From: "Rich Gauszka" 

Even the FBI admitted to mishandling information that could have detected
the terrorist pilots prior to 9/11. That you see the need for us to give up
liberties for this bureaucratic incompetence astounds me.



"Mark"  wrote in message
news:44b19348$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> Oh c'mon Rich, we've revamped our intelligence apparatus in a big way
> since 9/11, when they didn't stop the plot, as they didn't in the first
> WTC attack, and there are bound to be oversteps/oversights in this area or
> that, it's going to take awhile to get it all together properly.
>
>
>
> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
> news:44b18e09$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>> Good grief Mark - The world is as it's always been - only the names of
>> the 'bad' guys making the threats have changed.  Agencies charged to
>> protect us have made arrests and stopped plots well before Bush was a
>> thought. The frightening event in the future is the dissolution of our
>> liberties and not some amorphous bogeyman.
>>
>>
>> "Mark"  wrote in message
>> news:44b18877$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>> That the internal whistleblower thing worked the way it was supposed to
>>> (up until some ass leaked the letter itself) is a good thing. Hoekstra
>>> also said there's no way that they can/want to be briefed on every
>>> single program, he felt these should have made the cut.
>>>
>>> What this tells me, is that we're in a transition phase adjusting to a
>>> new world-wide threat and it's going to take some time to get it all
>>> sorted out (via squabbles such as this one and Supreme Court input in
>>> other areas, as well as continuing adjustments in the way other agencies
>>> and departments communicate).
>>>
>>> I just don't see how this transition can be expected to be accomplished
>>> with no missteps at all, but, eh, let's blame Bush. 
>>>
>>> This part of his letter, however, is what I found interesting and quite
>>> disturbing:
>>>
>>> "In fact, I have long been convinced that a strong and
well-positioned
>>> group within the Agency intentionally undermined the Administration and
>>> its policies.  This argument is supported by the Ambassador
>>> Wilson/Valerie Plame events, as well as by the string of unauthorized
>>> disclosures from an organization that prides itself with being able to
>>> keep secrets.  I have come to the belief that, despite his service to
>>> the DO, Mr. Kappes may have been a part of this group.  I must take note
>>> when my Democratic colleagues - those who so vehemently denounced and
>>> now publicly attacked the strong choice of Porter Goss as Director - now
>>> publicly support Mr. Kappes's return."
>>> http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2006/07/hoekstra_cia_gr.html
>>>
>>> What we've got going on, I think, is a plethora of power struggles, and
>>> it ain't purty and it ain't making us safer or expediting the
>>> elimination of terrorist groups around the world. So I wish they'd all
>>> swallow their egos and kiss and make up >> over>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
>>> news:44b17a2e{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>> Well now the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee is
>>>> saying it. Perhaps Bush really likes to play 'Twenty Questions'
>>>>
>>>>
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2
006-07-09T143910Z_01_N09148126_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-INTELLIGENCE.xml
>>>>
>>>> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration was running several
>>>> intelligence programs, including one major activity, that it kept
>>>> secret from Congress until whistle-blowers told the House of
>>>> Representatives Intelligence Committee, the committee's
chairman said
>>>> on Sunday.
>>>>
>>>> Rep. Pete Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House
>>>> Intelligence Committee, said on Fox News Sunday he had written a
>>>> four-page to President George W. Bush in May warning him that the
>>>> failure to disclose the intelligence activities to Congress may be a
>>>> violation of the law.
>>>>
>>>> In doing so, he confirmed a story that first ran in Sunday
editions of
>>>> the New York Times.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "I take it very, very seriously otherwise I would not
have written the
>>>> letter to the president," Hoekstra said.
>>>>
>>>> "This is actually a case where the whistle-blower
process was working
>>>> appropriately and people within the intelligence community
brought to
>>>> my attention some programs that they believed we had not
been briefed
>>>> on. They were right," said Hoekstra, a close ally of Bush.
>>>>
>>>> "We asked by code name about some of these programs.
We have now been
>>>> briefed on those programs but I wanted to reinforce to the president
>>>> and to the executive branch and the intelligence community how
>>>> important by law is the requirement that they keep the legislative
>>>> branch informed of what they are doing," Hoekstra said.
>>>>
>>>> The White House declined to comment directly on the allegations in
>>>> Hoekstra's letter. "We will continue to work closely
with the chairman
>>>> and other congressional leaders on important national
security issues,"
>>>> said Alex Conant, a White House spokesman.
>>>>
>>>> Critics have charged that the Bush administration has a penchant for
>>>> secrecy and has pushed its legal powers to the limit and possibly
>>>> beyond in pursuing its "war on terror." But
Hoekstra's complaint was
>>>> particularly significant since it came from a strong
supporter of the
>>>> administration's tactics.
>>>>
>>>> Hoekstra complained in his letter to Bush that the U.S. Congress
>>>> "simply should not have to play 'Twenty Questions' to get the
>>>> information that it deserves under our Constitution."
>>>>
>>>> In the letter and the interview, Hoekstra did not provide
details about
>>>> the programs, which presumably remain secret.
>>>>
>>>> Hoekstra had been briefed about both the National Security Agency's
>>>> domestic surveillance program and the Treasury
Department's tracking of
>>>> international banking transactions, both of which were leaked to the
>>>> media.
>>>>
>>>> He said he did not expect to be briefed about everything
intelligence
>>>> agencies were doing but at least one of the secret activities was a
>>>> major program which Congress definitely should have been informed
>>>> about.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In the letter, Hoekstra said the lack of disclosure possibly
>>>> constituted a "breach of responsibility by the
administration, a
>>>> violation of the law, and, just as importantly, a direct
affront to me
>>>> and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported
>>>> efforts to collect information on our enemies."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

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