The Obama Administration has announced that it will seek the expansion of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to include a wider range of espionage operations. The move which has attracted little attention would create a large spy network in the Pentagon as the same time that the CIA is moving to build more of an independent air force and military operational capacity.
There seems little concern that we are eliminating the long tradition of keeping military and intelligence operations separate — to avoid the concentration of power in these agencies. We will now have largely duplicative operational capacities in the Pentagon and CIA, which each able to launch large military or intelligence operations.
The DIA expansion will include as many as 1,600 “collectors” in positions around the world to expand clandestine operatives in the Pentagon. They want to monitor large Islamist militant groups in Africa, weapons transfers by North Korea and Iran, and military modernization underway in China — areas overlapping with the CIA.
The agency’s director, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, admitted recently that “This is a major adjustment for national security.”
The DIA expansion also adds to a burgeoning security state both domestically and internationally. The Obama Administration has expanded national security powers and actively sought the establishment of a Nixonian “Imperial Presidency.” With the Administration’s opposition to transparency and increase in security forces, the concern is that the center of gravity in our system is shifting dramatically toward clandestine and national security services. Once again, there is little opposition under a civil liberties movement which has been eviscerated under Obama. Congress is unlikely to present much opposition with most Democratic members seeking to protect Obama from such criticism rather than maintaining any check or balance on the Executive Branch. The result is the appearance of a runaway security system that is both adding operational abilities and reducing oversight pressures. A dangerous combination.
Source: Washington Post
Wednesday, Dec 5, 2012 12:49 PM EST
Blackwater still making major deals with U.S. in Afghanistan
The contractors, now named Academi, own and operate U.S. Commandos’ new base
By Natasha Lennard
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/05/blackwater_still_making_major_deals_with_us_in_afghanistan/
“Blackwater, which now goes by the name “Academi” to sound less like an army of pillaging mercenaries, is still making major no-bid deals with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Wired’s Spencer Ackerman reported Wednesday that Blackwater will play “landlord” to U.S. Special Operations Forces in the country.
Thanks to a no-bid deal worth $22 million, U.S. Special Ops have moved to a new Blackwater-owned and operated base — Camp Integrity. “It’s highly unusual for U.S. military forces to take up official residence on a privately owned facility, ” reported Ackerman, noting, “According to Lt. Col. Tom Bryant, the spokesman for Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, it’s only supposed to be temporary, as the command plans to move to Bagram Air Field by summer 2013. But Camp Integrity is already shaping up to be a crucial location for an Afghanistan war that’s rapidly changing.”
The use of Camp Integrity reportedly arose from the simple fact of overcrowding as the U.S. consolidated its Special Operations into one force. Academi offered a home for the force that could not be accommodated by existing military facilities. But as Ackerman noted, “Academi’s old incarnation, Blackwater, had deep ties to the secretive U.S. special operations community. Founder Erik Prince was a Navy SEAL, and the firm aided the Joint Special Operations Command with counterterrorism targeting and ‘snatch and grab‘ operations in Pakistan.”
Despite the rationale of expediency, it may come as a surprise to Blackwater (by any other name) critics that the contractors are continuing to make major deals with the U.S. military in Afghanistan, despite its record murdering Afghan civilians. But as Ackerman pointed out, the notorious security firm now hosts “the heart of the enduring commando mission in the U.S.’ longest war.”
Last month Ackerman reported that Academi will also play a major role in the Pentagon’s plan to expand its global spy network to an unprecedented size. Academi is among six firms hired to train DIA spies in self-defense.”
A New Director or a New Direction?
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/12/03/a-new-director-or-a-new-direction-for-the-cia?hp
…including some interesting links
Obama needs to repent of having ungodly fear.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/12/04/president-petraeus-fox-news-sure-liked-the-ring-of-it/ Fox news tried to talk Petraeus into running for president.
The CIA has been using military personnel, or at least transferring them on paper, for over 45 years. It’s nothing new. For better or worse.
It came to pass all the contemporary kings soon to be Lords, and all the contemporary Lords some soon to be King united in their efforts to builds walls higher and higher to protect their ever burgeoning fiefdoms. T’was many heard say “Tis a marvelous and wonderful thing we build today, if we do it right we will stay and stay”
And the serfer man say all hail to our Lords, And the serfer man pray all praise to the Lord, And the serfer man dies bound to the ground. Pity the serfer man serfer man down.
As with the post before this, “http://jonathanturley.org/2012/12/03/as-congress-debates-raising-taxes-and-cutting-core-programs-for-americans-the-obama-administration-builds-israel-a-100-million-air-complex/”
Liberals have got the big govt war monger they deserved. This man will bankrupt the country, spy on, rendition and assassinate people all at his say so. It would be comedic if it wasn’t tragic, where are the public outcries? Most of the commenters on this blog are firm Obama supporters, Romney would have been just as bad. Both parties need to be abolished, parties period. Partisanship has no meaning anymore except which side of big brother you find less distasteful, I want more social justice from the left, while ignoring the massive culture of dependence it creates and undermines people’s self worth. The left are strangely silent about their champion in the white house who has mad bush look like less of a war criminal in many respects. Then we have the right which is just as big a part of the corporate aristocracy as the left, but are war mangers up front instead of acting peaceful like Obama. End partisanship, end the parties, bring back Senators not popularly elected. This helps protect state sovereignty, and removing the two parties would be a great libertarian start for us all. Or we can continue with the never ending debt, inflation, assassination, spying, indoctrination, arbitrary justice, fascism, socialism…..Time for a new way, like America’s founders intended.
Thanks for the links, shano.
Bradley Mannings lawyer speaks for the first time on C-span. Brilliant:
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Attorney-for-Alleged-WikiLeaks-Source-Discusses-Case/10737436204-1/
Here is the official argument and explanation for the military treatment of Bradley Manning. (I know Jane Hamshers site, but Gosztola is doing an excellent job under difficult circumstances, ie, banning of court transcripts):
By: Kevin Gosztola Monday December 3, 2012 5:59 pm
“Military prosecutors challenging a defense motion alleging Pfc. Bradley Manning was subjected to “unlawful pretrial punishment” while imprisoned at Quantico are arguing Manning had multiple avenues available to him if he wanted to complain about his confinement which he never used.”
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/12/03/the-prosecutions-argument-for-why-it-didnt-unlawfully-punish-bradley-manning/
As Ralph said: Oboma is worse than Bush.
The real purpose of this “security” spying is probably to make sure that
CIA-sponsored “terrorists/freedom fighters” don’t get cold feet and start
playing for the wrong team.
Meanwhile, the Obama/NPR crowd just loves their O boy.
Interesting that this is happening at the same time that a new, large, secure security command center is being built in Israel. Will that command center come with DIA and Pentagon/Pentagon contractor tenants? Does building a facility as part of some kind of foreign military aid remove it’s purpose from Congressional funding decisions and later Congressional oversight regarding use?
I read an article a couple of days ago that said it was safe to close Gitmo at this point. Does this mean that we aren’t going to be capturing enemy combatants in the future?
A new facility on friendly ground in the Middle East that would allow shared use could solve some problems.
Lotta’ coincidences; I get twitchy and suspicious when there are coincidences.
——-
“Guantanamo Detainees Could Be Moved To U.S. Jails, Government Report Says”
…. “The study said there are six Defense Department prisons and 98 Justice Department prisons that could take the detainees, but it does say that existing facilities likely would need to be modified and current inmates may need to be relocated to make room for the new arrivals.
President Barack Obama ordered the closing of the Guantanamo’s detention facility when he took office in 2009, but that was blocked by a Republican-led bill that cut off funding to move the detainees to the U.S. The lawmakers cited security concerns, saying the presence of the detainees would encourage terror attacks in the states or cities where they were being held. ”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/guantanamo-detainees_n_2207811.html?utm_hp_ref=guantanamo
A good read:
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/02/better_than_bourne_who_really_killed_nick_deak/
Mark Ames: author of Going Postal: Rage, Murder, and Rebellion: From Reagan’s Workplaces to Clinton’s Columbine and Beyond.
Alexander Zaitchick: a freelance writer in Brooklyn, NY.
“And what’s to keep them from adding a few bytes of their own and attributing it to you? Who is going to be able to analyze that kind of a set up?” -Blouise
Yep, Blouise. And as you said, “Scary stuff.” We are in very dangerous territory here in the U.S.
JFK planned to destroy the CIA or at least rein it in and we know what happened to him. GHWB was CIA at the time. From what I understand, the CIA is somewhat like the Mafia, once in always in. Obama is CIA.
Would we be letting Romney get away with this? Obama is W on steroids. W started it but Obama is escalating the worst of W’s actions – more wars on countries without a national debate or Congressional approval, escalating warrantless surveillance, escalating drone attacks, massive amounts of money for military and spy activities, kill lists, indefinite detention without charges, etc.
ap,
(from your link) … “Binney says that social networks analysis is being carried out on all Americans, and that if for any reason the clique in charge of the government decides to target an individual, they can go back and analyze the electronic records on him or her for damning information.”
And what’s to keep them from adding a few bytes of their own and attributing it to you? Who is going to be able to analyze that kind of a set up? Scary stuff.
Expect CIA operations in the Arctic.
The first large ship through the “mythical” Northwest Passage just happened:
(Arctic Ocean gets first gas cargo). An Admiral who is head of U.S. Navy global warming response (ports endangered is a national security threat) did a talk at the Pentagon indicating that a Singapore type port is under construction in Greenland, because it will not be long until the Northwest Passage is a freeway:
(Has The Navy Fallen For The Greatest Hoax?). The U.S. has more spies than the Nuns, but knows less than fifth graders.
When I was a child, we were taught that the Soviet Union was the ‘Evil Empire’ and that we could NEVER become like THEM. Boy were WE wrong. We have, indeed, become the Cold War Soviet Union.
So with Multinationals hiring spy agencies, all of us will eventually be spied upon:
And let’s not forget that neither the intelligence agency in the Defense Dept nor the CIA were good enough to protect us from the swing dick sex lies of Petraeus and the incredible vulnerabilities inherent in that man and his lady friends. -Blouise
William Binney briefly addresses Petraeus’ “vulnerabilities” in an interview with RT:
http://www.juancole.com/2012/12/nsa-whistleblower-everyone-in-us-under-digital-surveillance-trillions-of-messages-stored.html
Do go on, Cornhole Bob, so interesting!