London : Former CIA officials described the accusations against New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez as similar to an Egyptian recruitment operation for a security source.
One said: “Reading the indictments, it certainly sounds like the Egyptian government was using classic recruitment tactics to get Menendez and his wife to spy for them.”
In a report published by The Intercept website, prepared by Ken Kilberstein and Daniel Bogslow, they said that the American media coverage of the corruption case in which the embattled senator was accused focused on the gold bullion and bundles of money found in his clothes, and the caricatured elements of the accusations announced by the US Department of Justice. However, national security experts see a security dimension in the accusations. The indictment’s reference to Egyptian intelligence, and Menendez’s disclosure of “very sensitive” information and “information not for public use” suggest more than a corruption plan, and there is even a security element in the charges. The process of Egypt obtaining information is similar to the traditional recruitment method, which is an intelligence operation aimed at recruiting assets, according to statements by four former CIA officers.
According to the charges, Menendez, the influential head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, was sometimes asked to provide information to a businessman, which he in turn passed on to Egyptian officials. One of the most sensitive pieces of information that Menendez is accused of sharing concerns employees of the American Embassy in Cairo. John Seaver, a retired CIA officer and non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, comments that “the request may be a step that examines his willingness to break rules and laws, and necessarily provide assistance to Egyptian intelligence in harmful and secret ways.” He added, “Menendez’s sharing of information about the embassy’s employees is worrying, on several levels: it helps Egyptian intelligence, which monitors the embassy, and suggests, and this is most important, that they dealt with Menendez as a source.”
The newspaper: National security experts see a security dimension in the accusations. The indictment’s reference to Egyptian intelligence, and Menendez’s disclosure of “very sensitive” information and “information not for public use” suggest more than a corruption plan.
Michael Van Landegham, a former CIA analyst, said that the list of charges shows an Egyptian attempt to recruit Menendez and his wife to spy for them. The former officials' comments came amid local reports in New York that the FBI's counterintelligence branch had opened an investigation, and Menendez denied the charges against him.
Frank Figluisi, a former FBI counterintelligence assistant, said: “Menendez’s chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs Committee makes him the target of foreign intelligence services that want him to make decisions that benefit them, including military equipment, material decisions, and financing.” “All of this has to be looked at from a counterintelligence perspective,” he told ABC. The FBI did not respond for comment.
Because spies work under diplomatic cover, the recruitment process usually succeeds, according to former intelligence officials. The request usually starts with something small, non-public, but not necessarily confidential. This is a way to discover a “response to the assignment” or a willingness to collect security information on their behalf. When the requisition is verified, a series of pushes follow in certain areas, or Bribes, which reinforce the illicit relationship, can be used for blackmail.
The indictment describes Menendez's meeting with Egyptian businessman Wael HannaA day later, he asked the US State Department for non-public information about the number of employees at the US Embassy in Cairo. This information was transferred, according to the charge sheet, to an “Egyptian government official.” In another case, Menendez's wife, Nadine, who was his girlfriend, passed information to the senator at the request of Egyptian government officials. Through Hanna, Menendez provided information to Egyptian security and military officials, under the pretext of increasing food aid to Egypt. Although it is neither public nor secret, the disclosure of embassy workers was deemed in the indictment to be serious enough to jeopardize the staff's operations and expose them to a foreign government. Without the knowledge of his personal staff on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, which he chaired, or the State Department, Menendez provided a list of embassy employees to Nadine, who passed it on to Hanna, who forwarded it to Egyptian officials.
Ben Raddos, a former senior aide to Barack Obama, said that as chairman of the committee, Menendez knew “you should never share non-public information about a sensitive matter like the staff of the US Embassy in Cairo.”
The FBI is trying to confirm whether the Egyptian government played a role in the bribes offered to Menendez, and Hanna is accused of it. Hanna's lawyer, Larry Lastberg, denied his client's relationship with Egyptian intelligence, and confirmed that Hanna, Nadine, and Menendez have been friends for years.
Schuman: Recruitment attempts abroad are well-known, which is why members of Congress and their staff are surrounded by counterintelligence briefings
The former security officials who spoke to the site said that the accusations contained in the list resemble a traditional agent recruitment process. “As an analyst, when you receive a report about a human source, you attach a statement about the source, and evaluate their location, credibility, ability to access information, respond to assignment, and their record,” Van Landingham said.
James Lawler, a former agent who specializes in recruiting former spies, described the indictment in the same way, and that it resembled recruitment operations: “As an officer in charge of a file, I strive to look for a strong relationship with the potential spy in the future,” and “But we are talking about a committee official.” Foreign Relations in the Senate, and we are talking about the executor, and if I were an intelligence officer, I would be happy, and I look forward to being promoted.” “This way you gain credit.”
Recruitment attempts abroad are well-known, which is why members of Congress and their staff are briefed on counterintelligence, said Daniel Schuman, policy director at Demand Progress. According to the list, Menendez once attempted to travel to Egypt unofficially, without the knowledge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This trip is considered a violation of Senate security rules.
The Guardian: African migrants thrown by Tunisia in the desert of Algeria and Tunisia reveal their suffering
London : The Guardian newspaper published an investigation by its correspondent Lorenzo Tondo about the conditions of migrants , and the forcing of those coming from Sahel and Sahara African countries to return to the desert without food, drink, or medical care.
In his report, which he prepared from the coastal city of Sfax, Tondo said that human rights organizations are urging Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, to take a tough stance on the accusations that Tunisian authorities pushed migrants into the desert, sometimes with fatal results.
The call comes as Brussels prepares a financial aid package for Tunisia, within an agreement of one billion euros.
Nigerian refugee: They pushed me into the desert, three times. Tunisian border guards beat us and stole our money and phones. We had no water in the desert, and I had to drink my urine to survive.
According to an official with an intergovernmental organization, Tunisian authorities have returned more than 4,000 migrants to military buffer zones on its borders with Libya and Algeria. “About 1,200 were pushed to the border with Libya in the first week of July,” he said, adding that the organization learned of the death of seven people from thirst at the end of August. However, an employee who works with a non-governmental organization and with refugees estimated the number between 50-70 people. The Guardian was unable to verify the authenticity of the number independently.
The newspaper comments that the new claim contradicts the picture drawn last month by Interior Minister Kamal El-Feki, who acknowledged that those sent were “a small group of between 6 and 12,” and denied any ill-treatment and “mass deportation.” The newspaper added that the recent allegations may increase pressure on European legislators, and raise concerns about human rights with the Tunisian authorities, at a time when there is a push towards implementing an agreement to reduce irregular migration.
There is growing opposition to the agreement , with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock saying last week that human rights and the rule of law were not given “appropriate consideration.”
In a series of interviews that the author conducted with 50 migrants in Sfax, Zarzis, Medenine, and the capital, Tunis, the majority of the migrants confirmed that they were forced to return to the desert at the end of June and July.
Nigerian refugee Salma (28 years old) said: “At the beginning of July, the Tunisian police arrested us in Sfax,” and “some police took me and my son and pushed us into the Libyan desert.” Other border guards arrested my husband, and I do not know what happened to him, and I have not heard from him since that time, and because they were pushing us, I lost my phone.”
University professor: At first, Tunisia rejected the reports of forced returns, but little by little it admitted that migrants were stuck on the Libyan-Tunisian border. The question is who put them there!
Refugee Michael (38 years old) from Benin City, Nigeria, said: “They pushed me into the desert three times, the last of which was at the end of July. Tunisian border guards beat us and stole our money and phones. We had no water in the desert, and I had to drink my urine.” To survive.”
The Guardian spoke with Patton Karbini, the Cameroonian whose wife, daughter Fati Dosso, and daughter Mary (6 years old) died in the desert in mid-July. He said: “I should have been there in their place,” and who was sent to the Libyan desert.
While Libya was the focus of these activities, the poorly monitored border with Algeria led to refugees being pushed into a wide buffer zone, reports say. In an interview the newspaper conducted with 15 people who were forced to return to the border with Algeria. Djibril Thabetiti (22 years old) from Senegal said: “They arrested me in Tunisia, and took me to Kasserine, near the border with Algeria.” “They left us several kilometers from the border, and then ordered us to climb a hill.” On the other side was Algeria. The problem is that the Algerian guards pushed us into Tunisia, and the Tunisians are doing the same thing, and people are dying there.”
Reports of Tunisian authorities pushing migrants towards the Libyan desert began in July, when pictures appeared on social media platforms indicating that asylum seekers were dying of thirst and extreme heat after the Tunisian authorities had deported them.
The Tunisian government subsequently faced sharp criticism as a result of the accusations, but denied any violations.
Hassan Boubakri, professor of geography and migration at the universities of Sfax and Sousse, said:
“At first, Tunisia rejected the reports of forced returns,” but “little by little it admitted that some migrants from the Sahara countries were stuck on the Libyan-Tunisian border.” The question is, who put them there? “The Tunisian authorities are the ones who did.”
According to statistics from the Italian Ministry of the Interior, most of the 78,000 people who crossed the Mediterranean to Italy since the beginning of the year came from North Africa, which is double the number recorded in 2022.
A “strategic partnership” was signed with Tunisia in July, after weeks of negotiations in which a pledge was made to send money to the state in North Africa to confront smugglers, tighten border controls, and support Tunisia’s faltering economy.
European Union spokeswoman Anna Pisonero announced that the first tranche of 127 million euros will be paid in the coming weeks.