drug cartel fight

The Central Intelligence Agency is poised to take a larger, more aggressive role under President Donald Trump in the battle against Mexican-based drug cartels, devising and evaluating plans to share more intelligence with regional governments, train local counternarcotics units and possibly conduct other covert actions, according to people familiar with the matter.

A CIA spokesperson said in a statement that “countering drug cartels in Mexico and regionally is a priority for CIA as a part of the Trump Administration’s broader efforts to end the grave threat from narco-trafficking. Director Ratcliffe is determined to put CIA’s unique expertise to work against this multifaceted challenge.”

Meanwhile, Green Berets land in Mexico.

US special forces landing in Mexico to train marine infantry

Drones Over U.S. Bases May Be Threatening Spy Flights: NORTHCOM Commander

Some of the hundreds of drones flying over U.S. military bases and other sensitive areas last year were likely operated with nefarious intentions, the general coordinating the response to domestic incursions told a Senate hearing today. As a result, U.S. Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), testified that he needs increased authority to better protect these installations.

“The primary threat I see for them in the way they’ve been operating is detection and perhaps surveillance of sensitive capabilities on our installations,” Guillot explained to a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) budget request hearing. He was responding to a question about the numerous drone incursions over U.S. military facilities, like the ones over Langley Air Force Base in 2023 that we were the first to cover. Guillot was not asked, nor did he volunteer information about who was operating these drones. A NORTHCOM spokesperson later declined to elaborate.

“There were 350 detections reported last year on military installations, and that was 350 over a total of 100 different installations of all types and levels of security,” Guillot pointed out.

Guillot told the senators that only about half of the 360 bases in the U.S. – considered “covered installations” – even have permission to defend against drones.

There are nine criteria allowing bases to be covered, Guillot explained.

“It ranges from nuclear deterrence, missile defense all the way down to if it’s a test facility,” he said.

Given all these issues, Guillot said he wants to see an expansion of anti-drone authorities under the U.S. law known as “130i.” That’s a reference to subsection of Title 10 of the U.S. Code (10 USC 130i), covering current authorities for the “protection of certain facilities and assets from unmanned aircraft.”

The law, however, does not go far enough, Guillot explained, saying it should be expanded to pertain to “all military installations and not just those that are covered,” he urged.

Guillot also asked senators to expand the distance from a base that countermeasures can be employed.

“I’d also like to see the range expanded to slightly beyond the installation, so they don’t have to wait for the threat to get over the installation before they can address it,” he proposed. That’s because “many of these systems can use side-looking or slant range [sensors]. And so they could surveil the base from outside the perimeter, and under the current authorities, we can’t address that.”

More drone incursions, more power.


That's all I got. Good day.