The April 2022 report, titled “People’s Republic of China High-Altitude Balloon,” found a Chinese spy balloon “circumnavigated the globe” in 2019 – while Donald Trump was president – at an altitude of roughly 65,000 feet, and “drifted past Hawaii and across Florida ” The Air Force intelligence report is the first indication that the U.S....
Category: United States
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The Five Eyes: A New History Illuminates the West’s Global Surveillance Apparatus
From “Friends With Benefits,” by Tom Stevenson, London Review of Books, 19 January 2023
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The Most Dangerous Day in History
Seven hours ahead of Washington, the Kremlin had already received an urgent message (9 a.m., Moscow time) from the Soviet commander in Cuba that a U.S. attack, presaging an invasion, was imminent within 24-72 hours. The Soviet ambassador in Havana, Aleksandr Alekseyev, was closeted with Fidel Castro at the Soviet embassy through the wee hours...
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CIA Thought Putin Would Quickly Conquer Ukraine
U.S. intelligence reports at the time predicted that Kyiv would fall quickly, perhaps in a week or two at the most. The predictions spurred the Biden administration to secretly withdraw some key U.S. intelligence assets from Ukraine, including covert former special operations personnel on contract with the CIA, the current and former officials said. Their account...
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MuckRock’s Guide to Getting Your Own FBI File
A self-request falls under the Privacy Act and not the Freedom of Information Act. It requires a special Department of Justice form stating, under penalty of perjury, that you are who you say you are.The request should state clearly that you are requesting all documents with your name and any aliases in them. It...