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Mint
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
Why countries are suddenly broadcasting their spies' exploits
Israel's airstrikes on Iran exploded across the world's screens as a public display of military firepower. Underpinning that was a less visible but equally vital Israeli covert operation that pinpointed targets, guided the attacks and struck Iran from within. Agents from Israel's spy agency, Mossad, operated inside Iran before and during the initial attacks earlier this month, Israeli officials said. The disclosure was itself an act of psychological warfare—a boast of Israel's ability to act with impunity inside Iran's borders and Tehran's failure to stop it. Israel flaunted its tactical success by releasing grainy video emblazoned with Mossad's seal that it said showed operatives and drone strikes inside Iran. Not long ago, such covert operations stayed secret. Today, belligerents from Ukraine to the U.S. increasingly broadcast their triumphs, with messages amplified in real time by social-media networks. When T.E. Lawrence wanted to publicize his World War I secret forays deep into Ottoman territory, he wrote a book and articles. Nobody saw those commando raids for half a century until the blockbuster film 'Lawrence of Arabia" recreated his exploits. T.E. Lawrence played a clandestine role in the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule during World War I. These days, barely hours pass before the world sees action footage of Ukraine's latest drone attacks on Russian military targets. Israel's detonation of explosives hidden inside Hezbollah militants' pagers played out in almost real time across the internet. The U.S. repeatedly fed social media the details—and sometimes imagery—of its special-operations strikes on Islamic State leaders in recent years. The result is a major shift in warfare: Call it the battle of timelines. Spying and clandestine operations, in the traditional sense, have never been so difficult. Biometric data makes document forgery obsolete. Billions of cameras, attached to phones, rearview mirrors and doorbells, stand ready to capture the movements of any operative hoping to lurk invisibly. In seconds, artificial intelligence can rifle through millions of photos to identify the faces of foreign spies operating in the wild. Instead, fighting in Ukraine and the Middle East is bringing a new doctrine to spycraft stemming from changes in both what their organizers seek to achieve and how information spreads. Operations that would have once been designed to remain under wraps are now meant to be seen, to produce spectacular optics. They play out not just on the battlefield, but also on social media, boosting morale at home while demoralizing the enemy watching from the other side of the screen. 'A major goal of covert operations is often to show an adversary's leadership that we have identified and can damage elements involved in lethal activity," said Norman Roule, a former senior U.S. intelligence officer. 'Demonstrating this capability is hoped to act as a deterrent and even to encourage an adversary to seek diplomatic solutions." Such operations aren't done lightly, because they are dangerous and risk exposure of sensitive sources and methods that once compromised can't be used in the future, he added. 'You don't waste such critical capabilities for a cheap political win," Roule said. 'That said, in addition to the operational impact, you can exploit such operations for propaganda, psychological impact or diplomatic gain." Covert operations once remained secret long after they wrapped up, or they were revealed by chance. Allied World War II code-breaking efforts stayed largely unknown for three decades. Countless Cold War-era espionage operations gained public attention only after the Soviet Union collapsed. Central Intelligence Agency efforts to raise a sunken Soviet submarine went public accidentally, following an office burglary in Los Angeles. Exploits dubbed black ops—because the operations stay in the dark—traditionally fed into a quiet game of signaling and deception. One reason the release of the Pentagon Papers alarmed the White House in 1971 was that some information in them could have only come from a U.S. bug planted in Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev's car, former President Richard Nixon said in 1984. Fast forward to 2021, when President Joe Biden took the exceptional step of going public with highly sensitive intelligence about Moscow's plans to attack Ukraine. The pre-emptive disclosure of hard-won secrets didn't stop the invasion, but it did restore allies' perception of the U.S.—and American spycraft—which had been tarnished by the warnings of weapons of mass destruction that led to the Iraq War. These days, secrecy is often beside the point. Almost weekly, Ukrainian drone attacks deep in Russia's interior play out to the same script: An ordinary bystander whips out a phone to capture the flicker of a Ukrainian drone against the night sky, seconds before it reduces some strategic target—an oil refinery, an air base or a rail depot—into a fiery ball. Soon, the footage circulates on social media. In come amateur war analysts posting commercial satellite photos of the damage, followed by declarations of responsibility from the Ukrainian special services eager to demonstrate their capabilities to ordinary Russians scrolling at home. 'Ukraine does an excellent job in planning out these operations, and they know that in this day and age every attack is going to be filmed," said Samuel Bendett, a Russian-studies adviser at the Center for Naval Analyses in Arlington, Va., a federally funded nonprofit research organization. 'They're trying to design their attacks so that more and more Russians are aware of the war and are impacted by the war." Kyiv feels obliged to wage a public propaganda war against Moscow because it isn't winning the shooting war. Israel goes public with results of its espionage and covert operations against Iran and its proxies to convince foreign governments and populations that Tehran is both dangerous and vulnerable. The communication war is raging in an information free-for-all. Governments and elites that until the middle of the 20th century controlled their information environment are today trying just to navigate it, said Ofer Fridman, a former Israeli officer and a scholar of war studies at King's College London. 'Now they're struggling to communicate with their target audience through overwhelming noise," he said. Compounding that is the digitization of almost all information—both new memos and dusty archives—meaning that no event is guaranteed to remain secret from hackers or publicity-minded politicians with access to files. The impact of data leakers including the National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and the National Guard airman Jack Teixeira weighs heavily on intelligence officials. Russia is still adjusting to this new form of warfare. The country has made filming or posting sensitive details about military attacks a crime in its front-line regions, punishable by fines. Not even the country's police and special services have been able to discourage civilians who, almost by instinct, take out their phones when Ukrainian saboteurs strike. Soldiers on the front lines, disobeying their own codes of conduct, regularly capture battlefield operations. For its part, Russia has made minimal effort to cover its own tracks in its barely disguised spree of covert operations in Europe. The GRU, the Russian military-intelligence organization, has repeatedly hired European civilians over social media, paying them to burn down a shopping mall in Warsaw, or an IKEA in Lithuania, according to Western officials. When a Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine was shot dead in Spain last year, Russia's spy chiefs didn't deny involvement—they all but boasted of it. 'This traitor and criminal became a moral corpse at the very moment he was planning his dirty and terrible crime," Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, told state media. Write to Daniel Michaels at and Drew Hinshaw at
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Veterans retrace Lawrence of Arabia's epic 700-mile trek across Middle East
It was a journey immortalised by Peter O'Toole in the epic 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia – and now four military veterans have become the first people to recreate T E Lawrence's 700-mile (1,126km) trek across the sands of the Middle East. Howard Leedham, James Calder, Craig Ross and Martin Thompson spent 25 days on camelback crossing the Nafud desert in Saudi Arabia to mark 90 years since Lawrence's death. The four men, who served in the British special forces, endured 37C heat, sandstorms and sheer cliffs on the trek from Al Wajh in Saudi Arabia to the Aqaba in Jordan. They collected sand from four significant areas on the journey to spread on Lawrence's grave in Moreton, Dorset. Lawrence was a First World War hero who led the Arab Revolt against German-supporting Turkey. In 1916 he swept across the desert to Jordan and rewrote the map of the Middle East. His remarkable feat was described in his autobiographical account Seven Pillars of Wisdom and the classic film Lawrence of Arabia. The Lawrence Tribute Trek last month was the brainchild of former SBS marine Mr Leedham. He put out a 'Shackleton-style' advert on social media for special forces veterans, asking for volunteers for the expedition. He received 40 replies and picked Calder, Ross and Thompson, none of whom had ridden a camel before, to come with him. After a 10-day camel-riding course, the team set out on Jan 14. They completed about 30 miles a day on two single-humped camels each alongside a team of medics, cooks and a Bedouin, who looked after the camels. They travelled for eight hours a day in intense heat, which dropped to below freezing at night. Along the way, they took sand samples from Fajer, Al Jawari, Bayir and Aqaba – notable stops on Lawrence's journey. The group were given police camels as a gift upon crossing the Jordanian border, which are much quicker. On the penultimate day, the group, with 40 locals, re-enacted Lawrence's attack on an Ottoman train that was transporting friends and family who had travelled to celebrate the end of their journey. The staff on the train were aware of the attack, but the tourists were 'somewhat startled'. Upon arrival in Aqaba on Feb 7, they were honoured by King Abdullah II of Jordan with ceremonial displays, traditional music and a grand parade. So far the group has raised £430,000 for the Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund and hopes to reach its target of £500,000 before a ceremony at Lawrence's grave in May. The group will meet members of the Lawrence Society to spread the sand on his grave on May 19 – 90 years after Lawrence died in a motorbike accident. Mr Leedham, from London, said: 'I think a lot of military guys have some sort of admiration or fascination with Lawrence's story. What he achieved was certainly ahead of his time. The tactics he used have been copied ever since. 'I came up with the idea last May with some friends in the pub, probably over a couple of glasses of red. 'Riding a camel is completely different to riding a horse. There are lots of different saddles and [it] requires a lot of core strength. 'We did have to add a bit onto the journey to find the right place to cross the border from Saudi Arabia to Jordan but we quickly linked back up with the route.' The trek was named the Nasir, Bekri, Tayi and Lawrence Tribute Trek, after the Arab leaders of the original expedition – Sherif Nasir, Auda abu Tayi and Nesib el-Bekri. It took the original group over two months to complete the route. The Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund gives funding to ex-special forces soldiers who are suffering personal struggles later in life. Lawrence was killed in a motorcycle accident near his home at Bovington, Dorset in 1935. He is buried in the graveyard of St Nicholas Church in Moreton. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
13-02-2025
- Telegraph
Veterans retrace Lawrence of Arabia's epic 700-mile trek across Middle East
It was a journey immortalised by Peter O'Toole in the epic 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia – and now four military veterans have become the first people to recreate T.E. Lawrence's 700-mile (1,126km) trek across the sands of the Middle East. Howard Leedham, James Calder, Craig Ross and Martin Thompson spent 25 days on camelback crossing the Nafud desert in Saudi Arabia to mark 90 years since Lawrence's death. The four men, who served in the British Special Forces, endured 37C heat, sandstorms and sheer cliffs on the trek from Al Wajh in Saudi Arabia to the Aqaba in Jordan. They collected sand from four significant areas on the journey to spread on Lawrence's grave in Moreton, Dorset. Lawrence was a First World War hero who led the Arab Revolt against German-supporting Turkey. In 1916 he swept across the desert to Jordan and rewrote the map of the Middle East. His remarkable feat was described in his autobiographical account Seven Pillars of Wisdom and the classic film Lawrence of Arabia. The Lawrence Tribute Trek last month was the brainchild of former SBS marine Howard. He put out a 'Shackleton-style' advert on social media for special forces veterans asking for volunteers for the expedition. He received 40 replies and picked James, Craig and Martin to come with him, none of whom had ridden a camel before. After a 10-day camel-riding course, the team set out on their expedition on Jan 14. They completed about 30 miles a day on two single-humped camels each alongside a team of medics, cooks and a Bedouin, who looked after the camels. They travelled for eight hours a day in intense heat, which dropped to below freezing at night. Along the way they took sand samples from Fajer, Al Jawari, Bayir and Aqaba – notable stops on Lawrence's journey. The group were given police camels as a gift upon crossing the Jordanian border, which are much quicker. On the penultimate day the group, with 40 locals, re-enacted Lawrence's attack on an Ottoman train that was transporting friends and family who had travelled to celebrate the end of their journey. The staff on the train were aware of the attack, but the tourists were 'somewhat startled'. Upon arrival in Aqaba on Feb 7, they were honoured by King Abdullah II of Jordan with ceremonial displays, traditional music and a grand parade. So far the group has raised £430,000 for the Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund and hope to reach their target of 500,000 before a ceremony at Lawrence's grave in May. The group will meet members of the Lawrence Society to spread the sand on his grave on May 19 – now 90 years after Lawrence died in a motorbike accident. Howard, from London, said: 'I think a lot of military guys have some sort of admiration or fascination with Lawrence's story. What he achieved was certainly ahead of his time. The tactics he used have been copied ever since. 'I came up with the idea last May with some friends in the pub, probably over a couple of glasses of red. 'Riding a camel is completely different to riding a horse. There are lots of different saddles and [it] requires a lot of core strength. 'We did have to add a bit onto the journey to find the right place to cross the border from Saudi Arabia to Jordan but we quickly linked back up with the route.' The trek was named the Nasir, Bekri, Tayi and Lawrence Tribute Trek, after the Arab leaders of the original expedition – Sherif Nasir, Auda abu Tayi and Nesib el-Bekri. It took the original group over two months to complete the route. The Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund gives funding to ex-special forces soldiers who are suffering personal struggles later in life. Lawrence was killed in a motorcycle accident near his home at Bovington, Dorset in 1935. He is buried in the graveyard of St Nicholas Church in Moreton.
