NSA snoops

Fourteen NSA documents were declassified on Tuesday in response to a May 2011 ACLU lawsuit. The documents were made public under the Freedom of Information Act and related to the government's interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which ambiguously grants the FBI permission to obtain "any tangible things" without evidence or probable cause for the sake of national security.

ACLU National Security Project staff attorney Alex Abdo: "These documents show that the NSA repeatedly violated court-imposed limits on its surveillance powers, and they confirm that the agency simply cannot be trusted with such sweeping authority."

SIPRNet: The US army Secret IP Router Network

The primary reason you don't hear much about the real culprit of Wikileaks, PFC Bradley Manning, is that he is/was an unhappy homosexual in the Army and we're in the midst of a "don't ask don't tell" debate. We're also in a debate about the security of Muslims in the armed forces during our War on Terror, so you hear very little about Nidal Malik Hasan.

SIPRNet: The US army Secret IP Router Network | Privacy Lover

But both the Manning and Hasan stories, personal motivations of hate aside, show the Army is incredibly sloppy in its security.

800 rooms in Mumbai

Yes, that's probably a record for a presidential visit. Despite his bowing and scraping, I suspect President Barack Obama is viewed as an infidel, and thus worthy of being taken out by some jihadist who'd like martyrdom status for the next life. (Muslims have a works based system for eternal life; Christians are saved by grace.) So frankly, I think he needs all those rooms for his security forces and maybe decoys. Although I don't understand the need to visit the red light district. Don't we have plenty of that in the USA?

Barack Obama's Indian delegation 'books 800 rooms in Mumbai' - Telegraph

Another Obama scandal--mirandizing Abdulmutallab

"We have since learned that the decision to Mirandize Abdulmutallab had been made without the knowledge of or consultation with (1) the secretary of defense, (2) the secretary of homeland security, (3) the director of the FBI, (4) the director of the National Counterterrorism Center or (5) the director of national intelligence (DNI).

The Justice Department acted not just unilaterally but unaccountably. Obama's own DNI said that Abdulmutallab should have been interrogated by the HIG, the administration's new High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group.

Perhaps you hadn't heard the term. Well, in the very first week of his presidency, Obama abolished by executive order the Bush-Cheney interrogation procedures and pledged to study a substitute mechanism. In August, the administration announced the establishment of the HIG, housed in the FBI but overseen by the National Security Council." Read Krauthammer's column

Cheney, a man who will protect us

from enemies without and within. It was shocking to hear Obama, as a first act of his presidency, criticize the former administration like he was some third world potentate ready to throw his opponents in prison. Then when he also threatened the people in the administration who kept us safe for 7 years, it was time for an answer. Al Gore brags that he kept quiet for 2 years before criticizing Bush for using the security developed on his watch--Obama/Biden couldn't wait even 2 weeks. They are lackeys for the leftist who got them elected.

" When President Obama makes wise decisions, as I believe he has done in some respects on Afghanistan, and in reversing his plan to release incendiary photos, he deserves our support. And when he faults or mischaracterizes the national security decisions we made in the Bush years, he deserves an answer. The point is not to look backward. Now and for years to come, a lot rides on our President’s understanding of the security policies that preceded him. And whatever choices he makes concerning the defense of this country, those choices should not be based on slogans and campaign rhetoric, but on a truthful telling of history." . . .

"To make certain our nation country never again faced such a day of horror, we developed a comprehensive strategy, beginning with far greater homeland security to make the United States a harder target. But since wars cannot be won on the defensive, we moved decisively against the terrorists in their hideouts and sanctuaries, and committed to using every asset to take down their networks. We decided, as well, to confront the regimes that sponsored terrorists, and to go after those who provide sanctuary, funding, and weapons to enemies of the United States. We turned special attention to regimes that had the capacity to build weapons of mass destruction, and might transfer such weapons to terrorists.

We did all of these things, and with bipartisan support put all these policies in place. It has resulted in serious blows against enemy operations … the take-down of the A.Q. Khan network … and the dismantling of Libya’s nuclear program. It’s required the commitment of many thousands of troops in two theaters of war, with high points and some low points in both Iraq and Afghanistan – and at every turn, the people of our military carried the heaviest burden. Well over seven years into the effort, one thing we know is that the enemy has spent most of this time on the defensive – and every attempt to strike inside the United States has failed." The Cheney Speech on national security

Proud to stand

with Dodd and Feingold on FISA in February (aka Patriot Act). Backing Bush in June. Yes, he was for sure against amending FISA to allow the government to monitor more communications without a warrant. But then political expediency (he wasn't actually there for the vote--surprise, surprise!) starts to dawn on him. He might actually get to the White House after defeating Hillary in the primaries, and these powers of surveillance might be very useful, so he flipped on a clear promise to his supporters, stabbing his leftist buddies in the back (although they're loving him for it now).

"Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as president, I will carefully monitor the program," Obama said in a statement hours after the House approved the legislation 293-129. [WaPo account]

Democrats hated FISA under Bush (1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act under Carter), but they've already learned to love it. Especially our Ohio Democratic administration. They are practicing to be good ObamaToms. So ripping through Joe the Plumber's records in Ohio (standard procedure we were told when someone's name appears in the news) is just a foretaste of what's to come with President Obama and the new, improved FISA. The fact that asking a question about taxes hardly makes one a national security threat, unless questioning Obama is perceived not only as racism, but a security threat.

HT Larry Johnson