Category: Uncategorized
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The First Soviet Penetrations of the CIA?
by Kevin Riehle Who was the first Soviet intelligence penetration of the CIA? Kim Philby was the SIS liaison to the U.S. Intelligence Community during his tour in Washington from 1949 to 1951. However, although he had better access to the U.S. intelligence than most foreigners, he never had employee…
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Signals, Sabotage, and Strategic Collapse: Intelligence and Ambiguity in the Iran-Israel Conflict
The Israeli-Iran war remains in an extremely dangerous phase. Deterrence has collapsed. Although the Israelis have said they expect a two-week campaign, there is no obvious end in sight. Now, Iran’s leadership is openly signalling a formal break with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The situation is volatile and could still…
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Upcoming BCISS conference: Knock in the Night
26-27 June (online) The Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies (BCISS) is hosting a two-day, online conference: Knock in the Night: Intelligence, Security andSpecial Services in Authoritarian States. The conference will address the activities, role and functioning of intelligence and security organisations in autocratic regimes. Panelists will also address…
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Supply Chains and Sabotage
Dr. Neveen Abdalla In recent weeks, colleagues in the Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies have noticed a recurrent, troubling theme in the news: fires or explosions have been (ahem) “accidentally” breaking out at defence-related factories in Western countries. Over a short period, these seemingly sporadic incidents have appeared…
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Russia Is Already at War with NATO, Whether NATO Believes it or Not
Dr Kevin Riehle Since the beginning of 2024, NATO military leaders have stated in multiple forums that NATO countries need to prepare for future war with Russia. Those statements have created anxiety and met political and societal resistance. Populations and politicians in NATO countries are loath to accept the need…
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Back in Black: the Return of Sabotage As A Challenge for Western Counterintelligence
Professor Philip H. J. Davies On 10 June, 1978 a 31-year-old Red Army captain defected to the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, aka ‘MI6’) in Geneva. Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun was an officer in the GRU (Glavnoye Upravlenoye Razvedivatelnie), Russian defence intelligence, who would later write a succession of nominally factual…
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Did Vladimir Putin Kill Aleksei Navalny?
By Dr. Kevin Riehle The predominant theme in the West since Aleksei Navalny’s death on 16 February 2024 is that Vladimir Putin killed him. His wife, who is understandably grieved and angry, has led that narrative. But is it possible that there is an alternative analysis? Maybe by persisting in…
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The Strange Case of the Bulgarian Not-Quite-Illegals
Dr Kevin Riehle and Professor Philip H J Davies In September 2023, five Bulgarians—Orlin Rusev, Vanya Gaberova, Ivan Stoyanov, and Bizer Dzhambazov and Katrin Ivanova as a couple—appeared in a British court charged with ‘conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy’, in other…
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Requirements and Priorities: an under-examined mechanism
Literature on intelligence tends to acknowledge the requirements and priorities (R&P) process in passing, but rarely is explored in depth— at best, it is granted a few pages in larger volumes. However, this mechanism, which exists at the nexus of the intelligence and policy communities, has a significant impact on…
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