“The system does not work,” one source who is sympathetic to the Amyntor efforts told BuzzFeed News. Those familiar with the proposals say one of the driving impulses for privatizing some missions is a fear by some supporters of President Donald Trump, outside government, that the CIA bureaucracy has an anti-Trump bias that would thwart efforts to fulfill the president’s objectives. He said in one speech that the administration “is prepared to engage in activities that are different from what America has been doing these past few years.” McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, and other officials were not aware of the proposals.ĬIA Director Mike Pompeo has publicly promised that the agency would become “much more vicious” and aggressive. “The idea they are pitching is absurd on its face,” he said, “and it is not going anywhere.”Ī spokesperson for the National Security Council said that Army Lt. The CIA declined to comment, but a US government official downplayed the proposals' significance.
TRUMP CONSIDERING SPY NETWORK MOVIE
The proposals sound like a convoluted movie plot, but two of the sources familiar with the project say discussions have been held recently with top national security officials. They say that the people involved have the information and capabilities to snatch the two suspects and transport them to the US or a third country. People involved in the highly unusual project have asked BuzzFeed News not to name the country or the targets because of concerns about the safety of operatives who, they say, are on the ground. In keeping with that proposal, people close to the company are tracking two specific suspects in a Middle Eastern country, the sources said, for possible “rendition” to the United States.Ī source speaking on behalf of the company stressed that while Amyntor officials are aware of and involved in the rendition plan, the company itself would not be involved. Amyntor’s officials and employees include veterans of a variety of US covert operations, ranging from the Reagan-era Iran–Contra affair to more recent actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.Īmyntor declined to discuss the proposals, but a lawyer for the company said in a statement to BuzzFeed News that the type of contract being contemplated would be legal “with direction and control by the proper government authority.”Īnother proposal presented to US officials would allow individuals affiliated with the company to help capture wanted terrorists on behalf of the United States. One of the proposals would involve hiring a private company, Amyntor Group, for millions of dollars to set up a large intelligence network and run counterterrorist propaganda efforts, according to the sources. Meanwhile, CNN reported that US intelligence had corroborated parts of a 35-page dossier that former MI6 spy Christopher Steele had created on Mr Trump’s background.WASHINGTON - The White House and CIA have been considering a package of secret proposals to allow former US intelligence officers to run privatized covert actions, intelligence gathering, and propaganda missions, according to three sources who’ve been briefed on or have direct knowledge of the proposals. “It is evident that the pressure on the new administration on the part of political opponents within the United States continues,” she said. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, put out a cryptic statement in response to the report, saying that Russia was still formulating its policy towards the US and that Mr Trump’s efforts were being hampered by domestic political opponents. “I am confident that President Putin is creative enough to find a way within his own legal system to deport Snowden,” said Mr Morrell. Russia does not have an extradition treaty with the US so it is not clear what mechanism would be used to hand Mr Snowden over, though the two countries have exchanged prisoners and spies in the past. He first arrived in Russia in June 2013 after fleeing from Hong Kong. Mr Snowden is technically a guest of the Russian government and in January a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry said he would be allowed to stay for “a couple more years”.
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