#intelligence chief

Tulsi Gabbard, once a high-profile figure within the Democratic Party, has undergone significant political transformation in recent years, culminating in her endorsement of Donald Trump for his 2024 presidential run and subsequently being appointed as the Director of National Intelligence by President-elect Trump. Here’s a feature on her recent activities and political shifts: Gabbard:…

BELGRADE: Serbia‘s new government will include a former intelligence chief who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States, the prime minister- designate said Tuesday. Aleksandar Vulin will serve as one of several vice-premiers, said Milos Vucevic as he announced the composition of his future cabinet that is expected to be voted into office in the coming days in…

Twenty persons are confirmed dead in an attack targeting the Kabul office of the Afghan president's running mate and former chief of the intelligence service.

Twenty persons are confirmed dead in an attack targeting the Kabul office of the Afghan president’s running mate and former chief of the intelligence service.

Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi says at least 50 other persons were wounded in the attack against the green trend party headquarters the previous day in the Afghan capital.

He added that several gunmen were killed by security…

ANKARA, Turkey | Sen Graham: Syria withdrawal without plan can lead to chaos

ANKARA, Turkey —Jan 19, 2019—Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says a U.S. withdrawal from Syria without a plan would lead to chaos and an “Iraq on steroids.”

Graham spoke to reporters in the Turkish capital Ankara on Saturday, a day after meeting with Turkish officials. The senator says: “The goal of destroying ISIS is not yet accomplished.”

Turkish and U.S. defense chiefs were working on a plan to…

AFRICANGLOBE – Ethiopia’s former deputy intelligence chief was arrested, Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye said, the latest move targeting security officials for human rights abuses and corruption. 

New Post has been published on https://www.stl.news/berlin-merkel-partners-call-for-removal-of-german-spy-chief/169765/

BERLIN | Merkel partners call for removal of German spy chief

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s junior coalition partners demanded the removal of Germany’s domestic intelligence chief on Thursday following his much-criticized comments about recent far-right protests in the eastern city of Chemnitz.

Hans-Georg Maassen‘s future as the head of the BfV intelligence agency has created new strains in Merkel’s six-month-old coalition.

The center-left Social Democrats, the junior governing party, called for him to go after Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told parliament Maassen still has his confidence.

Merkel, Seehofer and Social Democrat leader Andrea Nahles were meeting at the chancellery Thursday afternoon to discuss the spat, which comes only 2½ months after a crisis over migration policy that briefly threatened the coalition.

The killing late last month of a German man, for which an Iraqi and a Syrian have been arrested, prompted days of anti-migrant protests in Chemnitz that at times turned violent.

In comments to the mass-circulation Bild daily last week, Maassen questioned the authenticity of a video showing protesters chasing down and attacking a foreigner. He also said his agency had no reliable evidence that foreigners were “hunted” in the streets — a term Merkel had used.

Maassen told Seehofer, his immediate boss, about his doubts before going public but didn’t inform the chancellery. Although they are conservative allies, Seehofer and Merkel have sparred on and off about migrant policy for three years. A dispute between the pair in June briefly threatened to bring down the government.

On Wednesday evening, Maassen was grilled by two parliamentary committees.

“He explained comprehensively, and from my point of view convincingly, the way he acted,” Seehofer told lawmakers. Maassen debunked “conspiracy theories” and “convincingly took a stance against right-wing radicalism,” he added.

Merkel doesn’t appear keen to make an issue of Maassen’s remarks, telling parliament Wednesday that a discussion about semantics isn’t helpful. But the Social Democrats, who are struggling in polls, said Seehofer’s decision to keep Maassen in place couldn’t be the last word.

Senior lawmaker Eva Hoegl told lawmakers that the security services must enjoy “our unrestricted confidence, and if there is even the slightest doubt about that, there is a problem — so we should act differently here.” She and others said Maassen had failed to restore confidence in his leadership.

The party’s general secretary, Lars Klingbeil, later increased the pressure, writing on Twitter that “for the Social Democrats’ leadership, it is completely clear that Maassen must go. Merkel must act now.”

The head of the Social Democrats’ youth wing, who fought unsuccessfully earlier this year to keep the party out of Merkel’s government, suggested that it should quit the coalition if Maassen is kept on.

But Hoegl told Deutschlandfunk radio that “the Social Democrats are, of course, not going to leave the coalition over Mr. Maassen.”

The coalition, which took office in March, so far has been remarkable mostly for squabbling.

The three parties in it all performed badly in last year’s election, which also saw the far-right Alternative for Germany enter parliament. And Seehofer’s Christian Social Union party faces a tough test in a Bavarian state election in mid-October.

Burundi failed coup leader named as rebel chief

General Godefroid Niyombare

Burundian rebels named a fugitive ex-general who fled after leading a failed coup bid last May as their leader on Thursday, hours before UN Security Council ambassadors were expected in Bujumbura.

Ex-general Godefroid Niyombare, a former intelligence chief, is the leader of the Forebu rebels, said spokesperson Edward Nibigira, himself a former senior police general.

US Spy Chief’s ‘Highly Unusual’ Reported Contact With Military Official Raises Concerns

James Clapper testifies about ‘worldwide cyber threats’ during a hearing on Thursday in Washington. (photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

  Spencer Ackerman | Guardian UK | Reader Supported News | September 11, 2015

  James Clapper said to have frequent communication with military official who is said to be implicated in a Pentagon inquiry into manipulated intelligence

  arack Obama’s…