GRU Iraq?

This is coolbert:

Here are extracts from the entire web site page that describes the purported GRU intelligence operation in Iraq from Three years ago. I have extracted pertinent portions with my comments.

[I must say that the author of the web site seems to be all over the place. Describes himself as being a moderate but disillusioned Republican gravely disappointed with President Bush. But ALSO seems to be a Holocaust denier too. Denies that 6 million Jews were gassed and killed in atrocious manners during World War Two!!??]

"It is a matter of published record that the Russian military
intelligence had broken all of our military codes prior to the
invasion of Iraq and was reading every one of our top secret
messages during the opening phases of that military disaster."

[published records??!! Every top secret message??!! This seems to be too much!!]

"These reports were published on the internet at the time and are
certainly not a secret and most certainly it should not have taken
an allegedly reputable American media entity three calendar years
to discover this."

[well, it did take ME three years to catch up with this too!!]

"The following is the English translation of the official Russian
description of how their GRU (the GRU is Russian military
intelligence [the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU].
successfully broke the purportedly secret U.S. military
communications encryption. This material, plus a complete daily
compendium of secret American military messaging was published in
2003 in Russian and available to the general public. It was
published by TBR News in its entirely at the time, three years
ago! Readers can find this in our archives. BH"

[BH is the author and editor of the web site publishing this article.]

"The U.S. military used the SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground and
Airborne Radio System) frequency-hopping radios in the field.
FHSS military radios are synchronized daily to use the same
frequency modulation algorithm."

[such a system does exist and has been used for some time. Yes, this is so!!]

"Military radios in the U.S. armed forces commonly use encryption
and the frequency hopping methods provide an additional layer of
security during transmission of the encrypted signal."

[we are talking about the same technology as is used in remote phones for the home. Remote phones that work in the 900 MHZ range and above. Have both frequency hopping and encryption both. A normal scanner could NOT be used to intercept such transmissions using frequency hopping!]

"Special Forces would be the Caracal RPM 4740 manufactured by
Thales Communications of France."

[this is what is used by American Special Forces??]

"Caracal contains high-grade internal digital encryption and has an
output of 1 W."

[that is a very low level of power. One watt is NOT much.]

[I looked up Caracal and Thales on the internet. Caracal is NOT mentioned at all except for web sites that mention the same material I am talking about here. And Thales does exist, but their radio equipment as advertised seems to be limited to GPS equipment, and nothing more!!??]

"However, security afforded by frequency-hopping methods is very
dependent on strict adherence to protocols for operating such
radios. The U.S. troops and other operators of frequency-hopping
radio sets frequently disregard these protocols."

[this is true. And this is also the same sort of stuff that occurred in Vietnam. Persons disregarding protocol for security for the ease of transmission.]

"Even when proper protocols for using frequency-hopping radios are
being adhered to, interception and decryption of these signals is
still possible."

[intercept is possible. If the transmissions are encrypted, that is an additional layer of security and makes the job of the interceptor that much more difficult. Just intercepting is NOT enough. You WANT to hear and understand the transmission too!!]

"An example of such a reconnaissance device would be the FH-1
frequency-hopping interceptor manufactured by VIDEOTON-MECHLABOR
Manufacturing and Development Ltd. of Hungary."

"A special unit of the Russian military intelligence carried out a
secret operation in Iraq against the Americans. A veteran of one
of the elite units of the Russian army, a participant of the
website forum http://desantura.ru/ yesterday informed about that."

[I wonder if this web site is still active? Further investigation is warranted!!]

"This website is dedicated to the various commandos units and
military intelligence (GRU) of the Ministry of Defense of the
former USSR and Russia."

[desant is the Russian word for "descent". Usually associated with paratroopers.]

"Despite various details, Vladimir Kucherenko's message on secret
GRU operation in Iraq caused serious doubts. His book "The Battle
for Heavens" is written as a weird mix of historical genre and
fantasy. Besides, it is full of rather odious, nationalist-
patriotic style rhetoric. And the author failed to specify a
source of the information on this confidential operation in Iraq."

[this book is supposedly a detailed account of GRU ops in Iraq in 1991 and 2003??]

"On this background the message of the participant of the
http://desantura.ru/ forum seems much more trustful."

"In total, since the autumn of 1958 up to the beginning of 1990
8200 Soviet military experts and advisers worked in Iraq."

[the old Iraq under Hussein and others before him was considered to be in the category of a Soviet "client state". Iraq had purchased so much Soviet equipment and had so many troops trained in the old Soviet Union to use that equipment.]

"Pavel Felgenhauer, a respected independent Moscow-based military
analyst, said Friday that the report was within the realm of
possibility."

[our Pavel who has been mentioned before.]

"It's quite plausible,' he told The Associated Press.

"'He said at that time a Russian Internet site called 'The Ramzay
Files' was causing a stir in Moscow's military and diplomatic
community."

[Ramzay is one of the names given on the web site postings of the GRU intel dope sheet!]

[that such info, if true, would be posted openly on the internet is just beyond me. That the Russians or anyone else for that matter would have the capability to "read" top secret American radio traffic would be ordinarily a secret guarded VERY CLOSELY!! Would not be a topic for discussion on the internet. In the old Soviet Union, to disclose such info would call for the death penalty!!]

[and, once again, intercepting frequency hopping transmissions is not enough. If the transmissions were further encrypted, you WOULD NOT be able to "read them". "Reading them" says that very high level encryption methods such as Advanced Encryption Standard and such are subject to being "broken". This would be unanticipated!!]

coolbert.