Real McCoy Spy Scandal – any real spies Russian spies arrested as yet!!!
Joni Simonshvili
Latest Intel on Russian Spy Network Scandal "Mania" in Georgia
Georgian authorities are trumpeting the recent arrest of the baker's dozen of "spies" as evidence of Russia's failure in conducting espionage operations in the region, and as continued efforts by Russia to undermine Georgia's statehood. However, many would be shocked to understand how infiltrated the Georgian government actually is, which raises serious questions as to what the real motivations are behind this latest round of "spy mania".
On the surface, cracking open the den of spies looks like yet another well-timed and orchestrated attempt by Georgia to demonstrate to the international community how Russia is not to be a trusted partner. Why these individuals were targeted may in reality may have nothing to do with geopolitics and so called high stakes espionage after all.
As a case in point, to understand the true depths of this penetration in the ranks of the Georgian government and military, pundits need only to look a bit closer at how the electronic warfare (EW) unit of the Georgian air force was totally neutralized by high ranking officers in the Georgian Ministry of Defense (MOD) just weeks prior to the Georgian-Russian war in August 2008.
This incident will provide much insight as to how several downed Russian pilots during the brief war had personal cell phone numbers of officers of Georgian intelligence in their possession when captured. This is not new information and is well known in the highest echelons of the Georgian government, and it was even widely shared with foreign journalists during the 2008 war.
Under the current circumstances, with a free-fire zone of recriminations, it boggles the mind that no mention is being made of this highly compromising information on Rustavi2 and other official mouthpieces of the Georgian government such as Georgian Public Television and Imedi.
Many deaths resulted in the early stages of the Russian-Georgian war as a result of this murderous debacle. With the EW unit out of operation, it was impossible to jam enemy communications and deflect precision guided weapons that went on hit strategic targets, such as command and control centers in Borjomi and elsewhere. All this information is well known in those close to the intelligence community, especially in Israeli's Security Agency, commonly known as Shin Bet, and in the Russian media.
If you look at the list of the "spies" who were recently arrested, you will find names of people who fully appreciated the protection that the EW unit would have provided over Georgian air defense systems and would have impacted the outcome of the war, and how critical time was lost at the end of the war due to the lack of much needed defensive capabilities.
Firstly, some of those arrested, Georgian pilots have a difficult time understanding the full details and the degree to which their country's defense barriers were so easily breached. They were horrified to see how the Ukrainian and US equipment that could have helped in the initial stages of the war was not put into operation, as the well-trained Human Resources in its support had been terminated or reassigned weeks before; coincidence or not.
The facts are not so concealed, and one officer of Russian intelligence was even awarded a military accommodation for his heroic deed in having neutralized the highly feared EW unit, and without a shot being fired. Money traded hands, and by essentially paying off top officials, including Davit Kezerashvili, Georiga's Minister of Defense at the time, to just shut the unit down before Georgia became a free fire zone.
This article alleges this action to have been one of the initial steps taken by the "real spies" working high up in the Georgian MOD and GRU (Russian Military Intelligence) and with the knowledge of Israeli intelligence. Aside from having investigative this topic dating back to August 2008, all this information is already well known to Turkish intelligence who knows the situation in Adjaria and what are the real motivations for the latest spy scandal (as discussed in early blog postings as to a covert spy operation under the cover of oil testing laboratories in Baku and Batumi).
Although seemingly unrelated, it is first necessary to connect some dots.
It is becoming clearer that all efforts are being made by one country's foreign intelligence service to secure its strategic supply of oil, and at any price. And to do this, it is necessary to maintain the status quo in Batumi and the region as a whole, by keeping oil test results consistent to the official paperwork.
To make a long story short, aside from the immediate benefit of this spy scandal for Georgia in trying to upset the upcoming Russian-NATO summit in Lisbon Portugal, much oil is being exported from Batumi and West Georgia without full taxes being paid. Various shell companies and a clouded document trails are used to downplay the significance of the scale of oil exports from Georgian ports to Israel.
In short, the latest spy scandal has nothing to do with State Security but only as a sideshow in attacking some of the NGOs – well respected ones that were looking to fund some projects related to minority rights in Georgia. It also sends a message that the real "GRU and FSB" has another operational plan in mind, which may be related to Armenian issues.
The groundwork is now being prepared by Moscow and its functionaries high in Georgian intelligence and counterintelligence to further consolidate control in Georgia through targeted strategic investments in Batumi and stirring ethnic enclaves as a diversionary tactic.
At least for now, based on the official story line, the Counter-Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) conducted a special operation titled "Enveri" and detained a total of 13 people covertly working for the Main Intelligence Division of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (GRU). There are 4 Russian and 9 Georgian citizens among the detainees. The detained Georgian citizens charged with espionage under article # 314 of Georgian Criminal Code are: 1. Bakur Kiguradze, founder of NGO "Globalization Institute",
businessman. 2. Viacheslav Pluzhnikov, pilot of Georgian Air Forces. 3. Gabriel Ustalishvili, pilot of Georgian Air Forces. 4. David Meskhidze, pilot of Georgian Air Forces. 5. Gela Kakabadze, pilot of Georgian Air Forces. 6. Gocha Diasamidze, pilot of Georgian Air Forces. 7. Tariel Abashidze, pilot of Georgian Air Forces. 8. Ruslan Galogre, businessman. 9. Eduard Abdulaev, sailor, radio specialist.
Detained Russian Citizens: 10. Armen Gevorkian, director of company "Saybolt Georgia." 11. Ruben Shikoian, deputy director of company "Saybolt Georgia." 12. Petre Devrishadze, businessman. 13. Iuri Skrilnikov, GRU liaison officer. The Georgian MIA made the first official statement about the arrest of a
group of citizens on suspicion of spying for Russia on November 5.
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There is more than meets the eye when discussing the situation in Georgia and the waters become rather murky. The real spy network is based in oil standards labs in Batumi and Batumi and who controls them. There are tapes in existence of Levan Varshalomidze, the presidential representative head in Adjara accepting a two million GEL cash bribe from Nodar Evgenidze, former administer of the Batumi Oil Terminal (who is very closely connected to Russian FSB/GRU (special services)and mafia structures). This terminal is going to be more and more center stage to political discussion about Georgia and how much oil get diverted from BTC - and one only needs to look at who owns the oil testing labs to understand who controls the business in Batumi, Caleb Brett (the standards company that oversees this testing lab has all that information); its compliance officer can provide all details for those that may be really interested. Nothing has really changed in Batumi, and there has been no mental revolution in Georgia, "shift in paradigms" as reported in the financial times and other publications, only better PR and the free flow of mafia money without oversight. Much of this money flow is connected to foreign intelligence services and not so hidden political and economic agendas.
It is but standard business as always. However, with a better face and more professional PR. Little will actually change other than a younger less qualified and ever more corrupted generation of younger Georgians taking over the family business. What has happened in Batumi is best compared to a feeding frenzy, and these is much more involved in what goes on - which will lead form the local to the global and to expose connections between seemingly unrelated events and players. In having said this, and with lifelong insight, matters in Georgia are being further complicated by the lack of truthful information being shared at the national and international level by spin doctors and those that want to accept Georgian media reports at face value.
jonis@operamail.com
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