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Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

bbc.com

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Re: Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

#21

Post by nabla9 »

Intelligence agencies in Nordic countries are really small, just few hundreds people per agency and limited budgets. Even if they go rouge, what they can do is limited. Number of people in the field is even smaller. This creates problems of it's own because their counterparts quickly learn to recognize their faces.

For comparison, FBI Counterintelligence Division alone has 1-2 people per 10,000 Americans. Add different intelligence and surveillance agencies under DHS and others to that list and it's easy to see that the US has insane amount of domestic surveillance manpower per capita.

Re: Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

#24

Post by tpmx »

cstpdk wrote: post #18
tpmx wrote: post #14

I'd take these allegations with several grains of salt. This smells (stinks) of politics.

It shouldn't. There's no political gain for any of the major parties. It also happens after several, relatively minor, cases of corruption and nepotism in the military and intelligence services (former high-ranking official just got 3months prison today). It stinks mostly of a corruption and several decades of lack of proper oversight

What kind of targets is he accused of targetting?

Re: Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

#25

Post by throw_this_one »

gostsamo wrote: post #16
oh_sigh wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it would be possible for intelligence services to obtain and pass on information about a citizen while still trying to work for the overall safety of the country.

Nope, it is not their job. If a citizen is accused in a crime, there are other institutions tasked with the investigation. Sometimes this is the counterintelligence, sometimes this is the police. However, breaking the law and actively avoiding legal supervision is a crime which makes them criminals.

Ok so we have to play by the rules to the absolute T. But our adversaries like China/Russia can play dirty and anyway they want, because you say justice is absolute and black and white. Great.

Re: Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

#26

Post by ummwhat »

oh_sigh wrote: post #20
gostsamo wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, it is not their job. If a citizen is accused in a crime, there are other institutions tasked with the investigation. Sometimes this is the counterintelligence, sometimes this is the police. However, breaking the law and actively avoiding legal supervision is a crime which makes them criminals.

I'd imagine intelligence would be about crimes yet to take place, ie people planning a terrorist attack (is that a crime in itself?)

Generally, for every crime x, the act of planning x is a crime known as "conspiracy to commit x"

Re: Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

#27

Post by gostsamo »

oh_sigh wrote: post #20
gostsamo wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, it is not their job. If a citizen is accused in a crime, there are other institutions tasked with the investigation. Sometimes this is the counterintelligence, sometimes this is the police. However, breaking the law and actively avoiding legal supervision is a crime which makes them criminals.

I'd imagine intelligence would be about crimes yet to take place, ie people planning a terrorist attack (is that a crime in itself?)

Well, they are accused of not investigating possible espionage in their own army. Lacking details, it is really hard to say what is the exact situation, but obviously they are not interested in preventing crimes.

Re: Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

#28

Post by throw_this_one »

contingencies wrote: post #22

Let's start a global program for shifting intelligence funding to schools. Education is a better defense than mass surveillance.

Yeah I’m sure when the West abdicates intelligence funding and increases education, the anti-west axis forming/formed will come in by the campfire and sing kumbaya with you.

Re: Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

#29

Post by triceratops »

Rumperuu wrote: post #6
motohagiography wrote: post #4

When I read about western intelligence agencies, one can't help but look at the last decade or so and ask, what was it they said their job was again, specifically?

I was surprised to find reading a book called Intelligence in an Insecure World [0] that the general consensus amongst intelligence studies scholars is apparently that there's no empirical evidence for the effectiveness of intelligence work and there probably never will be (although I read the book some time ago so I might be misremembering it). [0] https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Intelligence+in+An+Insecure+Worl...

For those of us who haven't read the book, could you summarize please?

Anecdotally that claim seems untrue. Intelligence services have had a tangible effect on world history.[1][2][3]

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptanalysis_of_the_Enigma

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_Telegram

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann#Capture

Re: Head of Danish intelligence suspended after whistleblowers hand over information

#30

Post by throw_this_one »

motohagiography wrote: post #4

When I read about western intelligence agencies, one can't help but look at the last decade or so and ask, what was it they said their job was again, specifically?

Hm maybe it is to protect against China/Russia/Iran/NK stealing our military secrets, you know those ones that protect you and your family from being absorbed into an authoritarian system where you have zero voting rights?
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