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Midweek Reading
1. Jane Mayer's lengthy article in the New Yorker on the National Security Agency should be required reading within defense policy circles because it raises so many good questions about domestic spying, classification, and how we prosecute leakers. I like Mayer's reporting a lot, as I've made clear in the past, so I'll only pause to take issue with one thing in her article: I have a tough time having any degree of sympathy for those who leak classified information -- even when that information exposes a problem in or abuses of the system. And I think Mayer intends for us to pity her protagonist, who is being prosecuted for feeding information to a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. (The protagonist claims none of the information he leaked was classified, though it was cut-and-pasted from SECRET documents.) I found myself nodding along with the guy who told Mayer, "To his credit, he tried to raise these issues, and, to an extent, they were dealt with. But who died and left him in charge?" Exactly right: the system breaks down when every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane gets to decide what gets released to the media and what does not. Unsurprisingly, journalists have a more sympathetic view toward those people who feed them scoops than do those whose jobs and lives are made harder by their colleagues leaking information.
2. Egypt: Why Are the Churches Burning? by Yasmine El-Rashidi in the New York Review of Books.
3. Kim Dozier on the Osama bin Laden raid. Kim is much admired within the special operations community, and her excellent sources and contacts inform this great article, which incorporates inside information (and leaks) without compromising OPSEC ...
4. ... but John Kenney gets the real scoop on the raid, interviewing several SEALs and printing their testimonies.
5. Confessions of a Vulcan: Dov Zakheim explains how the Bush Administration screwed up Afghanistan.
6. Finally, the Modern Library has re-issued Shelby Foote's Civil War Trilogy with a series of introductory essays. The first essay, by Jon Meacham, correctly places Foote within a very specific social and literary context in central Mississippi in the early 20th Century and notes the influence of the salon of William Alexander Percy. My scarily erudite paternal grandfather, actually, grew up in the exact same time and place, and it was a crazy one: on the one hand, it was in some ways a Third World country, yet on the other hand, it managed to produce a ridiculously disproportionate number of the Twentieth Century's men of letters. (And women, of course, because you can't forget Eudora!) Having only read the section on the Gettysburg Campaign previously, I started the first volume of the series last night and had trouble putting it down.
Classified documents often
Classified documents often are classified by paragraph. It is entirely plausible that he simply copied and pasted UNCLASS paragraphs from a SECRET document. To my knowledge that would not violate disclosure. Furthermore, if the administration is not willing to investigate itself--see Woodward's recent book--then WTF?!?!
I too have little sympathy for people who disclose classified information, but let's at least have an even playing field and treat everyone the same. The NSC staffer who talks to Woodward should be thrown in the same cell as Drake and Manning. But they don't even look for the leakage close to home. It's disingenuous and disheartening.
Agree that the Mayer piece is
Agree that the Mayer piece is essential reading, and generally agree with your lack of sympathy for leakers. I'd like to dig into the Drake story just a little bit more to understand the details, but if he DID in fact only share unclassified lines from a document with a higher overall classification, I can't see how that constitutes spillage. And then there's that whole bit about how one of the documents wasn't classified at the time he released it, but the court determined that it should have been classified and that Drake should have known it, and that he should thus be held liable... Seriously?
The thing that I find most off-putting about this is the way that it makes us look like a damned banana republic. A Justice Department attorney leaks classified documents to a journalist, a leak that actually DOES inform a major news story about the illicit activities of the government, and he's not prosecuted, but an NSA whistleblower is... for disclosures that are far less damaging to national security. Why? The only answer is that it's a politically-motivated prosecution intended to serve as a deterrent against disclosures that embarrass the government, which is the kind of shit that happens in third-world countries. It's outrageous.
As anyone who is acquainted with classification procedures at even the very most basic level can tell you, a massive amount of stuff is classified almost solely to shield the government from public exposure of its failings -- often simply to avoid the public disclosure of embarrassing facts. That this case hinges on disclosures related to such a contentious program, something we can only very charitably say was of dubious legality... it's outrageous. That's the only word I can come up with.
So here's the bottom line: hey, people with access to classified information, don't disclose it! But more importantly, hey government, stop trying to hide illegal, unconstitutional, unethical, outrageously unacceptable shit from the public!
I am no great believer in the need for universal transparency, and people who take that into their own hands tend to be sanctimonious d-bags (see Assange, Julian). There IS a real need for government to keep some secrets in order to do its job, and I've got no problem at all with that. But the USG endangers its own credibility and threatens that legitimate claim by being seen to consistently violate its own principles and ferret away more information than it absolutely must.
I largely agree with both of
I largely agree with both of these comments.
Yeah, what Gulliver said.
Yeah, what Gulliver said.
"a massive amount of stuff is
"a massive amount of stuff is classified almost solely to shield the government from public exposure of its failings -- often simply to avoid the public disclosure of embarrassing facts."
Yes, and a minion like Drake should absolutely have the personal power to decide which secrets are "unnecessary" and classified only to avoid government embarrassment.
Paredon!
>The thing that I find most
>The thing that I find most off-putting about this is the way that it makes us look like a damned banana republic.
Oh, no, not at all. The government of a banana republic answers to the banana-buying country. The NSA, to the degree that it answers to anybody, answers to The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun answers to nobody. We're much worse than a banana republic.
As for why the churches are burning, well, it's a no-brainer. They are burning because we gave freedom to the population of Egypt, the overwhelming majority of whom are Muslim, and which has an average IQ of 83. What did you think they were going to do with their new-found freedom, Andrew? Learn how to program? Go back to school and get their Masters' in PoliSci? Or did you think they were going to all sit down and take instructions from the Facebook hipster posterboys of the revolution? Things will get worse, until a dictator emerges and monopolizes violence. At which point they'll slowly get better. At which point our humanitarians will point out the essential inhumanity and corruption of the mechanisms by which they're getting better. Lather, rinse, repeat. All the Copts will be living in Seattle long before the cycle comes back around, or not be living at all. Oh, well, that's the price of freedom, and who could have foreseen it, anyway?
At least one guy could have. Lord Cromer, colonial administrator of Egypt, wrote a century ago that if the Brits and French hadn't stepped in and crushed Colonel Urabi's nationalistic revolt against the Khedive, the result would have been that the newly empowered mob would have ethnically cleansed the Greeks and Jews who made up the country's economic minority, stolen all their shit, turned on the Christians, wiped them out, then wallowed in their incompetent crapulence for all eternity. Sound familiar?
If these secrets are as ugly
If these secrets are as ugly as Arnold Schwarzenegger's undocumented Mexican mistress, then they should be kept from the public.
Yes, and a minion like Drake
Yes, and a minion like Drake should absolutely have the personal power to decide which secrets are "unnecessary" and classified only to avoid government embarrassment.
I wasn't terribly aggressive in making this point, but it seems obvious to me that Drake is not the guy who gets to decide. But here's the problem: the government has demonstrated a manifest unwillingness or incapacity to make these decisions in anything approaching a reasonable way. So who decides?
"'But who died and left him
"'But who died and left him in charge?' Exactly right: the system breaks down when every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane gets to decide what gets released to the media and what does not. "
But what do you do when the man in charge is the problem? If the government is excessively secretive, then how can the public know about it unless someone leaks it? I'm not really familiar with how documents are classified, so I might be way off base here, but this is what I have in mind:
Mr. Smith classifies A to cover his ass. Because it is classified the public does not know that it should be asking about A. The people who do know aren't allowed to tell the public, because it isn't their place to share the information. Instead, they tell Mr. Smith it shouldn't be classified. He promptly files their request in the trash, because it is his ass being covered.
So without using leaks, how do you break this circle? I understand your point that the government does need to keep some secrets. But, if there is no mechanism to punish people for abusing secrecy, then why would we expect them to correct their behavior?
Given that the whole state
Given that the whole state secrets thing in the U.S. began with fraud (see United States v. Reynolds), and continues in fine fashion with Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., I say let the leakers run rampant. The American public deserves to hear what's being done in its name, especially when it involves putting another nail in the coffin of the Constitution, as the Drake revelation shows.
Let me echo the query of the 5:47 visitor, who watches the watchers?
well of course they are
well of course they are killing them, that's not a surprise.
AM - I have no sympathy for
AM - I have no sympathy for those who leak classified information. They should be prosecuted and/or held accountable for their actions. Simple as that.
@ Slade the Leveller ---- > Let me echo the query of the 5:47 visitor, who watches the watchers?
The watchers sometimes take matters into their own hands and sometimes don't follow procedure. It can be very horrific for those on the receiving end... especially when those who are questioned are innocent.
When management knows a clear "security violation" has occurred and they can prove it or they have conducted an investigation, they will simply yank the subject's clearance and put them on Admin Leave pending Administrative Action, then a full Investigation will be conducted immediately by the FBI and criminal charges will later be pressed by the US Attorney, if law has been violated.
If they can't prove it immediately, (which happens more often), but they think a subject has done something to embarrass the agency, USG or they think a subject has revealed embarrassing information (which could incriminate or show misconduct) - (whether it's classified information or NOT) the watcher's - they will order the person in question off to the local psych hospital for a mental health evaluation and attempt to have them admitted, because the subject has obviously had problems at work, they are not happy and they've done something that's "not normal". They've violated procedure, policy or done something that's believed to be "acting out towards those in the work place". Yes, they will even make it up as they go along, if there is a need. If you decline the evaluation or refuse to go in-care custody, they will simply place you on Admin Leave pending a more in-depth investigation...same as above.
Bob Baer and others have been treated in this same fashion, when management gets scared and thinks someone has talked or did something they don't want to go public. Most people subjected to this treatment resign, rather than going those the embarrassing process of proving they're not a nut-job or having a breakdown of some kind. The KGB was know for doing these same kinds of tricks back in the old days to silence people.
As for DSP's and how its done. Read up on the CIFA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterintelligence_Field_Activity
Wouldn't be surprised that CIFA was never disbanded and is still operating.
Andrew, think "Midweek
Andrew, think "Midweek Chuckle" is a better title.
The Obama administration has been found to be slow rolling freedom of information requests to manage the information that could be embarrassing to his administration. Now that Obama owns the Patriot Act which pretty much enables post 911 NSA behavior, "The Act" keeps getting extended. There were two years of Democrat control of Congress and the Executive Branch. ACLU and the far left are having a cow, while HLS is busy rooting out the homegrown buggers. What to do about Drake? Defining moment. Obama looks bad regardless if Drake is in jail or not.
Democrats like to teach situational ethics. Example: I was starving so it that justifies stealing the food. Andrew, if you had a classified document that said tomorrow the US Constitution would be null and voided what would you do? Leaking that information would change history.
This problem of domestic spying will be an issue as long as the war continues. Obama just opened a third front and classified the budget. Gee, why was the spending buried ? American public is giving up a lot more than blood and treasure. Problem is, Obama is not going to stop the wars cause it keeps the government jobs and money rolling. Getting information on people is a way to stay in power and push agendas. The State Department authorized collection of information on foreign bureaucrats, it was in WikiLeaks.
Republican budget cuts shrinking government are looking better every day !
As for the UBL raid. The true story has yet to be told. Interesting that the operators had all that time to take care of children and civilians (how do you tell them apart when you are in the devil den? Suppose the operators all have those TS XRay vision glasses that we use see in the back of Popular Mechanics), but could not capture UBL even with his bedroom in their control.
It is funny, a classified raid on UBL that the American public was told was executed by one of the darkest anti-terrorist units has its details ran across all major new channels. Classified helicopters, operational procedures, and POTUS goes to Kentucky.
How much of that information was declassified before release?
Its a game. Hoover used it. Obama is trying to make it work for him.
You have to understand that
You have to understand that these so called "secrets" are not really secrets. The information is well known to a surprisingly large bureaucracy and often to our "enemies". The only ones in the dark are the citizens.
You have to understand that
You have to understand that the information is not really "secret". It is well known to a surprisingly large bureaucracacy and very often to our "enemies". It is only kept hidden from the citizens of the Republic.
What Devil Dawg said. Info
What Devil Dawg said. Info classified under the current executive order must be portion-marked, which simplifies reuse for other analysts in other documents. That said, Drake sounds almost proud of his martyrdom, eager to drag his own cross to the crucifixion.
Stingray. The citizens know.
Stingray.
The citizens know. There are a few true secrets.
One secret that I would like to figure out is how Obama is going to produce enough jobs to employ the foreign students he is letting stay in the country for up to 12 months? These people will not be contributing to Medicare or Social security. Their employers get a perk cause they do not have to contribute to the system either.
What are the unemployed US citizens that have been paying into the system for years to do? Stop paying to put their kids through college. Get foreclosed on?
Guess the unemployed US citizens will get jobs watching over the foreign new bees !
Now the secret is out. Obanomics.
Shelby Foote's best friend as
Shelby Foote's best friend as a child was the great novelist WALKER PERCY, who was the nephew of William Alexader Percy (who raised Walker.) Thanks for the reference.
On why they are burning churches in Egypt: once again take a look at the Pew Global Survey Poll released last December. 84% of Egyptian muslims believe converts to another religion should be executed. And we are shocked that they are going after the Copts? This is not exactly fertile soil for the planting of liberal democracy, despite all the "Arab Spring" rhetoric.
On the N.S.A. LEAKER. This Drake guy is a flat, out liar. THE GUY TOOK HIGHLY CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS OUT OF THE NSA AND PUT THEM IN HIS BASEMENT FOR GOODNESS SAKE!
From the article:
For four months, Drake continued coöperating. He admitted that he had given Gorman information that he had cut and pasted from secret documents, but stressed that he had not included anything classified. He acknowledged sending Gorman hundreds of e-mails. Then, in April, 2008, the F.B.I. told him that someone important wanted to meet with him, at a secure building in Calverton, Maryland. Drake agreed to the appointment. Soon after he showed up, he says, Steven Tyrrell, the prosecutor, walked in and told him, “You’re screwed, Mr. Drake. We have enough evidence to put you away for most of the rest of your natural life.”
Prosecutors informed Drake that they had found classified documents in the boxes in his basement—the indictment cites three—and discovered two more in his e-mail archive. They also accused him of shredding other documents, and of deleting e-mails in the months before he was raided, in an attempt to obstruct justice. Further, they said that he had lied when he told federal agents that he hadn’t given Gorman classified information.
“They had made me into an enemy of the state just by saying I was,” Drake says. The boxes in his basement contained copies of some of the less sensitive material that he had procured for the Inspector General’s Trailblazer investigation. The Inspector General’s Web site directs complainants to keep copies. Drake says that if the boxes did, in fact, contain classified documents he didn’t realize it. (The indictment emphasizes that he “willfully” retained documents.)
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