Wikileaks, Sratfor Confidential Edition

[Mr Bean]

So according to reports this Monday we are looking at the last six or so years of work from Stratfor Confidential. A private corperation which has been up to all sorts of interesting things over the past decade and according to pre-leaks most of it semi-illegal. Some of the most interesting bits after the press release.

LONDON—Today, Monday 27 February, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files – more than five million emails from the Texas-headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The emails date from between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal’s Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor’s web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods, for example :

"[Y]ou have to take control of him. Control means financial, sexual or psychological control... This is intended to start our conversation on your next phase" – CEO George Friedman to Stratfor analyst Reva Bhalla on 6 December 2011, on how to exploit an Israeli intelligence informant providing information on the medical condition of the President of Venezuala, Hugo Chavez.

The material contains privileged information about the US government’s attacks against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks and Stratfor’s own attempts to subvert WikiLeaks. There are more than 4,000 emails mentioning WikiLeaks or Julian Assange. The emails also expose the revolving door that operates in private intelligence companies in the United States. Government and diplomatic sources from around the world give Stratfor advance knowledge of global politics and events in exchange for money. The Global Intelligence Files exposes how Stratfor has recruited a global network of informants who are paid via Swiss banks accounts and pre-paid credit cards. Stratfor has a mix of covert and overt informants, which includes government employees, embassy staff and journalists around the world.

The material shows how a private intelligence agency works, and how they target individuals for their corporate and government clients. For example, Stratfor monitored and analysed the online activities of Bhopal activists, including the "Yes Men", for the US chemical giant Dow Chemical. The activists seek redress for the 1984 Dow Chemical/Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, India. The disaster led to thousands of deaths, injuries in more than half a million people, and lasting environmental damage.

Stratfor has realised that its routine use of secret cash bribes to get information from insiders is risky. In August 2011, Stratfor CEO George Friedman confidentially told his employees : "We are retaining a law firm to create a policy for Stratfor on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. I don’t plan to do the perp walk and I don’t want anyone here doing it either."

Stratfor’s use of insiders for intelligence soon turned into a money-making scheme of questionable legality. The emails show that in 2009 then-Goldman Sachs Managing Director Shea Morenz and Stratfor CEO George Friedman hatched an idea to "utilise the intelligence" it was pulling in from its insider network to start up a captive strategic investment fund. CEO George Friedman explained in a confidential August 2011 document, marked DO NOT SHARE OR DISCUSS : "What StratCap will do is use our Stratfor’s intelligence and analysis to trade in a range of geopolitical instruments, particularly government bonds, currencies and the like". The emails show that in 2011 Goldman Sach’s Morenz invested "substantially" more than $4million and joined Stratfor’s board of directors. Throughout 2011, a complex offshore share structure extending as far as South Africa was erected, designed to make StratCap appear to be legally independent. But, confidentially, Friedman told StratFor staff : "Do not think of StratCap as an outside organisation. It will be integral... It will be useful to you if, for the sake of convenience, you think of it as another aspect of Stratfor and Shea as another executive in Stratfor... we are already working on mock portfolios and trades". StratCap is due to launch in 2012.
..................

Rest can be read here
Plus Reuters coverage

If Wikileaks press is to believed there are emails containing orders from companies for Stratfor to target protestors harassing the company in ways that could be called blackmail attempts at worst. IE Group X is protesting us over Y, find Z the Group X's leader and dig into his personal life to see if we can't discredit him or get something that will "shut him up".

[Pelranius]

Friedman's futurology book was way overrated anyways.

And to think that I applied for one of their internships.

[Chirios]

I know that what they've been doing is evil and horrible but the Stratfor Glossary on Intelligence Terms is fucking hilarious. Case in point:

PowerPoint
Ranger
Member of intelligence team whose primary contribution is the making PowerPoint presentations. Usually assigned to least competent member of the team to keep
him out of trouble. Winds up controlling the operation because management keeps promoting him because he makes neat animations

and

PowerPoint
Presentation
An efficient means for turning complex and sophisticated analysis into half-witted bullets. If you can’t read a 50 page analysis before invading a country or buying a
company, you probably shouldn’t be in the business.Single most destructive invention known to man

[Coalition]

Lots of fun definitions:

ATF - Alcohol Tobacco and Fire Arms. Rednecks with a license to kill. Never, ever, ever ask for their help on anything.

Green-carder - A source working for you because he believes that you will take him to America where he will own a Seven-Eleven. Try not to disabuse him until after you’ve squeezed his sorry ass.

Smiley - A man who is much smarter than he looks. He’s schooling you all the time you thought you were doing him. From John LeCarre’s George Smiley. Never screw with a Smiley. If a man looks too dumb to reproduce, first check his Smiley quotient.

Sourcequardrupled - A source who you think is working for you who is actually working for the other side, even though you knew he was working for the other side…. Too fucked up to think about. Shoot the bastard and start over again.

Target—hard - A tough target. A thirty year veteran of Israeli intelligence who has gone totally paranoid

[White Haven]

PRESS RELEASE - STRATFOR EMAILS: US HAS ISSUED SEALED INDICTMENT AGAINST JULIAN ASSANGE

Tuesday 28th February 2012 18:30 GMT

Confidential emails obtained from the US private intelligence firm Stratfor show that the United States Government has had a secret indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for more than 12 months.

Fred Burton, Stratfor’s Vice-President for Counterterrorism and Corporate Security, is a former Deputy Chief of the Department of State’s (DoS) counterterrorism division for the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).

In early 2011, Burton revealed in internal Stratfor correspondence that a secret Grand Jury had already issued a sealed indictment for Assange: "Not for Pub — We have a sealed indictment on Assange. Pls protect." (375123) According to Burton: "Assange is going to make a nice bride in prison. Screw the terrorist. He’ll be eating cat food forever." (1056988) A few weeks earlier, following Julian Assange’s release from a London jail, where he had been remanded as a result of a Swedish prosecutor’s arrest warrant, Fred Burton told SkyNews: "extradition [to the US is] more and more likely". (373862).

Emails from Fred Burton reveal that the US Government employs the same counterterrorism strategy against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as against Al Qaeda: "Take down the money. Go after his infrastructure. The tools we are using to nail and de-construct Wiki are the same tools used to dismantle and track aQ [Al Qaeda]. Thank Cheney & 43 [former US President George W. Bush]. Big Brother owns his liberal terrorist arse." (1067796)

Ten days after the CIA reportedly assassinated Osama bin Laden, Burton writes in an email sent to Stratfor’s "Secure" mailing list that he "can get access to the materials seized from the OBL [Osama bin Laden] safe house." (1660854)

Burton states: "Ferreting out [Julian Assange’s] confederates is also key. Find out what other disgruntled rogues inside the tent or outside [sic]. Pile on. Move him from country to country to face various charges for the next 25 years. But, seize everything he and his family own, to include every person linked to Wiki." (1056763)

Along with the FBI, the Diplomatic Security Service and the Department of Defense (DoD) form a multi-agency US Government outfit seeking to criminally indict and prosecute WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. According to the Department of State, the DSS handles the investigation of all leads that involve the DoS and assists the DoD in forensic analysis of hard drives seized by the US Government in its ongoing criminal investigation.

Burton also says he "would pursue [c]onspiracy and [p]olitical [t]errorism charges and declassify the death of a source someone which [he] could link to Wiki" (1074383). Burton’s strategy is to: "ankrupt the arsehole first," Burton states, "ruin his life. Give him 7-12 yrs for conspiracy." (1057220)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said: "For over a year now, the US Attorney General Eric Holder has been conducting a "secret" Grand Jury investigation into WikiLeaks. This neo-McCarthyist witch hunt against WikiLeaks may be Mr Holder’s defining legacy. Any student of American history knows that secret justice is no justice at all. Justice must be seen to be done. Legitimate authority arises out of the informed consent of the governed, not Eric Holder’s press secretary. Secret Grand Juries with secret indictments are apparently Eric Holder’s preferred method of dealing with publishers who hold his administration to account. Eric Holder has betrayed the legacy of Madison and Jefferson. He should drop the case or resign. Should he continue, however, the Obama administration may not — Democrats and Republicans alike believe in the right to tell the truth."

As early as June 2010, after the release of the Collateral Murder video but prior to the Afghan War Diaries release, the emails talk of a sealed indictment. In an email conversation between Shane Harris, a National Security journalist, and Burton, Harris is surprised that Assange was reporteded to be attending a Las Vegas Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) conference. Burton remarks: "As a foreign national, we could revoke [Julian Assange’s] travel status and deport. Could also be taken into custody as a material witness. We COULD have a sealed indictment and lock him up. Depends upon how far along the military case is" (391504). Julian Assange cancelled his appearance at the IRE conference due to security concerns.

In another email to Stephen Feldhaus, Stratfor legal counsel, about Ronald Kessler, a "pro-FBI journalist", Burton remarks: “I look forward to Manning and Assange facing a bajillion-thousand counts [of espionage]." (1035283)

In July 2010 alleged WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning was moved from Camp Arifjan, Kuwait to the Quantico Brig in the Military District of Washington at the request of Maj. Gen. Terry Wolff, then Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division/US Division – Center in Iraq.

Wolff requested Manning’s move, the Pentagon reported, "due to a potentially lengthy pre-trial confinement because of the complexity of the charges and an ongoing investigation.” Three days before Manning arrived at Quantico Brig, Burton wrote to George Friedman, Stratfor CEO and founder:

“We probably asked the ASIS [Australian Secret Intelligence Service] to monitor Wiki coms and email, after the soldier from Potomac was nabbed. So, it’s reasonable to assume we probably already know who has done it. The delay could be figuring out how to declassify and use the Aussie intel on Wiki... The owner [Julian Assange] is a peacenik. He needs his head dunked in a full toilet bowl at Gitmo.”

Fear the sock-puppet justice system. Seriously, if there's a case against a guy, make it, if there isn't, fuck off. Those are DoJ's ethical options, why does it seem so fucking hard for them to stick to them?

[Thanas]

Nice mindset there as well, not even trying to give a damn about that pesky torture problem.

[MKSheppard]

Found a great one

LINKY

On 12/15/11 10:30 AM, Marc Lanthemann wrote:

Source is an old friend from college who is now a major in IDF
intelligence. Had not seen one another in years. Very secretive of
what they do; seemed pretty suspicious about what exactly I was doing
in Israel. Nothing too groundbreaking, just some interesting
observations.

- When I used the term "Arab Spring" early on in our conversation, I
was reprimanded. "Don't call it the Arab Spring. We call it 'The
Upheaval' where I work." When I tried to explain that we typically
scoff at calling it the Arab Spring as well, I was cut off, so that I
could hear another lecture about how horrible Arabs were. Israelis
aren't the nicest people most of the time.

- Opsec at IDI (Israel Defense Intelligence) seems pretty extreme. If
you try to email this person, you don't hear back for a month, minimum
- usually even longer. Reason is because no websites that have
passwords are allowed at work. Emails for internal comms only.

- Source is in D.C. frequently for meetings with DIA. When I asked if
they are often trained by the Americans, the response was a smirk and,
"We like to think we don't need the Americans to train us." IDI,
source said, is "more creative" than American counterparts. The way
they work sounded similar in philosophy to STRATFOR, actually. For
example, there is a specific officer who is referred to as the
"Devil's advocate" at the IDI offices. This person is allowed to
challenge any random paper on any topic, produced by someone of any
rank. If a paper is written that says, hypothetically, that Bashar
will fall in three weeks, the Devil's advocate can then say, "Okay,
I'm challenging this assertion. Now, I want you to write the exact
opposite argument and play out the logic." Source did not deny that
they, too, can fall prey to groupthink like any other intelligence
body, but was a firm believe that this was a good way to avoid it.

- "Where are the moderates in the Muslim world?" That was the theme of
the conversation on source's end. If you listen to this person, you
come away with the notion that the Israelis seem extremely unnerved
about the future of the region, with the primary focus being on the
Iranian threat. (Again, this is not groundbreaking insight.)

- Source openly said that none of this shit would be happening right
now had Obama not abandoned Mubarak like he did. When I later
criticized Bush for shattering the balance of power in the PG, source
shot back, "Well what about Obama?" I said that Obama had maintained
the same FP as Bush, a claim with which the source agreed. And yet the
source loves Bush's policies and hates Obama's. Israelis are not a fan
of Barack.

- Because Obama abandoned Mubarak, source lamented the fact that Egypt
was no longer the leader of the Arab world. This does not mean source
believes the MB is on the verge of completely taking power in Egypt -
(I specifically asked if that was the belief the IDI holds) - but it
does mean that there is a steep drop in faith that the SCAF has
ability to maintain the status quo. Overall I found the message on
Egypt a bit confusing.

- Part of the reason that the message was confused message imo is
because the source openly admits that in the IDI, people have a
singular focus on the outside world. Like STRATFOR, they are largely
disconnected with domestic politics. So the Syria people identify with
Syria, the Hezbollah people will jokingly say stuff like, "I am in
Hezbollah" when you ask them their AOR, etc.

- The IDI is very much focused on the Shiite crest ranging from Iran
to Lebanon. Iran is the primary threat in the world today. Source was
heavily concerned with how Yemen plays into this as well; much moreso
than what we talk about. "AQAP is in control of south fucking Yemen,
for God's sake." Source says they jokingly refer to AQAP as "AQHP"
after the HP printer bombs that got seized on those DHL flights a few
years back.

- The IDI is operating on the assumption that Yemen will be completely
out of water in eight years. I asked if this was their own assessment
and source said, "No, it's public information. You can find it on
Wikipedia." I think it took about one second for the source to realize
retarded that sounded, citing Wikipedia when you're a major at the
IDI, and so immediately it was amended with, "there have been studies
published." Fear about Yemen running out of water is mass migrations
into KSA, which Iran could exploit.

- When I said that there were people in the Israeli
government/military/intel community who reads STRATFOR, source said,
"I can check on that for you." Thanks.

[Chirios]

So, basically, we've discovered that the Israeli intelligence is made up of paranoid maniacs? Good to know.

[madd0ct0r]

and that a shadowy intelligence agency that sels information is made up of not very nice people?

lets see the roaches scuttle in the sunlight.

[Zed]

Of relevance: "Stratfor Is a Joke and So Is Wikileaks for Taking It Seriously" http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... ly/253681/

[MKSheppard]

I wouldn't say they're a joke. Some of the emails are actually quite interesting.

The problem is Wikileaks is releasing all the stupid inane stuff dealing with interoffice chatter as well; like the jokes between STRATFOR analysts about what we really did with OBLs corpse -- it's really at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Bethesda, MD.

[MKSheppard]

So, basically, we've discovered that the Israeli intelligence is made up of paranoid maniacs? Good to know.

Actually, that was one of the decent emails -- a good amount of information, and I just absolutely loved the mental image of an Israeli Intelligence Analyst saying:

"Look it up on Wikipedia" and then correcting himself moments later with "Published studies".

[Chirios]

Of relevance: "Stratfor Is a Joke and So Is Wikileaks for Taking It Seriously" http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... ly/253681/

They aren't a joke. While he's right that their structure isn't that different to most newspaper organisations, their analysis of global geopolitics is generally better than the CNN crap you're likely to find elsewhere.

[Sea Skimmer]

Its also just a fact that most intelligence work is bread and butter kinds of stuff, especially for private sales when customers are likely more interested in what kinds of replacement widget cranks Upper Volta might want to buy for its air corps fuel browsers or whos' likely to get a new round of oil drilling leases in Nigeria then the complete technical readout of the latest J-YakMiG. But now and then folks like this might really get the table of contents for that readout after the head designer of J-YakMiG used to to blow coke in the same bathroom, and can make themselves very valuable in the process.

[Pelranius]

So, basically, we've discovered that the Israeli intelligence is made up of paranoid maniacs? Good to know.

Actually, that was one of the decent emails -- a good amount of information, and I just absolutely loved the mental image of an Israeli Intelligence Analyst saying:

"Look it up on Wikipedia" and then correcting himself moments later with "Published studies".

I wonder exactly how honest the sources are with Stratfor.

If I was IDI or the other guys, this would be a great way to spread misinformation to Stratfor via its clients, either for the lulz or in furtherance of some actual goal.

It'd be interesting to see the stuff on Taiwan and North Korea.

[Count Chocula]

Wait, what; Stratfor's a civilian intelligence agency, without the backing of any government, and makes the same kind of hilarious false conclusions as OFFICIAL intelligence agencies? Quelle suprise!

Gee, I wonder how Assange's crew laid their hands on 5+ million corporate e-mails? However they did it, I'm sure it was 100% legal and ethical [/sarcasm].

[Spoonist]

Uhm chuckie its in the op
Maybe you have heard about a fringe group called anonymous?

But you are totally wrong though since wl themselves got it perfectly legally through a link.

[Sarevok]

So, basically, we've discovered that the Israeli intelligence is made up of paranoid maniacs? Good to know.

Actually, that was one of the decent emails -- a good amount of information, and I just absolutely loved the mental image of an Israeli Intelligence Analyst saying:

"Look it up on Wikipedia" and then correcting himself moments later with "Published studies".

So Israeli Intelligence is not as good as what they would like their public image to be (way more competent than CIA) ?

[Pelranius]

Interesting. It seems that only one of the emails so far has explicitly mentioned China (the one regarding the Chinese apparently having trouble in Australia by insisting on bribing Australian mining companies, make of that what you will).