Pentagon Leaks: A look inside the spy engine room


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Status: 04/12/2023 4:26 p.m

The papers from the US secret services that have appeared on the Internet have left Washington in need of explanation. But they also show how powerful US spies are – and that allied nations continue to be spied on.

It is still unclear who put the secret papers on the Internet, which are currently not only causing a stir in Washington. While the FBI is now looking for the leak, the American secret services are trying to limit the damage. “Deeply unfortunate,” CIA chief William Burns called the leak. Now is the time to learn the right lessons from the incident. However, in his job he also learned to live with sleepless nights.

Little is known about the exact background of the “Pentagon Leaks”, as the publication of the secret papers from the US defense department is now called. But it seems that in early March, maybe even earlier, someone simply released around a hundred US military and intelligence documents on the internet. Namely in the depths of the net, on the Discord platform, a forum for computer gamers.

Secret papers from the gamer forum

The secret papers from the Gamerforum provide a rare insight into the engine room of the American espionage apparatus. Although they show only a small part of what the agents, satellites and eavesdropping technology from the CIA, NSA & Co. deliver on a daily basis, the few daily reports from the spring make it clear that the US secret services apparently have considerable access to Russia and China , Iran or North Korea – and they probably continue to spy on allied nations ten years after whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations.

It is about photographed papers, including several situation reports and analyzes of the course of the war in Ukraine. But the “Daily Intelligence Update” was suddenly online, a daily summary of secret service findings. Almost all documents are classified as “secret” or even “top secret”, they contain information from technical interception measures and from human sources. Even a previously unknown satellite system called “LAPIS” is mentioned.

It is not known whether the person who photographed the documents is the same person who ultimately put them on the Internet. In any case, the user from the Discord forum has since deleted his account. It is also still unclear whether the secret papers are really all genuine, or whether individual content may have been falsified. The US government has not yet commented on this. However, representatives of the White House and the Pentagon have already indicated that the documents are basically authentic.

Wagner and the Kremlin apparently spied on extensively

And they show that the Russian armed forces, the Wagner mercenary group and the Kremlin are apparently being extensively spied on by the Americans. The papers described Russian military actions, such as rocket attacks on Ukraine, which had not yet taken place but were probably already ordered.

Russian secret service officials are quoted as reporting that cooperation with the spies of the United Arab Emirates against the United States and Great Britain has been decided. It is also said that the Egyptian ruler Abdel Fatah El-Sisi apparently plans to secretly support Russia with missiles and ammunition.

According to the papers, the US services also have information that the Wagner mercenaries are trying to acquire weapons in Turkey and that the leader of the military junta in Mali has offered to help. And that the Russian mercenaries want to become active in the Caribbean state of Haiti – right on America’s doorstep.

But apart from the comprehensive clarification of the war in Ukraine, the Iranian nuclear program or North Korea’s missile projects, the secret papers also show that the USA apparently continues to spy on allied nations.

Even the Mossad is probably bugged

About South Korea, for example, the papers say that there is knowledge that the government in Seoul is internally divided about a planned arms export to Eastern Europe. It’s about more than 300,000 artillery shells. A conversation between two South Korean security officials is quoted as suggesting that the ammunition should first be delivered to Poland, but in fact it is intended for Ukraine.

In Israel, even the legendary Mossad foreign intelligence service is probably being bugged by the Americans. At least one of the papers states that, according to the CIA, technical information has revealed that Mossad management has encouraged employees to protest against the controversial judicial reform of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

An EU country also appears in the secret papers. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban is said to have described the USA as one of the three main enemies of his party Fidesz at an internal party event in February.

On the other hand, it should come as no surprise that the American services are paying particular attention to Ukraine, despite – or perhaps because of – Western support. According to the leaked papers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested in talks with his military at the end of February that military positions in Russia, for example near Rostov, be attacked. And with armed drones, since Ukraine does not yet have missile systems with such a range.

Another document said there was intelligence that the Ukrainian secret service SBU believed that “its agents in Belarus disobeyed orders” and on February 28 used drones to attack a Russian military plane at a Belarusian airfield.

For America’s services, the releases are unpleasant and quite harmful. After all, the disclosure of sources and access often has a direct impact on intelligence work. In addition, the Biden government will now have to try to explain the informers to the partner nations. One argument could be that trust can be very valuable, especially in times of war – but sometimes so can a look behind the scenes.

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