Pentagon intel leaker identified as Massachusetts guardsman

Pentagon intel leaker identified as Massachusetts guardsman. Some key takeaways about the contents of the leaks and their implications.

NATIONAL NEWS

Sometime in March, a large trove of classified Pentagon documents containing wide-ranging intelligence on both US allies and foes appeared in a chat group on Discord, a discussion server popular with online gamers. Despite the gravity of this leak, it went undiscovered for weeks until it began appearing on Twitter and Telegram, a social media app popular in both Russia and the Ukraine.

Though some questioned whether some of the information was correct, Pentagon sources were quick to identify the documents as authentic. Not only were they authentic, the documents were from high-level intelligence briefings for senior Pentagon figures.

The hunt was then on for the leaker, and that hunt now appears to be over. After members of the Discord server came forward anonymously, speaking to the Washington post, the FBI has now arrested Jack Teixeira, 21, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

Teixeira told other members of the Discord that he was a technology support staffer at a base on Cape Cod. This position apparently gave him access to classified documents, according to another member of the Discord.

How serious is this leak?

Very. The information contained in the link is already having serious repercussions worldwide. Much of the actual information was tactical and becomes less sensitive with time. However, the documents revealed how some of this intelligence was gathered. This could severely compromise US intelligence methods and possibly endanger some human intelligence assets. Some of the most sensitive information came from signals intelligence (or “sigint”), whose methods include e-mail hacking and wiretapping. As such, the damage done to our intelligence gathering network, at least in the short term, is almost incalculable.

The leak has also caused diplomatic uproars even among some American allies, since it revealed the extent of spying even on friendly nations, such as Israel, South Korea and Ukraine. In reality, most of our “friends” abroad are probably spying on us at every opportunity as well. But the revelation that an enlisted man was able to access and then disseminate this information online is sure to deal a serious blow to our allies’ confidence in our commitment to safeguarding their secrets once we have them.

What was in the leaks?

There’s simply too much cover exhaustively here, but here are some highlights.

Russia-Ukraine war:

The leaks exposed infighting between different factions in Russia’s military leadership. There’s already been a great deal of coverage in various columns speculating about what appears to be a three-way power struggle between Russia’s Defense Ministry, the FSB (the successor organization to the KGB) and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the billionaire owner of the mercenary Wagner group. The leaks obtained from FSB communications and internal memos from the Defense Ministry suggest there is some truth in these stories.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the leaks gave minute detail on the movements of troops, armaments and other Ukrainian assets ahead of a planned offensive. The Ukrainians have already had to adjust their battle plans after the leak. The leaks also revealed Ukraine’s missile shortages, as well as a less-than-flattering Pentagon assessments of what the Ukrainians will be able to achieve with this offensive.

Potentially the most consequential revelation was the presence of active Western special forces operating in Ukraine. Specifically, the documents indicate there are about 50 special forces members from the UK, 17 from Latvia, 15 from France, 14 from the US and one from the Netherlands. The document did not reveal their locations or what they were doing. However, it lends weight to Russian accusations that NATO forces are directly involving themselves in the war.

Spying on allies

The leaks exposed US efforts to keep tabs on allies and their stance on supporting Ukraine. For example, leaks from South Korea’s Presidential Office detailed misgivings about sending arms to Ukraine. Another leak of intercepted communications show Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi plotting to secretly produce and transfer 40,000 missiles to Russia, possibly in return for Russia increasing grain shipments to Egypt.

Signals intelligence from Israel also detailed negotiations between Israel and the US to send arms to Ukraine. More explosively, there were indications that the leadership of Mossad, Israel’s Secret Service, was encouraging members of the military to join protests against Israel’s government over proposed judicial reforms.

In addition, the documents exposed an intensive effort by the US to spy on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The leak contained detailed communications between Guterres and his deputy. The assessment criticized Guterres’ willingness to give into Russian demands in order to negotiate a deal to allow grain exports from Ukraine.

China and Russia growing influence abroad

The documents outline growing anxiety within the Pentagon about China’s and Russia’s growing influence in the developing world, particularly in Africa and Latin America.

In many cases, these relationships are flowering in countries who feel neglected in one way or another by the West in general or the US in particular. For example, the Wagner mercenary group is apparently in negotiations to send fighters to combat criminal gangs which have overtaken Haiti. Haiti’s President Ariel Henry has sought help from the US and UN to restore order in the country, but that help has not been forthcoming.

The leak also provides a snapshot of US monitoring of Chinese military advancements. Of particular note is a February test flight of a hypersonic missile, which the Pentagon assessed as a “high probability” of penetrating US missile defenses.

Is Teixeira a leaker or a whistleblower?

We already know a good deal about Jack Teixeira, but more information is sure to come out in the next several days. Teixeira was a leader within the Discord group “Thug Shaker Central” for players of the popular online game Minecraft. The group – including about two dozen young men and teenaged boys – was “united by their mutual love of guns, military gear and God,” according to The Washington Post.

Thug Shaker Central “was not especially geopolitical in nature, although its users had a staunchly conservative stance on several issues”, according to Aric Toler of the investigative group Bellingcat. “Racial slurs and racist memes were shared widely,” Toler said.

Teixeira didn’t seem to have any desire for the leaks to spread beyond the members of the invitation-only group. Ironically, Teixeira reportedly felt “betrayed” by the other group members when the documents began appearing in other forums like 4chan, Twitter and Telegram.

Given his ideological stance and the apparent lack of any consideration of whether these leaks were in the public interest, Teixeira is also unlikely to garner much sympathy even from those who defend Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning or Julian Assange as whistleblowers. Teixeira’s leaks seem more like a case of adolescent “shit-posting” gone too far.

Another black eye for the Pentagon and US intelligence

Whatever Teixeira’s intentions, his actions have so thoroughly embarrassed the Pentagon that he’ll find little mercy in a court of military justice. Teixeira will be charged with the unauthorized removal of classified national defense information. If he’s charged individually for each of the several leaks, he’s facing decades in prison.

The fact that Teixeira was able to share these highly sensitive documents for months without anyone noticing is worrisome. It begs the question of how common and widespread a problem this might be. Hopefully, this will raise questions about the wisdom of allowing a young, immature enlisted man unfettered access to highly classified documents with no oversight. It’s more than a little ironic that Pentagon intelligence is so adept at intercepting the private communications of foreign dignitaries but apparently took no interest in monitoring the online activities of its own personnel.

Pentagon intel leaker identified as Massachusetts guardsman – National & International News – THU 13Apr2023

NATIONAL NEWS