Military Intelligence [S2Ep15]
An interview with former US Naval Intelligence officer Steven Horrell
If you spend any time engaged in the discussion about what happened to MH370, you’ll encounter the idea that the United States, and in particular the shadowy US intelligence community, certainly must know what happened to the plane since they have such a vast and all-encompassing network of assets for gathering information. In effect, the work of the French journalist Florence de Changy, whose work was featured in episode 3 of the Netflix documentary “MH370: The Plane that Disappeared,” is built upon this idea and little else.
An important component of this idea, I think, is that the intelligence apparatus remain a shadowy Other, an unknown and unknowable entity to whom no attributes can be ascribed with any certainty. Because if one were to familiarize oneself with the actual human beings who engage with this work one would quickly realize that these are human beings, with their own foibles and limitations. Which is not to say that they don’t know a great deal; indeed I think they know a lot, and it would be very interesting to know exactly what they know, but in the clear light of day one has to shed the sense that their knowledge is unlimited and that they are capable of doing anything unbounded by comprehensible motives.
Today I’m delighted to be joined by Steven Horrell, a non-resident Senior Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Steve graduated from the US Naval Academy, got a Masters in Strategic Studies frmo the US Army War College and went on to serve in Naval Intelligence for 30 years, including three from 2012 to 2015 at U.S. European Command, where Russia was a major focus. So Steve is in a great position to give us the inside scoop on what the world looks like from the perspective of US military intelligence.
Also in the show I discuss the flaperon project that I’ve been working on with Keelie and, after the interview, I critique the latest MH370 theory that’s been making the rounds in the media. A retired scientist from the University of Tasmania named Vincent Lyne claims that a peer-reviewed scientific journal, The Journal of Navigation, has accepted his previously self-published paper that claims to prove where the wreckage of MH370 is located. I was interviewed for one of these articles myself, and in it I express… skepticism.
Finally, a reminder that I’ve added a new feature for paid subscribers of the podcast show page: in addition to the weekly newsletter, you get exclusive access to additional weekly content. Right now I’m remastering all of the shows from the first season, with improved quality and updated information. In addition if you do a paid subscription you earn my undying gratitude, as the financial support goes a long way toward making this work possible. Thanks!
Also I finally realized why Trump opposes alternative energy. He uses his friendship with big oil as a ruse because his real friendship is with the second largest oil producer, Putin and Russia. Putin must have the goods on Trump.
Falsifying locations on AIS
Last year, over objections from Iran and Russia, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations shipping agency, issued a resolution expressing grave concern over the prevalence of “dark” tankers, adding that there as many as 600 tankers servicing this shadow trade — vessels that had unclear ownership, were not compliant with safety standards and lacked adequate insurance.
Tankers are required to broadcast their location on their Automatic Identification System (AIS) so they can be detected by other vessels. But “dark” tankers were masking or falsifying their locations on AIS — a process called “spoofing” — to travel illicitly, said the IMO. The safety risks, the agency warned, were “real and high.”