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The Private Outsourcing of US Intelligence Services
mrbluze writes "It appears that more and more of the data collection sanctioned by the US government is passed through the hands of private enterprise, Salon reports. 'Because of the cloak of secrecy thrown over the intelligence budgets, there is no way for the American public, or even much of Congress, to know how those contractors are getting the money, what they are doing with it, or how effectively they are using it. The explosion in outsourcing has taken place against a backdrop of intelligence failures for which the Bush administration has been hammered by critics, from Saddam Hussein's fictional weapons of mass destruction to abusive interrogations that have involved employees of private contractors operating in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Aftergood and other experts also warn that the lack of transparency creates conditions ripe for corruption.'"
It's when I read stories about messed up governments that make me glad I live in, damn.
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
The "intelligence" failure was in the White House and it's coterie of civilian hit men sent to the Pentagon and the CIA. They simply chose crap, dismissed data they were told was garbage and ignored contrary facts presented to them. Analysts were quitting on principle; I remember them being interviewed in 1992. The PNACers used a hack, Tenet, to put a stamp on their fabricated package of dog poo. Then, after the lies hit the fan, they BLAMED THE INTEL THEY WERE TOLD WAS CRAP. Retch and repeat. And since the Niger documents were a known forgery even then, when do we ask the question: who commissioned the forgeries?
"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them. "
the great thing about private companies doing the governments dirty work, is that there is no way to obtain the infomation, these secrets are just that. and this is new how? the Americans have been spying on the British the British on the Australians and the Australians on America for decades, each country is not allowed to spy on their own ppl but they can spy on another country and then share the information, and the biggest bonus is plausible deniability. http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/
The Truth Is Out There:
It's like Microsoft sponsored TCO reports that are always favorable to Microsoft. No intelligence contractor is going to hit the nail on the head when the customer clearly wants them to put a few dings around it.
The nail is Saudi Arabia but the royals are personal friends and business associates of the Bush family.
One thing I've never understood about the USA is why Americans seem completely bind to the corruption within their own system. Example - Dick Cheney - until he became Vice President he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton Energy Services, he is still a major stockholder. Then, the Iraq war happened, apparently a driving force behind that was Cheney. Do you guys not have the concept of "conflict of interest"?
Is the problem that in school you have it drummed into you how great the USA is, and so don't see the problems? (Sorry I realise this post is a bit trollish, but it is a genuine question).
this explains the change in dresscode at some indian call centers, to dark sunglasses and suits
I don't recall hearing *any* politician, regardless of the country they are in, but especially the Congressional ones, apologize, or otherwise admit they were wrong regarding these WMDs.
They were all hell-bent on starting a quick war, perhaps in the hopes of cleaning up in the polls and making themselves look good (which, they should know by now, is impossible in the eyes of the American people and perhaps the world).
It was not just our President who was convinced, but Congress was as well, even the notoriously liberal (in all the wrong ways) Kennedy, who said, and I quote here:
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002
and one from Mr. "I invented the Interwebs":
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
Whether we went in looking for nukes or bacteria is moot, we are there now, but those that saw the war take an unfavourable turn (and apparently know nothing of history, the losses we have incurred there are miniscule compared to, say WW2 island hopping losses) have hardly admitted their mistake in being for it.
The hypocrasy surrounding the entire Iraq was is astounding.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
And so it seems to have been abused, but I don't think there's any stopping it now.
The demographics, an aging baby boom generation who grow more conservative as they age, favor the increasingly protofascist elements of our political system. As we boomers age, we will tend to favor the group of politicians who will promise us old age benefits. The Republican Party has always been out front for looting the public taxes to buy votes from the old. That's just how the system works; one party or the other was going to do it. But now that the political system has been gamed, we need to respond.
Combine the mono-culture fundamentalist christians (no, not cap C), big oil/big money, the one-issue gun lobby, and the demographics, and you have the recipe for an unbreakable control of our government. And the current crop of villains who had control of our government is just the most recent example of what will become the norm; the abuse of power by those who are best able to manipulate the system.
The proto fascists will continue to grow a secret police organization, a private (outsourced) police. Eisenhower's prediction about the military-industrial complex came true long ago. But what disheartens me is the knowledge that we will abide this ongoing decay in the values and standards that were hoped for by the founders of our nation. There was no outcry when the Patriot Act was passed. There seems to be no outrage about the Justice Department's (Gonzales, and Card, with assistance from Bush) violations of the law WRT wiretaps. (Think about that. The federal Justice Department breaking the law.)
We can expect this 'outsourcing' of covert activities to continue because it serves to concentrate power in one branch of our government.
I named Republicans as a guilty party, but it could just have easily been the Democratic Party. Events in 1964 changed where the balance of power in the Republican Party lay. The names of political parties is not as important as the names of the actors involved and who they serve. I don't think the future of our government is well served by this large secret police organization. Democracy thrives in the open air.
Best regards.